Labour Court upholds £500 recommendation in Smurfit Web Press dispute

The Labour Court upheld a Rights Commissioner’s recommendation that Smurfit Web Press pay £500 in full and final settlement of a worker’s claim for a de-manning allowance, rejecting an appeal by the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union. The decision was signed on 11 March 1996. The union argued that workplace practice and agreements entitled the worker to the Litho Department allowance after a transfer from the Bindery Department. The company said the allowance applied only to employees already working in Litho when the arrangement began, and that the worker’s earnings had increased after the transfer. The Court found no grounds to alter the recommendation.