Employee Rights

Danniboo

Hi,

I presume i'm in the right forum, if not please move.

Long story short, my bf is in bar trade. He gets 2 days off a week.

This week with the pubs being closed on Good Friday he was told to come in another day as Good Friday is one of his days off, is this even legal are they allowed to do this.

They tried this at Christmas aswell saying Christmas Day was one of his days off and tried to make him work another day to compensate.

This is minor in comparison to some of the stuff they've done on him, i'm really fed up with it. The sooner this recession is over the sooner employees can be treated like people again.

Any advice appreciated.

Victor

I presume he is being paid and getting his bank holidays paid in lieu.

Employers are entitled to designate when employees can take annual leave.

Danniboo

Victor wrote: »

I presume he is being paid and getting his bank holidays paid in lieu.

Employers are entitled to designate when employees can take annual leave.

Good Friday is not annual leave it's a public holiday. He'll get paid his standard wage nothing more nothing less, however most of the country was off Paddys Day and still gets their normal wage. He only got just over 2 weeks annual leave last year, they're only short of telling him when he can and can't go to the toilet.

MagicSean

Danniboo wrote: »

Good Friday is not annual leave it's a public holiday. He'll get paid his standard wage nothing more nothing less, however most of the country was off Paddys Day and still gets their normal wage. He only got just over 2 weeks annual leave last year, they're only short of telling him when he can and can't go to the toilet.

Does he work the same shifts every week? If his shifts aren't regular I'd say he can be told to work any day.

Danniboo

He works the same shifts and same hours every week, in fact he works every weekend aswell so it's even lousier that they are doing this to him.:mad:

amerden

Danniboo wrote: »

Good Friday is not annual leave it's a public holiday.

Good Firday is not a public holiday in Ireland

Danniboo

amerden wrote: »

Good Firday is not a public holiday in Ireland

All the pubs close (with the exception of the crowd in Limerick) so it can be considered a public holiday

aidan_walsh

Danniboo wrote: »

All the pubs close (with the exception of the crowd in Limerick) so it can be considered a public holiday

No, it cannot. Its considered a day that pubs are legally obliged to close.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/employment/employment-rights-and-conditions/leave-and-holidays/public-holidays-in-ireland

Good Friday is not a public holiday. While some schools and businesses close on that day, you have no automatic entitlement to time off work on that day.

Danniboo

It's not that relevant anyways.

Paulw

Danniboo wrote: »

It's not that relevant anyways.

It's very relevant. It's not a public holiday, so there is no legal entitlement to have the day off work.

Pubs are not permitted to display/sell alcohol, but there is actually no law stopping them from being open (under the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2000). So, it can be considered a normal working day. Therefore the employer can stipulate what day can be taken as annual leave.

Danniboo

Paulw wrote: »

It's very relevant. It's not a public holiday, so there is no legal entitlement to have the day off work.

Pubs are not permitted to display/sell alcohol, but there is actually no law stopping them from being open (under the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2000). So, it can be considered a normal working day. Therefore the employer can stipulate what day can be taken as annual leave.

I disagree it would be different if my bf chose to take this day off. There is a law that says the pubs can't open sure that's why the crowd in Limerick contested they had to see if they could get permission to open they still don't have permission to sell alcohol. Having a day off work every week is his hours of work that's not the same as taking annual leave surely.

Paulw

Danniboo wrote: »

I disagree it would be different if my bf chose to take this day off. There is a law that says the pubs can't open sure that's why the crowd in Limerick contested they had to see if they could get permission to open they still don't have permission to sell alcohol. Having a day off work every week is his hours of work that's not the same as taking annual leave surely.

Under the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2000, Part 2, Section 2 -
“(1) Save as otherwise provided by this Act, it shall not be lawful for any person to sell or expose for sale any intoxicating liquor, or to open or keep open any premises for the sale of intoxicating liquor, or to permit any intoxicating liquor to be consumed on licensed premises—


(a) at any time on Christmas Day or Good Friday;"

So, the pub cannot sell/display alcohol on this day. However, the pub can legally open.

The pubs in Limerick sought an exemption to open AND sell alcohol tomorrow. However, any pub in Ireland can open, as long as they do not display nor sell alcohol.

Therefore, it's not a public holiday, and is not a day where an employee is entitled to have the day off. The employer can therefore specify that the day must be taken as annual leave. In the same way, many companies force employees to take annual leave over the Christmas period. It's the same situation, legally.

Danniboo

Paulw wrote: »

Under the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2000, Part 2, Section 2 -
“(1) Save as otherwise provided by this Act, it shall not be lawful for any person to sell or expose for sale any intoxicating liquor, or to open or keep open any premises for the sale of intoxicating liquor, or to permit any intoxicating liquor to be consumed on licensed premises—


(a) at any time on Christmas Day or Good Friday;"

So, the pub cannot sell/display alcohol on this day. However, the pub can legally open.

The pubs in Limerick sought an exemption to open AND sell alcohol tomorrow. However, any pub in Ireland can open, as long as they do not display nor sell alcohol.

