Labour Court rejects worker’s appeal for retrospective pay from Covidien

The Labour Court disallowed a worker’s appeal over retrospective higher pay from Covidien and affirmed the Rights Commissioner’s recommendation against the claim. The decision was signed on 26 August 2015. The worker, a Setter represented by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, sought the higher M2 rate after management ended an NVQ training programme before the worker completed it. Covidien said the programme had been available for years and the worker had not obtained the qualification. The Court found that completing the programme was a condition of receiving the higher rate, with no exceptions. It also noted that retrospective payment had not been raised during discussions leading to a June 2013 agreement.