Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all! We have been experiencing an issue on site where threads have been missing the latest postings. The platform host Vanilla are working on this issue. A workaround that has been used by some is to navigate back from 1 to 10+ pages to re-sync the thread and this will then show the latest posts. Thanks, Mike.
Hi there,
There is an issue with role permissions that is being worked on at the moment.
If you are having trouble with access or permissions on regional forums please post here to get access: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058365403/you-do-not-have-permission-for-that#latest

New owner of Business enforcing new contract of employment.

  • 15-12-2012 2:33pm
    #1
    upforit101
    Closed Accounts Posts: 263 ✭✭


    A question in relation to a friend of mine. A new owner has taken over the business she works in from the receivers. The new owner is attempting to enforce new contracts on the employees of the company that effectively puts them on temporary notice i.e. their hours and conditions of work are at the discretion of the new owner.
    I should add that the employees of the business did not have any contracts of employment with the previous owner. They have all worked for several years with the company.
    My question is thus; Is the new owner legally entitled to unilaterally change the hours and conditions of employment of the employees?
    My friend has no intention of signing the new contract but what should she do?


Comments

  • #2
    RangeR
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,265 ✭✭✭RangeR


    Contact NERA now!!!


  • #3
    yop
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Regional Midwest Moderators, Regional West Moderators Posts: 16,724 Mod ✭✭✭✭yop


    RangeR wrote: »
    Contact NERA now!!!

    If our experiences with NERA are anything to go by you won't go well. They are as from what found out toothless. They can visit the employer, who wasn't paying us, ask them a load of questions and if they decide to give a true answer then they will toddle away again. They have no legal strenght what so ever.
    Another quango from all we could see.
    In the end we had to take legal action ourselves.


  • #4
    djk1000
    Closed Accounts Posts: 899 ✭✭✭djk1000


    There's no such thing as not having an employment contract. If none was written and signed, then the status quo is effectively the contract along with employee rights in legislation (like minimum holidays).

    There is European law on the "transfer of undertakings" which guarantees that employees must be allowed to continue under the same contract if a new owner takes over. (There are some exceptions).

    People give out about unions (myself included) but getting every employee to join one and then negotiating collectively may be the way to go. The very prospect of that along with reminding the employer of the law might be enough to cop them on.

    In a takeover like that, the prospective new owner presumably does their due diligence, so they knew ahead of time they'd have to change employees terms and conditions, that should have been done by agreement with employees before the sale was finalised.

    Having said all that, it's a bit pointless fighting for and keeping your original terms and conditions if that means the employer will then have to make some people redundant.


  • #5
    RangeR
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,265 ✭✭✭RangeR


    yop wrote: »
    If our experiences with NERA are anything to go by you won't go well. They are as from what found out toothless. They can visit the employer, who wasn't paying us, ask them a load of questions and if they decide to give a true answer then they will toddle away again. They have no legal strenght what so ever.
    Another quango from all we could see.
    In the end we had to take legal action ourselves.

    My point being, get advice from them. Not moaning about quangos.

    I was in a VERY similar siteeation to the OP a few years ago. NERA were very friendly and told me what I could and couldn't do. It worked very good in the end [I moved to a better paid job :)]

    OK, my outcome didn't depend on NERA directly but they gave me the information I needed to tell my superiors what they were doing was wrong.


Advertisement