Unfair dismissal - next step?

rmg1

I have been unfairly dismissed and I was wondering where do I go from here? Do I engage a Solicitor, go through NERA, Rights Commissioner or EAT? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

rmg1

Tom Young

I am willing to leave this open, legal advice is not allowed. If you have such an issue a solicitor is the best option and working at speed is recommended.

number10a

A trade union if you have one is always a good place to start.

rmg1

Thanks Tom.

Thanks Number10a for your reply, unfortunately, I'm not in any trade union so can't go that route.

anneboleyn

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/unemployment-and-redundancy/dismissal/unfair_dismissal

Gives you some info ... and if you are certain you qualify , consult a solicitor that knows about employment law.

pirelli

First thing you have to do is check the time you have to lodge the case. It is 6 months from the time your notice has expired.

You should prepare as much information as possible.
Make a data protection request immediately to the employer.
You only have 6 mths to issue proceedings through the labour court and EAT
(employment appeals tribunial ).
Get some employment law information and start to prepare your documents.
Get a solicitor or if your a member of a union a union official/representative.

Ensure the your solicitor is suitably qualified and has experience. Agree a price and get a layout of fees. Avoid a barrister to save money. If your using a solicitor make sure to prepare as much paperwork as you can. Be very clear on your case before and be neat and methodical with as much evidence in a format you can reference easily. Then make sure the solicitor and you draft the booklet together covering all your points.

Do it all again yourself. Depending on the complexity of case much of the case will ultimatelty depend on your dilligence.

It is better to be clear on your case then to bother with a barrister who will just make matters worse financially.A barrister can be great asset to a case and have wealth of knowledge but lately you will find alot of crap junior barristers or worse devils are floating around that are just products of rip of ireland and charge sky high fees and cram their cases. Be frugal and do print the booklets yourself. Avoid as much cost as possible.

Why a booklet>
You need 5 copies of your booklet supporting your case for the EAT which is the where your case might take you as the labour court is not enforcable but the EAT is so usually a solicitor will go straight to the EAT. However going through the labour court first provides you with the safety net of appealing to the employment appeals tribunial.

A booklet will have a contents page and be composed of carefully numbered pages documenting all your evidence and important documents supporting your case and the obvious documents involved in the unfair dissmissal such as the termination letter etc. Whomever acts as your counsel has to know your case backwards and be able top refer to the booklet and that is why you must pay so much attention to preparing a basic layout of it with your solicitor.

Approaching a barrister without a booklet prepared is usually a waste of money and hours wasted in consultations. Some barrister might be brilliant but your unlikely to find them. Also seperately it would be wise to bring payment of wages etc.. and any other cases within the 6 month timeline. Your solicitor might also search for any other civil wrongs your employer might have committed and file them inadvance so as to preclude them from any settlement they might offer. It would also be wise to bring settlement offer of your own on terms you would prefer.


"Getting a solicitor in short space of time can prove difficult although in the current economic climate it might not be as bad. In the height of the celtic tiger they were very selective picking through cases they wanted and didn't want taking a few weeks to consider a case at the expense of your ticking clock. "

sparkling sea

Contact you local Citizens Advice Centre ASAP.

There are tests applied for unfair dismissals, someone at the centre can explain them to you to make sure you have a case.

If you have a solicitor yourself they cannot give you free advice at the centres. so they should be your first port of call.

pirelli

I have found an ad in the evening herald OP.

Sacked unfairly ?[/B] no win no fee 01-4790565

I wonder what else this guy does.

rmg1

Thanks Anneboleyn and Sparkling Sea for your replies. I will check those links out first.

Pirelli, thanks for the detailed info, very useful.

Cunsiderthis

rmg1 wrote: »

Thanks Anneboleyn and Sparkling Sea for your replies. I will check those links out first.

Pirelli, thanks for the detailed info, very useful.

I'd advise to contact a solicitor and see whether you are likely to have been unfairly dismissed and, if so, whether you stand a chance of success at either the Employment Appeals tribunal or in court.

He or she will tell you pretty quickly whether you have a case or not, and what your prospects are.

sparkling sea

If you meet the Unfair Dismissal tests and need a solicitor it might be wise to check rate my solicitor, as not all solicitors would be recommended when specifically dealing with labour law.

