The Labour Court recommended a €5,500 net retention payment for employees who remained with Eclipse Care (Silver Stream Healthcare Group), after the closure of Killiney Grove Nursing Home. The recommendation was signed on 30 November 2015. The Court also recommended redundancy terms of two weeks’ pay per year of service, in addition to statutory entitlement, for staff leaving because of the closure.
The dispute involved the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union. The unions sought three weeks’ pay per year of service plus statutory entitlements for staff leaving, and a €5,500 net relocation payment for staff willing to move. They said management’s existing proposal offered €5,500 net to nursing staff and €4,000 net to support and care staff.
Management said it could accommodate staff at other locations and had offered a retention payment to employees willing to relocate and remain employed. The Court considered the circumstances of the home’s closure and the alternatives available to staff. Its recommendation amended the company’s original retention bonus proposal and set separate terms for employees leaving.