Redundancy Payments Scheme Further Information

The following is further information on Redundancy Payments Scheme

An employee on Maternity Leave or Additional Maternity Leave cannot be notified that they are being made redundant. Employers must keep their job active until the maternity leave is finished and then notify the employee.

A redundancy has not occurred if the employer has ended the employment within one month of the end of the apprenticeship.

If the employment continued for more than one month after the end of the apprenticeship, then a redundancy has occurred. The duration of the apprenticeship (over 16 years of age) is included in the calculation of service.

If an apprentice is made redundant during the apprenticeship, they may qualify for a redundancy payment.

Generally, where the terms and conditions offered are different from those of the existing job, the offer must be of “suitable employment” for that employee. Otherwise it is possible that a redundancy situation exists i.e. where there is a significant change in the terms and conditions of employment.

If the employee demands to be made redundant because of a change in working conditions the required notice period does not apply.

If an employee is laid off or put on short time for more than:

• Four continuous weeks
• Six non-continuous weeks within a thirteen week period

The employee may be entitled to claim for redundancy payment provided the employer does not counter claim by offering 13 weeks continous employment.

If the employee demands to be made redundant because of a change in working hours, then they forfeit the required notice period.

Special arrangements were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period an employee is not entitled to seek a redundancy payment from their employer as a result of being placed on temporary layoff. This change was included in Section 29 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2020.

If an employee is being paid by an agency then it is the agency that is responsible for paying the redundancy payment.

If the company is in financial difficulty a Liquidator, Receiver or Examiner may be appointed by the courts. They will take the place of your employer and deal with any outstanding entitlements. They will apply to the Redundancy Payments Section if there are no funds to make redundancy payments.

A employee cannot be paid both a redundancy lump sum and compensation for unfair dismissals on foot of a taking a case to the Workplace Relations Commission, the employee is either made redundant or they are dismissed.

If the owner or employer changes but the employee continues doing the same job with similar terms and conditions, then a transfer has taken place. In such cases a redundancy has not occurred. The employee continues in their employment with the new employer. The period served for both employers will be counted as service if a redundancy happens later.

In some cases, the job and the terms and conditions will change under the new employer and the employee may then be entitled to claim a redundancy payment.