Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act, 1993
What is this act about?
This law amends and expands the Unfair Dismissals Acts of 1977 and 1991, dealing with changes to how unfair dismissals are defined and handled. It updates various sections of the Principal Act to address new circumstances and protections for employees.
Who it applies to: Employees who have been dismissed from their employment; Employers who dismiss employees.
Deadlines:
- The law clarifies that if an employee is re-employed within 3 months after a contract expires, and the re-employment was to avoid liability under the Act, the service periods are combined for calculating continuous service.
- A dismissal followed by re-employment by the same employer within 26 weeks does not break continuity of service if the dismissal was to avoid liability under the Act.
At a glance
- Country
- Ireland
- Area of law
- Labour law
- Articles
- 17
- Source
- irishstatutebook.ie
- Text retrieved
- Explanation updated
What does this act regulate?
- The definition of "trade union" and "the Tribunal" (now the Employment Appeals Tribunal).
- Circumstances where an employee's re-employment after a dismissal does not break continuity of service, especially if the dismissal was to avoid liability under the Act.
- The definition of unfair dismissal in cases of lock-outs, strikes, or other industrial action.
- Additional grounds for considering a dismissal unfair, such as race, colour, sexual orientation, age, or membership of the travelling community.
Who does this act apply to?
- Employees who have been dismissed from their employment.
- Employers who dismiss employees.
What are the key points?
- The law clarifies that if an employee is re-employed within 3 months after a contract expires, and the re-employment was to avoid liability under the Act, the service periods are combined for calculating continuous service.
- A dismissal followed by re-employment by the same employer within 26 weeks does not break continuity of service if the dismissal was to avoid liability under the Act.
- Dismissals related to lock-outs or industrial action are considered unfair if other employees were treated more favourably.
- Unfair dismissal grounds now include discrimination based on race, colour, sexual orientation, age, and membership of the travelling community.
Labour law
Legal text
Legal text
Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act, 1993 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gaeilge English Produced by the Office of the Attorney General Táirgthe ag Oifig an Ard-Aighne Home Legislation Acts of the Oireachtas Statutory Instruments Pre-1922 Legislation Constitution External Resources Bills (Houses of the Oireachtas) Iris Oifigiúil / Official Gazette Revised Acts (LRC) Classified List of Legislation (LRC) Translations (acts.ie) Translations (Houses of the Oireachtas) Government Publications for Sale EU Law (EUR-Lex) FAQ Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Search Baile Reachtaíocht Achtanna an Oireachtais Ionstraimí Reachtúla Reachtaíocht Réamh-1922 Bunreacht Acmhainní Seachtracha Billí (Tithe an Oireachtais) Iris Oifigiúil Achtanna Athbhreithnithe (CAD) (An Coimisiún um Athchóiriú an Dlí) Liosta Rangaithe Reachtaíochta Aistriúcháin (achtanna.ie) Aistriúcháin (Tithe an Oireachtais) Foilseacháin Rialtais ar Díol Dlí AE (EUR-Lex) CCanna (Ceisteanna Coitianta) Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach Cuardach TitleTeideal Year(s) or rangeBliain nó blianta nó raon TypeCineál All Legislation Acts Statutory Instruments Advanced SearchCuardach Casta HomeBaile ActsAchtanna 1993 Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act, 1993 Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act, 1993 Permanent Page URL View by SectionAmharc de réir Ailt View Full ActAmharc ar an Acht Iomlán Bill History Stair Bille Commencement, Amendments, SIs made under the Act Tosach Feidhme, Leasuithe, IRí arna ndéanamh faoin Acht Print Full ActPriontáil an tAcht Iomlán Number 22 of 1993 UNFAIR DISMISSALS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1993 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS Section
Section 1
Interpretation.
Section 2
Amendment of section 1 of Principal Act.
Section 3
Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act.
Section 4
Amendment of section 5 of Principal Act.
