Work meal charges

con1982

My friend works for a company where all the staff are forced to pay for work meals. Many of the employees wrote to the employer saying that they do not want the meal, they prefer to bring their own food. The employer is still charging them, even if someone is on holiday or maternity leave.

What legal options are open to them? They feel they should have a choice.

GerardKeating

con1982 wrote: »

My friend works for a company where all the staff are forced to pay for work meals. Many of the employees wrote to the employer saying that they do not want the meal, they prefer to bring their own food. The employer is still charging them, even if someone is on holiday or maternity leave.

What legal options are open to them? They feel they should have a choice.

Kind of depends on if this is part of the "T&C" of their employment.

Is the place unionised ?

con1982

It's a non-unionised workplace. Mostly foreign EU and non-EU nationals. Meal charges are not mentioned in the employment contract.

Graham

This might be a good place to start OP, there's also a number on the site your friend can call:

http://www.employmentrights.ie/en/What_You_Should_Know/

Santa Cruz

con1982 wrote: »

My friend works for a company where all the staff are forced to pay for work meals. Many of the employees wrote to the employer saying that they do not want the meal, they prefer to bring their own food. The employer is still charging them, even if someone is on holiday or maternity leave.

What legal options are open to them? They feel they should have a choice.

This is just typical of so many employers attitudes 100 years after the Dublin Lockout. Don't be depending on any Government agency to help you.
This low level rip off of employees is what unions are here to stop. Then of course many people begrudge paying their union dues

Graham

Santa Cruz wrote: »

This low level rip off of employees is what unions are here to stop. Then of course many people begrudge paying their union dues

Cool, OPs friend has 2 options.

Get the legal info he needs free of charge or pay a union to give him the same info.

Bucklesman

Graham wrote: »

Cool, OPs friend has 2 options.

Get the legal info he needs free of charge or pay a union to give him the same info.

Do you think... do you think *maybe* that trade unions might be able to accomplish something more than the legal minimum for workers from time to time?

TheQuietFella

If it's not in the term & conditions of the contract you signed then the law is being broken. Ask to see the contract you signed.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1991/en/act/pub/0025/

billy few mates

Even if it is in the T&Cs it can be a very unfair term. My son took a summer job a number of years back with a well known fast food restaurant chain at minimum wage, one of the conditions of his 'employment' was that he would be deducted a set amount every day for food plus a weekly deduction of approx €9 for his uniform (a T Shirt that would have cost approx €5 total and a baseball cap!).
My son doesn't eat fast food and working in the place the last thing he would have eaten was food from there (in fact he used to pop out for his meal break). The whole time he worked there they messed him about, changing his shift with no notice, sending him home after an hour when it wasn't busy and a whole host of other objectionable incidents. The annoying thing was that even on the days he was sent home after an hour he would still be deducted the full meal cost for the day despite the fact that he hadn't even had a break. Needless to say he left there as soon as he found something better and has never darkened the door of the place since. He was just a student, the place was non unionised so the employer had them over a barrel if they wanted the job they had to accept the conditions.
Whatever about ripping the employees off with the uniform scam, I thought it was very mean spirited not to at least offer the option as to whether or not the staff members ate the food or not rather than forcing them to do so or charging them for a service which they didn't avail of.

Graham

OP has already state there is nothing in the contract regarding meal charges.