The Labour Court recommended changes to pay and conditions at the Westbury Hotel after an independent review found it needed to save €800,000 a year. West Hotel Trading Co Ltd T/A The Westbury Hotel proposed ending service charges, changing premium rates and freezing pay; the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union said the changes would cause hardship and sought to protect existing staff’s terms.
In a recommendation signed on 1 July 2011, the Court backed ending service charges, with affected workers’ basic pay and service-charge earnings maintained at no less than 90% of their average over the previous 52 weeks. It recommended a two-year pay pause, Sunday premiums of time plus one-third, public-holiday premiums of time plus one-third plus the statutory entitlement, and a 20% premium for night work.
The Court also recommended compensation at twice the proven annual loss arising from implementation, a redundancy lump sum of 5.5 weeks’ pay per year of service for those made redundant, and negotiations on revised rates for new employees. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union represented about 170 members in the dispute.