Labour Court recommends union accept Wyeth offer over enforced leave

The Labour Court recommended that the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union accept Wyeth Nutritionals Ireland Limited T/A Wyeth Nutrition’s offer after the company required workers to take an extra week of annual leave in August 2017. The union said the company breached its agreement and established practice, and sought full reimbursement. Wyeth said a slowdown in demand forced production cuts and that the leave was the least disruptive option. The Court recognised that the short-notice decision inconvenienced workers, and recommended that they be allowed to buy back the leave hour for hour through payroll over ten weeks. It also recommended a 20% top-up of the leave deducted, whether or not they chose to buy it back. Workers had received additional leave in December 2018 and January 2019. The recommendation was dated 7 March 2019.