Labour Court disallows union appeal over Boxmore sick pay

The Labour Court disallowed the union’s appeal over sick pay for a Group Leader at Boxmore Plastics Limited and affirmed the Rights Commissioner’s recommendation not to concede the claim. The Court dated its decision 17 November 2003. The worker, whose name was not published, was represented by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union. The union said the 1997 agreement set no qualifying period and cited another employee who had received sick pay with less than two years’ qualifying time. Boxmore argued that the scheme applied only to workers who were team leaders in 1997. The Court found ambiguity over whether the 1997 agreement should be read with a separate sick-pay scheme document. It concluded that the agreement’s wording supported Boxmore’s interpretation and upheld the earlier recommendation.