In 2001, the Labour Court recommended that Kerry County Council pay a £18,000 lump sum in a dispute with the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union over compensation for lost earnings after work on Church Holy Days ended. The recommendation was signed on 9 October 2001.
A 1998 agreement ended the practice and gave affected workers an extra 5.5 days of annual leave. The Union sought compensation for workers who had lost overtime, including refuse collection staff. The Council had offered £300 to staff who worked at least seven Church Holy Days in each of the two years before 1998.
The Court said the parties lacked information about which employees had worked those days. It recommended that the Union divide the £18,000 equitably among claimants, as full and final payment of claims on the issue.