Labour Court recommends €1,800 maternity benefit top-up for Southside worker

The Labour Court recommended that Southside Partnership Trust DLR Limited pay a worker €1,800 as a maternity benefit top-up, varying the Adjudication Officer’s recommendation. The decision was signed on 31 January 2017. The worker’s union appealed after the Adjudication Officer found against her claim. It said the employer’s policy provided for a maternity top-up and that other employees had received one. The employer said Tús Team Leaders’ contracts did not provide for the payment and that funding was unavailable. The Court noted that programme guidelines gave the employer discretion to offer enhanced terms without costs falling on the Department. Considering the worker’s length of service and that discretion, it recommended the payment on an exceptional basis and said the union should accept that it created no precedent.