Labour Court recommends overtime compensation for Ms D at Abbott Ireland

The Labour Court recommended that Abbott Ireland pay Ms D a lump sum for lost morning overtime, calculated at one and a half times her average annual loss in 2006 and 2007. The Court recommended payment within six weeks. Its recommendation was signed on 25 March 2011. The dispute concerned half an hour of morning overtime paid at double time, which had been worked for more than 20 years before ending on 1 May 2008. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, representing four operatives, argued that the overtime was regular and rostered and that workers had built their lifestyles around it. Abbott Ireland said production changes meant the work was no longer needed and workers could take alternative overtime; some earned more after the change. The Court recommended compensation for Ms D, who remained employed, but did not recommend compensation for the three operatives who left under a voluntary redundancy package in December 2009.