Labour Court recommends substantial cut to Imperial Hotel sick-pay scheme costs

The Labour Court recommended that Imperial Hotel (Cork) Limited Trading As Imperial Hotel and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union engage to agree a substantial reduction in the cost of the hotel’s sick-pay scheme. The recommendation was signed on 3 April 2014. The Court found that the company’s financial and trading circumstances required significant cost-base adjustments, including restructuring the scheme. The union argued the scheme was not abused and that changes would bring insignificant savings; it sought continuation of the current terms. The company said it could no longer afford the scheme and warned that failure to agree changes threatened staff job security. The dispute was referred to the Court on 31 January 2014 after conciliation failed, and a hearing took place on 26 March. Matters still unresolved six weeks after the recommendation were to be referred back to the Court for a definitive recommendation.