Section 5
Amendment of section 6 of Principal Act.
Section 6
Amendment of section 7 of Principal Act.
Section 7
Amendment of section 8 of Principal Act.
Section 8
Amendment of section 9 of Principal Act.
Section 9
Amendment of section 14 of Principal Act.
Section 10
Amendment of section 15 of Principal Act.
Section 11
Appeals from, and enforcement of determinations of, Tribunal.
Section 12
Evidence of failure to attend before or give evidence or produce documents to Tribunal.
Section 13
Employment agencies.
Section 14
Dismissal of persons during apprenticeship, training, etc., or during first year of service, for trade union membership or activities.
Section 15
Amendment of First Schedule to Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973.
Section 16
Repeal.
Section 17
Short title, collective citation, construction, commencement and application.
Acts Referred to Courts Act, 1981 1981, No. 11 Employment Agency Act, 1971 1971, No. 27 Income Tax Acts Industrial Relations Acts, 1946 to 1990 Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973 1973, No. 4 Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 1967, No. 21 Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1993 Trade Union Act, 1941 1941, No. 22 Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 1977, No. 10 Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 and 1991 Vocational Education Act, 1930 1930, No. 29 Number 22 of 1993 UNFAIR DISMISSALS (AMENDMENT) ACT, 1993 AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE UNFAIR DISMISSALS ACTS, 1977 AND 1991, AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. [14th July, 1993] BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
Interpretation.
1.—(1) In this Act “the Principal Act” means the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 .
Amendment of section 1 of Principal Act.
2.—Section 1 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by— (a) the substitution of the following definitions for the definitions of “trade union” and “the Tribunal”: “‘trade union’ means a trade union which is the holder of a negotiation licence under Part II of the Trade Union Act, 1941 ; ‘the Tribunal’ means the Tribunal established by section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1967 , and known, by virtue of section 18 of this Act, as the Employment Appeals Tribunal.”, and (b) the addition of the following subsections: “(2) Where on the date of an award to an employee of re-instatement under this Act— (a) the terms or conditions on which are employed other employees of the same employer who occupy positions similar to that from which the employee was dismissed, or (b) if there are no such employees, the terms or conditions on which are employed employees generally of the same employer, are more favourable to the employees concerned than they were at the date of the dismissal, then, the references in sections 5
Amendment of section 2 of Principal Act.
3.—Section 2 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by— (a) in subsection (1), the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (j): “(j) officers of a health board (other than temporary officers) or a vocational education committee established by the Vocational Education Act, 1930 .”, (b) in subsection (2), the insertion after paragraph (b) of the following proviso to subsection (2): “Provided that where, following dismissal consisting only of the expiry of the term of a contract of employment such as aforesaid (‘the prior contract’) without the term being renewed under the contract or the cesser of the purpose of the contract— (i) the employee concerned is re-employed by the employer concerned within 3 months of the dismissal under a contract of employment such as aforesaid made between the employer and the employee (‘the subsequent contract’) and the nature of the employment is the same as or similar to that of the employment under the prior contract, (ii) the employee is dismissed from the employment, (iii) the dismissal consisted only of the expiry of the term of the subsequent contract without the term being renewed under the contract or the cesser of the purpose of the contract, and (iv) in the opinion of the rights commissioner, the Tribunal or the Circuit Court, as the case may be, the entry by the employer into the subsequent contract was wholly or partly for or was connected with the purpose of the avoidance of liability under this Act— then— (I) this Act shall, subject to the other provisions thereof, apply to the dismissal, and (II) the term of the prior contract and of any antecedent contracts shall be added to that of the subsequent contract for the purpose of the ascertainment under this Act of the period of service of the employee with the employer and the period so ascertained shall be deemed for those purposes to be one of continuous service.
