In 1991, the Labour Court found that Packard Electric (Ireland) Limited had not discriminated against 300 female twilight-shift employees by excluding them from a £250 lump sum paid to full-time workers who agreed to continue receiving wages by cheque. The determination was dated 2 December 1991.
The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union and the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union argued that the twilight-shift employees should receive the same payment. The company appealed an Equality Officer's recommendation that each claimant be paid £250. The Court rejected the company's argument that the payment was not remuneration, but upheld its appeal on the discrimination finding under the Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act, 1974.
The Court said the lump sum was designed to encourage full-time staff to switch from cash to non-cash pay to improve payroll security. It found the payment applied to full-time workers regardless of sex or marital status, while part-time workers had traditionally been paid by non-cash methods. The related claim under the Employment Equality Act, 1977 was excluded because it concerned remuneration.