Labour Court upholds Atlas Aluminium leave arrangements in appeal

The Labour Court rejected the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union’s appeal and upheld a Rights Commissioner’s recommendation on leave arrangements at Atlas Aluminium. The decision was dated 22 April 1998. The dispute concerned a production operator’s request to take short periods, typically an hour, off without making up the time. Staff worked 40 hours a week and received six additional days of leave under the existing arrangement. The union argued that workers had already earned the time off. Atlas Aluminium said it could not allow employees to choose hourly absences because of customer commitments, while noting it had been flexible with days and half-days. The Court found no reason to change the recommendation that the existing arrangements stand and that the company take as flexible an approach as possible.