Redundancy - waiver form

J

Jano

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My husband has been made redundant by a large manufacturing company yesterday. He worked there for 12 years with an impeccable work record and was called into the meeting room yesterday and told he was redundant without prior notice, given an RP50 (redundancy form) dated as giving him notice 2 weeks ago (which he wasn't shown until yesterday and in any case it should be 6 wks notice for his length of service). He was paid stat min plus €3500 and handed a waiver form to sign, which unfortunately he signed as he was shocked and couldn't think straight. No discussion was held on alternatives, no selection criteria was shown to him, he was just given the news that he was to leave straight away and the manager collected his car keys from his desk for him. Can he claim unfair dismissal even though he signed their waiver form? He didn't even get a copy of it. If anyone can advise I would be very grateful.
Thanks
 
Hi Jano,

Sorry to hear that your husband was treated so badly after such long exemplary service. The handling of the matter by the company appears to leave a lot to be desired.

Is he a member of a trade union and if so has he contacted them for advice?

You may find something useful on Citizen's Information.

This excellent post by Welfarite should give advice on welfare entitlements and redundancy.

These people should be able to help re rights:

National Employment Rights Authority

Dept.:
Information Services
Line 1:
Government Buildings
Line 2:
O'Brien Road
County:
Carlow
Country:
IRELAND
Opening Hours:
Mon. to Fri. 9.30am to 5pm
Tel:
(059) 917 8990
Locall:
1890 80 80 90
Homepage:
[broken link removed]
Email:
info@employmentrights.ie
 
Thanks Sue Ellen, have contacted NERA but they recommended the Employment Appeals Tribunal for an unfair dismissal but we are concerned that the signing of the waiver form means he may have forfeited his right to appeal. We are hoping that their failure to follow correct procedures - notice of intention to make him redundant, lack of opportunity to discuss their selection criteria, lack of time to seek advice or even read the waiver properly - they told him he had to sign it to get his redundancy, etc may override the waiver. He wasn't in the union as staff on salary were not allowed to join.
 
From the circumstances you described, you could certainly argue that the waiver is not valid. In previous experience, companies I have worked for have always given people time to think over any waiver and also would give them the time to consult a solicitor before signing. Your husband should contact the employer right away though, before taking steps towards a claim - the longer a waiver stays out there, the more likely it is that he would be deemed to have accepted it. So the first step to take is for your husband to call and write to the employer and say that he is not satisfied with the terms of the waiver and the time he was given to consider it and that he'd like to come in to talk to them about it. If those discussions don't bear fruit, then have a chat to a solicitor.

Sprite
 
Hi all,
My husband sent a letter to the CEO today as his phone calls were being ignored, asking them to meet him to settle the matter properly. Will have to go to Employment Appeals Tribunal failing all else. We believe now it was an unfair dismissal due to failure to follow procedures re notice, selection criteria etc. Also we believe the waiver is invalid for a number of reasons too. Apparently you can waive your right to appeal your dismissal after the fact provided that you sign it with an awareness of your legal rights and have entered into meaningful negotiations etc. Will have to wait and see, took WaterSprite's advice to not leave the waiver out there long. Thanks also Sue Ellen for website info. Will update soon
 
Hi Jano.
i'm very interested in your situation ... it's similar to mine.
Just wondering.. did your case get to the EAT yet?
Jack.
 
Last edited:
Hi JackN
Waiting for hearing date, prob autumn, so nothing has changed since last posting.
 
Thanks,
have looked at your thread and think that even though in theory you don't need a solicitor, in practice you do. If you go to the EAT, they will have a solicitor/barrister. If you also had one, the legal reps for both sides would negotiate between themselves if a settlement was to to be made etc. Good luck.
 
Jano said:
...... He wasn't in the union as staff on salary were not allowed to join.
Click to expand...


No company can stop some employees from joining a union - they can refuse to deal with the union though. Sounds like this company did alot of things contrary to employment law and natural justice.

hope things work/ed out for ye in the end.
 
This is the reason why unions are useful, whatever you may think of them at least they keep employers in check regarding the fairness of redundancy.
 
Hi all, the date for the EAT was set, the company offered a fairly low settlement about a week before but settled for 5 times that original offer within the week. Our solicitor was not as confident of achieving that amount as my husband was and advised to go for double the offer amount. I suppose you know the 'nature of the beast' you are dealing with better than a solicitor who doesn't know how a company operates. BTW it wasn't that the company wouldn't let him join the union, the union wouldn't let salaried staff join as they were considered 'middle management'. Thanks everyone for the advice and encouragement. It wasn't just about the money (although it was very welcome), my husband needed to feel that he got what he deserved as a settlement and to not look back some time in the future and wish he had defended himself. He has gone back to full time education in a completely different career direction and loves it.
 
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