You want someone who specifically deals in labour/employment law and has a very good track record in this area

Godge

pirelli wrote: »

First thing you have to do is check the time you have to lodge the case. It is 6 months from the time your notice has expired.

You should prepare as much information as possible.
Make a data protection request immediately to the employer.
You only have 6 mths to issue proceedings through the labour court and EAT
(employment appeals tribunial ).
Get some employment law information and start to prepare your documents.
Get a solicitor or if your a member of a union a union official/representative.

Ensure the your solicitor is suitably qualified and has experience. Agree a price and get a layout of fees. Avoid a barrister to save money. If your using a solicitor make sure to prepare as much paperwork as you can. Be very clear on your case before and be neat and methodical with as much evidence in a format you can reference easily. Then make sure the solicitor and you draft the booklet together covering all your points.

Do it all again yourself. Depending on the complexity of case much of the case will ultimatelty depend on your dilligence.

It is better to be clear on your case then to bother with a barrister who will just make matters worse financially.A barrister can be great asset to a case and have wealth of knowledge but lately you will find alot of crap junior barristers or worse devils are floating around that are just products of rip of ireland and charge sky high fees and cram their cases. Be frugal and do print the booklets yourself. Avoid as much cost as possible.

Why a booklet>
You need 5 copies of your booklet supporting your case for the EAT which is the where your case might take you as the labour court is not enforcable but the EAT is so usually a solicitor will go straight to the EAT. However going through the labour court first provides you with the safety net of appealing to the employment appeals tribunial.

A booklet will have a contents page and be composed of carefully numbered pages documenting all your evidence and important documents supporting your case and the obvious documents involved in the unfair dissmissal such as the termination letter etc. Whomever acts as your counsel has to know your case backwards and be able top refer to the booklet and that is why you must pay so much attention to preparing a basic layout of it with your solicitor.

Approaching a barrister without a booklet prepared is usually a waste of money and hours wasted in consultations. Some barrister might be brilliant but your unlikely to find them. Also seperately it would be wise to bring payment of wages etc.. and any other cases within the 6 month timeline. Your solicitor might also search for any other civil wrongs your employer might have committed and file them inadvance so as to preclude them from any settlement they might offer. It would also be wise to bring settlement offer of your own on terms you would prefer.


"Getting a solicitor in short space of time can prove difficult although in the current economic climate it might not be as bad. In the height of the celtic tiger they were very selective picking through cases they wanted and didn't want taking a few weeks to consider a case at the expense of your ticking clock. "

The relevant piece of legislation is the Unfair Dismissals Act as amended. Unfair dismissals go to the Rights Commissioner Service (RCS) under the Labour Relations Commission rather than the Labour Court and on appeal from the RCS to the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT).

As far as I know, neither the RCS nor the EAT award costs, maximum settlement is two years pay so beware the cost of a solicitor.

Labour Court decisions are enforceable - they involve cases under the Protection of Employees Acts (Fixed-Term and Part-Time) while Labour Court Recommnedations under the Industrial Relations Act are not enforceable.

Finally, you must have more than one years' service with your employer to be eligible to make a claim under the Unfair Dismissals Act.

pirelli

Godge wrote: »

The relevant piece of legislation is the Unfair Dismissals Act as amended. Unfair dismissals go to the Rights Commissioner Service (RCS) under the Labour Relations Commission rather than the Labour Court and on appeal from the RCS to the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT).

As far as I know, neither the RCS nor the EAT award costs, maximum settlement is two years pay so beware the cost of a solicitor.

Labour Court decisions are enforceable - they involve cases under the Protection of Employees Acts (Fixed-Term and Part-Time) while Labour Court Recommnedations under the Industrial Relations Act are not enforceable.

Finally, you must have more than one years' service with your employer to be eligible to make a claim under the Unfair Dismissals Act.

He is hardly going to end up in the wrong court facing the world trade organistaion
debating the price of a pineapple.

The labour commision and the rights commissioners are all just departments in the labour court. The labour court reception is where you go to get the forms to lodge the unfair dissmissal not the rights commissioners.You fill in the form and you get a letter in the post. You can also get the forms from either website.

Question >>

If applicant goes through the rights comissioner and gets a recommendation then can the applicant go to the Employment appeals tribunial and start his/her case from scratch or is he/she limited to appealing only the recommendation from the rights commisioner.

