I have come across a situation where a Company in the hospitality sector with over 120 staff members does not have a trade union representing the staff. No formal agreement is in place. Having said that, a staff member in this Company has approached a trade union of their own accord and asked the trade union to represent them with regard to an issue with the Company. The trade union has stated in a letter to the Company that they are acting in an "individual capacity" and intend to represent the staff member in question at an external hearing. My questions are: 1. Can the Company refuse to recognise the trade union acting in an individual capacity? 2. Can the Company be forced to recognised the trade union? 3. What advice would you give to the Company where it would prefer to remain non-unionised?
Posted in : First Tuesday Q&A ROI on 3 March 2015
Zelda Cunningham
Arthur Cox
Employees in Ireland have a constitutional right to join and associate with a trade union and this has been recognised as including the right to disassociate and not to join a trade union.
However, it has been established in Irish Courts that employers in Ireland have no statutory or constitutional obligation to recognise a trade union. While an employer is not obliged to recognise a particular trade union, there have been numerous recommendations of the Labour Court that an employer should recognise and consult and negotiate with a trade union on behalf of its members who are in the employer’s employment. It is for this reason we would advise that specific advice should be sought in this
Already a subscriber?
Click here to login and access the full article.
Log in now to read the full articleDon't miss out, register today!
Are you fully aware of the benefits of Legal-Island's Irish Employment Law Hub? We help thousands of people like you understand how the latest changes in Irish employment law impact your business through a mix of case law analysis and in-depth articles. All delivered right to your inbox.
We help you to understand the ramifications of each important case from Ireland and Europe.
We help you ensure that your organisation's policies and procedures are fully compliant with Irish law.
You will receive regular updates on Irish employment law including case law reviews, legislative changes, topical updates as well as answers to your burning questions through our Q&A feature.
You will have 24/7 access to the Employment Law Hub so you can research case law and HR issues when you need to.
Back to Q&A's This article is correct at 02/09/2015
Disclaimer:
The information in this article is provided as part of Legal-Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article.
Zelda Cunningham
Arthur Cox
The main content of this article was provided by Zelda Cunningham. Contact telephone number is +353 1 618 0000 or email zelda.cunningham@arthurcox.com
View all articles by Zelda Cunningham