Labour Court rejects union claim for overtime on sick-leave cover

In 2009, the Labour Court recommended against conceding the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union’s claim for overtime rates when workers covered sick leave at Dairygold Co-Operative Society Limited’s Mitchelstown plant. The recommendation was signed on 16 March 2009. The union argued that hours worked outside agreed roster hours should attract overtime rates. Dairygold said its arrangements followed a special agreement and allowed workers to bank hours for paid time off. The Court found that the agreement provided for overtime premiums after 39 hours from Monday to Friday, with weekend work paid at overtime rates plus a shift premium. The exception for extra annual-leave cover did not apply to sick-leave cover, and the Court did not recommend conceding the union’s claim.