Labour Court says construction agreement allows early starts of up to an hour on exceptional occasions

The Labour Court found that the construction industry agreement allows workers to start up to an hour early on unusual or exceptional occasions. Their finishing time moves forward accordingly, with overtime rates applying after the earlier finish. The decision was signed on 23 September 2004. The Irish Congress Of Trade Unions argued that early starts should be intermittent and that the normal start was 8.30am. The Construction Industry Federation said arrangements could vary by site or locality. The Court said the agreement did not set an industry-wide starting time and could not interpret that question; local starting times ranged from 7.30am to 8.30am.