Labour Court raises Meath VEC worker’s compensation to €10,000

The Labour Court varied a Rights Commissioner’s recommendation and set compensation at €10,000 for a worker in a dispute with Meath VEC. The decision was signed on 19 July 2010. The worker, represented by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, had been moved from a temporary craftsperson role back to full-time caretaker duties and pay in 2008. The union said he continued to do higher-paid craftsperson work for most of his time; Meath VEC said the role was temporary and could not be restored because of budget restrictions. The Court found the worker’s substantive post was caretaker and that his acting craftsperson position had effectively become redundant. It said he should be appointed to a similar higher-paid post if one became available.