There are advantages to going straight to the EAT. There are also advantages to going through the rights commissioner. If you have a solicitor and a barrister it would get expensive gong through two tribunials that could take x amount of days.

sparkling sea

pirelli wrote: »

He is hardly going to end up in the wrong court facing the world trade organistaion
debating the price of a pineapple.

The labour commision and the rights commissioners are all just departments in the labour court. The labour court reception is where you go to get the forms to lodge the unfair dissmissal not the rights commissioners.You fill in the form and you get a letter in the post. You can also get the forms from either website.

Question >>

If applicant goes through the rights comissioner and gets a recommendation then can the applicant go to the Employment appeals tribunial and start his/her case from scratch or is he/she limited to appealing only the recommendation from the rights commisioner.

There are advantages to going straight to the EAT. There are also advantages to going through the rights commissioner. If you have a solicitor and a barrister it would get expensive gong through two tribunials that could take x amount of days.

As far as I know it is limited to appeals - you or your employer may appeal the recommendation to the EAT. The EAT recommendation can be appealled to the Circuit Court.

MarkR

What was the reason given for your dismissal?

pirelli

sparkling sea wrote: »

As far as I know it is limited to appeals - you or your employer may appeal the recommendation to the EAT. The EAT recommendation can be appealled to the Circuit Court.

IMO You can take your unfair dissmissal claim straight to the EAT ( employment appeals tribunial) and skip the rights commissioners however if you go through the rights commissioner and they give a recommendation and you appeal that to the EAT you are now appealing the rights commissioner decision rather than taking your unfair dissmissal claim to the EAT.

Godge

pirelli wrote: »

He is hardly going to end up in the wrong court facing the world trade organistaion
debating the price of a pineapple.

The labour commision and the rights commissioners are all just departments in the labour court. The labour court reception is where you go to get the forms to lodge the unfair dissmissal not the rights commissioners.You fill in the form and you get a letter in the post. You can also get the forms from either website.

Question >>

If applicant goes through the rights comissioner and gets a recommendation then can the applicant go to the Employment appeals tribunial and start his/her case from scratch or is he/she limited to appealing only the recommendation from the rights commisioner.

There are advantages to going straight to the EAT. There are also advantages to going through the rights commissioner. If you have a solicitor and a barrister it would get expensive gong through two tribunials that could take x amount of days.

The Labour Relations Commission is a separate organisation to the Labour Court. They share the same building but they are very different.

You appeal from the Rights Commissioner but the appeal can deal with all issues.

pirelli

Godge wrote: »

The Labour Relations Commission is a separate organisation to the Labour Court. They share the same building but they are very different.

You appeal from the Rights Commissioner but the appeal can deal with all issues.

Yes that's correct. Forms can be found at reception of the labout court and for the pendantic tight collars the rights commissioner office is down the second turn on the left at the end of the corridor on the second floor opposite the drinking fountain.

His first stop is either the labour court or the website to download the forms.

pooli1986

Hi
Im in symilar sytuation like some of You guys. I had beed unfaired dissmised and I have already applyed to EAT by my solicitor.

Im wondering if any of You can tell us how exactly case day looks like i would be much appreciate.

Also how long usualy takes for EAT to settle the case. Woman in reception informed my sols that might take several weeks because of the backlog they have but she did say exactly how long.

Im appreciate for any information.
Regards

pirelli

pooli1986 wrote: »

Hi
Im in symilar sytuation like some of You guys. I had beed unfaired dissmised and I have already applyed to EAT by my solicitor.

Im wondering if any of You can tell us how exactly case day looks like i would be much appreciate.

Also how long usualy takes for EAT to settle the case. Woman in reception informed my sols that might take several weeks because of the backlog they have but she did say exactly how long.

Im appreciate for any information.
Regards

At least a few weeks before they allocate you a date which will be another few months. You have 6 months to lodge your unfair dismissal.

Now is the time build a case and work with your solicitor, he might ask you to wait until the hearing has been decided officially or to await a response form your employer but you should have already started to prepare your Booklet which is bascially your reasons why it is an unfair dismissal. Remeber the court is only 1/3 legal and 2/3 union/employment so don't waste too much
time on legal beaucracy and fees.