Labour Court recommends allowances and phased leave for Brothers of Charity care workers

The Labour Court recommended accepting management’s proposal on outstanding night duty allowance payments for care workers at Brothers Of Charity, pending agreement and implementation of a new structural plan. It also recommended an unsocial-hours allowance of time plus one sixth for hours worked between 6pm and 8pm as part of an eight-hour shift, backdated to 25 August 2004. Outstanding annual leave should be granted and phased in over five years. The dispute, referred by Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, concerned three claims: night duty allowance, unsocial-hours allowance and outstanding annual leave entitlements for childcare workers and childcare leaders. Management cited funding constraints. The Court recommended that the parties discuss the new structural plan and report progress by 1 July 2007. Its recommendation was dated 8 May 2007.