Therefore, it's not a public holiday, and is not a day where an employee is entitled to have the day off. The employer can therefore specify that the day must be taken as annual leave. In the same way, many companies force employees to take annual leave over the Christmas period. It's the same situation, legally.

If this is the case could an employ theoretically not say no i'll work Good Friday I don't want to take it as leave, i'm sorry if i'm being petty i'm just sick of him been treated like ****.

seamus

Your boyfriend works a five-day week. The pub is closed on Friday.

In this case, there are three options:

- Your boyfriend can work another day this week
- Your boyfriend gets paid for 4 days this week
- The pub designates the day as annual leave

Unless your boyfriend's contract of employement states exactly the days that he normally works, then the pub has every right to consider Friday as one of your boyfriend's ordinary days off work and have him work another day.

If this is the case could an employ theoretically not say no i'll work Good Friday I don't want to take it as leave, i'm sorry if i'm being petty i'm just sick of him been treated like ****.

The business chooses when it opens, the employees cannot choose when they do and do not work.

Cunsiderthis

Danniboo wrote: »

If this is the case could an employ theoretically not say no i'll work Good Friday I don't want to take it as leave, i'm sorry if i'm being petty i'm just sick of him been treated like ****.

Being treated like what? He's a bar man and that's what bar men do. Surely its up to him to decide if the life as a bar man suits him, rather than up to you to be sick of how he is treated. He's not being treated differently to any other bar man in Ireland, and if he didn't want to be treated like all other barmen, then why did he decide to become a bar man?

Danniboo

No, he is not treated right this is just one example.

They don't give him payslips. They make him suffer if he decides to tak holidays, ie he took holidays and when he came back they cut his hours. He used to work Mon - Fri and the next time he took holidays they made him work weekends, he has a son he has to see every second week and has 6 hour round trip to collect him they know this and won't even let him have every second Saturday off so now he just collects him goes to work Saturday night and has to do the 6 hour round trip on the Sunday. He only got 2 weeks holidays last year. He often doesn't get lunch as the two owners go off all day and don't come back. They tried to give him Christmas Day as annual leave.To the poster who said this is his choice, it's not it's a recession he's being looking every where for work.

Paulw

In relation to work today, I think the situation is clear.

With the other work issues, he should consult a solicitor, and also keep looking for a new job.

Danniboo

Paulw wrote: »

In relation to work today, I think the situation is clear.

With the other work issues, he should consult a solicitor, and also keep looking for a new job.

That's what I said but he won't, he hasn't missed a single day in 4 years and this is the thanks he gets.

damow11

ve been working in my current job for almost four years and until the last 9-12 months i feel like im being watched ever so closely and that there is one rule for everyone else and one for me! in the last 9 months i have missed six mondays and therefore was called in and given a written warning...out of these six mondays, one was because of the heavy snow back in january where i was totally trapped in my drive way and having been involved in a serious driving accident 3 years ago because of the ice i am hesitant to drive on dangerous conditions, the next day i missed was due to torn ligaments in my foot where i provided a doctors note, the next one after that was a stomach bug where i also provided a doctors note, next was personal problems which i personally rang the owner of the company to explain and he understood at the time, the next two were stomach bugs again...one being food poisoning, neither were accompanied with a doctors note...where do i stand? is this fair?

Danniboo

Danniboo wrote: »

They tried to give him Christmas Day as annual leave.To the poster who said this is his choice, it's not it's a recession he's being looking every where for work.

The employer cannot make him take Christmas Day as a day of annual leave. Christmas Day is one of the specified public holidays in the 2nd Schedule of the Organisation of Working Time Act. However, according to s.21 of that Act the employer can:

21.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, an employee shall, in respect of a public holiday, be entitled to whichever one of the following his or her employer determines, namely—
(a) a paid day off on that day,
(b) a paid day off within a month of that day,
(c) an additional day of annual leave,
(d) an additional day's pay:
Provided that if the day on which the public holiday falls is a day on which the employee would, apart from this subsection, be entitled to a paid day off this subsection shall have effect as if paragraph (a) were omitted therefrom.

FreudianSlippers

damow11 wrote: »

ve been working in my current job for almost four years and until the last 9-12 months i feel like im being watched ever so closely and that there is one rule for everyone else and one for me! in the last 9 months i have missed six mondays and therefore was called in and given a written warning...out of these six mondays, one was because of the heavy snow back in january where i was totally trapped in my drive way and having been involved in a serious driving accident 3 years ago because of the ice i am hesitant to drive on dangerous conditions, the next day i missed was due to torn ligaments in my foot where i provided a doctors note, the next one after that was a stomach bug where i also provided a doctors note, next was personal problems which i personally rang the owner of the company to explain and he understood at the time, the next two were stomach bugs again...one being food poisoning, neither were accompanied with a doctors note...where do i stand? is this fair?

A lot will depend on your employment contract. I would suggest contacting your HR department and discussing it with them first - if necessary go over your employment contract with them again and have them explain why you were given the written warning.

At the end of the day it is just a warning, but you should not hesitate talking to HR. At least that way you have a documented discussion and have raised your concerns - this could prove invaluable in case worse comes to worst.