There have been significant changes to employment law over the last couple of years with more change still to come. Three key changes to be aware of:
Trial periods
Employers using 90-day trial periods must comply with certain specific requirements.
These include:
- A trial period may only be used for a new employee. An employee who has previously worked for that employer cannot be made subject to a trial period.
- The employee must be given a copy of the employment agreement long enough before they start work to be able to read the agreement and seek advice about it.
- The employee must sign the agreement before they commence work.
Failure to comply will mean that the dismissal is unjustified.
Provision of information
Any time an employer considers dismissing an employee, the employer must provide all relevant information in relation to the possible dismissal, even if the information would ordinarily be considered confidential or commercially sensitive. This is to allow employees to challenge or change the employer’s view before a decision is made.
Redundancy
Until recently, an employee could be dismissed if the business could be run more efficiently without them, and the Employment Court would not examine an employer’s accounts. Now, if an employer relies on cost-cutting to justify a redundancy it must be able to produce evidence of its poor financial position. If it cannot, the dismissal will be unjustified.