Labour Court recommends five-year route back to Team Lead grade at Bausch and Lomb

The Labour Court recommended that a worker at Valeant Pharmaceutical Ireland T/A Bausch and Lomb return to his former Team Lead grade if a vacancy arose within five years of his demotion. The recommendation was signed on 10 April 2019. If no vacancy arose during that period, the worker should receive compensation for permanent loss of grade equal to twice his annual financial loss. He could still apply for the grade after the five-year period. The employer and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union, representing the worker, had both appealed the Adjudication Officer’s recommendation. The Court found the offence was grave and justified a serious sanction, but said the unlimited demotion risked imposing a significant and potentially permanent financial penalty.