Labour Court awards Dublin Bus driver €150 over working-hours notice

The Labour Court awarded Dublin Bus spare driver Grzegorz Kucinski €150 after finding the company failed to notify him of his working hours within the required timeframe. In a determination dated 26 September 2022, the court varied an earlier decision that found his complaint well founded but made no compensation award. SIPTU appealed on Kucinski’s behalf under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. The dispute concerned notice of a shift on 17 April 2018. SIPTU said he was told at 1pm on 16 April, during scheduled rest days; Dublin Bus said it had sent a text at 9pm on 15 April. The court could not establish when the text was sent because the records had been deleted, but both sides accepted that the notice did not meet the statutory deadline. The court said Kucinski knew his early and late duty pattern and had three days’ rest before the shift. It considered the breach minor and found no material adverse consequences, loss or hardship. It also noted that Dublin Bus had amended its notification procedures. The €150 award marked the breach and was, the court said, fair and proportionate. The law requires advance notice of working hours when an employee’s usual start and finish times are not set.