Equality cases cost three times other workplace disputes
Conference and Expo 2009 - press release
11 May 2009
Equality cases now cost €2,200 to decide - three times more than other work-related disputes
The maze of labour laws and regulations badly needs to be rationalised and simplified while Equality Tribunal costs are now three times those of the Rights Commission and Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) cases.
Labour lawyer, Adrian Twomey told the CIPD Ireland annual conference of 700 HR managers that 'we now have 14 different Acts and regulations dealing with maternity rights and more than 30 covering different forms of leave.'
He said that the average cost per case at the Equality Tribunal has reached €2,217 compared to €727 at the Labour Relations Commission and €718 for EAT cases.
He identified the lack of legislation on stress as leaving an open goal for those pursuing many of the 14,000 workplace related cases a year now being handled by state agencies.
Mr Twomey told the conference at Dublin’s Burlington Hotel today that 'just one, preferably short, Employment Rights Act should be introduced to replace all the others and we should have just one decision-making body for claims regarding statutory rights.'
CIPD chairman, Seán O’Driscoll said that 'there is a need for leadership in both the public and private sectors and for honest conversations where managers let people know that they will get paid for the work they do but that nobody is owed a living.'