Labour Court recommends redundancy terms for Berendsen Ireland’s Birr plant closure

The Labour Court recommended that Berendsen Ireland pay employees facing compulsory redundancy at its Birr plant two weeks’ pay per year of service, plus statutory redundancy, capped at one year’s salary. Employees with less than two years’ service should receive an ex-gratia payment of two weeks’ pay. The recommendation was signed on 22 May 2017. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union had sought a larger package. Berendsen Ireland had initially offered statutory redundancy plus one month’s pay, but said it was prepared to improve the terms because the plant was closing and there were no viable redeployment options. The Court said its recommendation applied specifically to the Birr closure and should not be used as a precedent for future redundancies at the company.