In this proviso ‘antecedent contract’, in relation to a prior contract, means— (A) a contract of employment such as aforesaid the term of which expired not more than 3 months before the commencement of the prior contract, or (B) each of a series of contracts the term of the last of which expired not more than 3 months before the commencement of that of the prior contract and the term of the other or of each of the other contracts in the series expired not more than 3 months before the commencement of that of the other, or the next, contract in the series, being a contract or contracts made between the employer and the employee who were parties to the prior contract and the nature of the employment under which was the same as or similar to that of the employment under the prior contract.”, and (c) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4): “(5) Notwithstanding subsection (4) of this section, the dismissal (not being a dismissal referred to in the proviso (inserted by the Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act, 1993) to subsection (2) of this section) of an employee followed by his re-employment by the same employer not later than 26 weeks after the dismissal shall not operate to break the continuity of service of the employee with the employer if the dismissal was wholly or partly for or was connected with the purpose of the avoidance of liability under this Act.”.
Amendment of section 5 of Principal Act.
4.—Section 5 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (1), (2) and (3): “(1) For the purposes of this Act (other than section 2 (4)), the lock-out of an employee shall be deemed to be a dismissal and the dismissal shall be deemed to be an unfair dismissal if, after the termination of the lock-out— (a) the employee was not permitted to resume his employment on terms and conditions at least as favourable to the employee as those specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (1) of section 7 of this Act, and (b) one or more other employees in the same employment were so permitted.
Amendment of section 6 of Principal Act.
5.—Section 6 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by— (a) the substitution in subsection (2) of the following paragraphs for paragraph (e): “(e) the race, colour or sexual orientation of the employee, (ee) the age of the employee, (eee) the employee’s membership of the travelling community,”, and (b) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (7): “(7) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, in determining if a dismissal is an unfair dismissal, regard may be had, if the rights commissioner, the Tribunal or the Circuit Court, as the case may be, considers it appropriate to do so— (a) to the reasonableness or otherwise of the conduct (whether by act or omission) of the employer in relation to the dismissal, and (b) to the extent (if any) of the compliance or failure to comply by the employer, in relation to the employee, with the procedure referred to in section 14 (1) of this Act or with the provisions of any code of practice referred to in paragraph (d) (inserted by the Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act, 1993) of section 7 (2) of this Act.”.
Amendment of section 7 of Principal Act.
6.—Section 7 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by— (a) in subsection (1), the substitution of the following for paragraph (c): “(c) (i) if the employee incurred any financial loss attributable to the dismissal, payment to him by the employer of such compensation in respect of the loss (not exceeding in amount 104 weeks remuneration in respect of the employment from which he was dismissed calculated in accordance with regulations under section 17 of this Act) as is just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances, or (ii) if the employee incurred no such financial loss, payment to the employee by the employer of such compensation (if any, but not exceeding in amount 4 weeks remuneration in respect of the employment from which he was dismissed calculated as aforesaid) as is just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances, and the references in the foregoing paragraphs to an employer shall be construed, in a case where the ownership of the business of the employer changes after the dismissal, as references to the person who, by virtue of the change, becomes entitled to such ownership.”, (b) in subsection (2), the deletion of “and” in paragraph (c) and the substitution of the following paragraphs for paragraph (d): “(d) the extent (if any) of the compliance or failure to comply by the employer, in relation to the employee, with the procedure referred to in subsection (1) of section 14 of this Act or with the provisions of any code of practice relating to procedures regarding dismissal approved of by the Minister, (e) the extent (if any) of the compliance or failure to comply by the employer, in relation to the employee, with the said section 14, and (f) the extent (if any) to which the conduct of the employee (whether by act or omission) contributed to the dismissal.”, and (c) the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (2): “(2A) In calculating financial loss for the purposes of subsection (1), payments to the employee— (a) under the Social Welfare Acts, 1981 to 1993, in respect of any period following the dismissal concerned, or (b) under the Income Tax Acts arising by reason of the dismissal, shall be disregarded.”.
Amendment of section 8 of Principal Act.
