Labour Court recommends Christmas staffing and leave terms at St. Michael’s House

The Labour Court recommended that St. Michael’s House provide services on 29, 30 and 31 December, with management assessing demand and staffing needs and seeking volunteers first. If there were too few volunteers, staff could be allocated by inverse seniority, taking required skills into account. The recommendation was dated 28 October 2005. Staff working those days could take the corresponding annual leave within three months on request, with sufficient relief staff provided. Employees who worked all three days in 2005 and 2006 should receive an extra day of leave in each following leave year. The arrangement was non-recurring and was to be reviewed in January 2007. The dispute involved the Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union, the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union (SIPTU) and the Irish Nurses Organisation.