Labour Court recommends pension advice and arrears payment mechanism for 13 Bus Eireann drivers

The Labour Court recommended that Bus Eireann provide independent pension advice to 13 part-time school bus drivers and put an arrears payment mechanism in place. Its decision was dated 3 July 2017. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union appealed the Adjudication Officer’s recommendation on behalf of the workers, who sought pension contribution arrears backdated to 2010. The Court did not recommend payment of those arrears and did not uphold the appeal, but varied the earlier recommendation. The Court recommended that an independent adviser be in place within two weeks and provide personal advice within ten weeks to workers seeking it. It also recommended that the company implement without delay its mechanism to spread arrears payments over time.