7.—Section 8 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by— (a) the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (2), (3) and (4): “(1A) There shall be included in— (a) a recommendation of a rights commissioner under subsection (1) of this section, (b) a determination of the Tribunal under the said subsection (1), and (c) an order of the Circuit Court, under section 11 of the Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act, 1993, under which specified redress under this Act is awarded to an employee a statement of the reasons why either of the other forms of redress specified in section 7 (1) of this Act was not awarded to the employee.
Amendment of section 9 of Principal Act.
8.—Section 9 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution in subsection (2) for “within the said period of 6 weeks” of “by the Tribunal as soon as may be after the receipt by it of the notice”.
Amendment of section 14 of Principal Act.
9.—Section 14 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (3) and (4): “(3) The reference in subsection (1) of this section to a procedure is a reference to a procedure that has been agreed upon by or on behalf of the employer concerned and by the employee concerned or a trade union or an excepted body within the meaning of the Trade Union Act, 1941 , representing him or has been established by the custom and practice of the employment concerned, and the references in subsection (2) of this section to an alteration in the said procedure are references to an alteration that has been agreed upon by the employer concerned or a person representing him and by the employee concerned or a trade union, or an excepted body, within the meaning aforesaid, representing him.
Amendment of section 15 of Principal Act.
10.—Section 15 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following subsections for subsections (2) and (3): “(2) Where a recommendation has been made by a rights commissioner in respect of a claim by an employee for redress under this Act or the hearing of a claim by the Tribunal has commenced, the employee shall not be entitled to recover damages at common law for wrongful dismissal in respect of the dismissal concerned.
Appeals from, and enforcement of determinations of, Tribunal.
11.—(1) A party concerned may appeal to the Circuit Court from a determination of the Tribunal in relation to a claim for redress under the Principal Act within 6 weeks from the date on which the determination is communicated to the parties.
Evidence of failure to attend before or give evidence or produce documents to Tribunal.
12.—A document purporting to be signed by the chairman or a vice-chairman of the Tribunal stating that— (a) a person named in the document was, by a notice under paragraph (c) of section 39
Employment agencies.
13.—Where, whether before, on or after the commencement of this Act, an individual agrees with another person, who is carrying on the business of an employment agency within the meaning of the Employment Agency Act, 1971 , and is acting in the course of that business, to do or perform personally any work or service for a third person (whether or not the third person is a party to the contract and whether or not the third person pays the wages or salary of the individual in respect of the work or service), then, for the purposes of the Principal Act, as respects a dismissal occurring after such commencement— (a) the individual shall be deemed to be an employee employed by the third person under a contract of employment, (b) if the contract was made before such commencement, it shall be deemed to have been made upon such commencement, and (c) any redress under the Principal Act for unfair dismissal of the individual under the contract shall be awarded against the third person.
Dismissal of persons during apprenticeship, training, etc., or during first year of service, for trade union membership or activities.
14.—Sections 2 (1), 3 and 4 and subsections (1) and (6) of section 6 of the Principal Act shall not apply to a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of the said section 2 (1) or the said section 3 or 4 who is dismissed if the dismissal results wholly or mainly from one or more of the matters referred to in subsection (2) (a) of the said section 6.
Amendment of First Schedule to Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973.
15.—The First Schedule to the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973 , is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph 7 (inserted by the Principal Act): “7. Where the whole or part of a trade, business or undertaking was or is transferred to another person either before or after the passing of this Act, the service of an employee before the transfer in the trade, business or undertaking, or the part thereof so transferred— (a) shall be reckoned as part of the service of the employee with the transferee, and (b) the transfer shall not operate to break the continuity of the service of the employee, unless the employee received and retained redundancy payment from the transferor at the time of and by reason of the transfer.”.
Repeal.
16.—Section 10 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed.
Short title, collective citation, construction, commencement and application.
17.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act, 1993.
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