European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)
Eurofound's ERM database on restructuring-related legal regulations provides information on regulations in the Member States of the European Union and Norway which are explicitly or implicitly linked to anticipating and managing change.
1977 Act: 11, 13, 14; 2007 Act: 13
Under sections 9 and 10 of the 1977 Act, there is an obligation on an employer to consult with employee representatives and supply certain information in the context of collective redundancies. Collective redundancy, for the purpose of the act, is defined as least 5 redundancies in an establishment employing 21-49 employees; at least 10 redundancies in an establishment employing 50-99 employees; at least 10% of employees made redundant in an establishment employing 100-299 employees; and at least 30 redundancies in an establishment that employs 300 or more people.
Section 11 deals with failure to comply with sections 9 and 10: an employer who fails to initiate consultations can be fined by up to €5,000.
Section 13 imposes a fine of €5,000 on an employer who fails to notify the minister of proposed redundancies.
Under section 14 of the act, an employer is not allowed to commence collective redundancies until the 30-day consultation period has expired. If the employer breaches this provision, they face a fine of up to €250,000. This fine had been €12,500 before the 1977 Act was amended by the 2007 Act. Offences under sections 9 and 10 of the 1977 Act are prosecuted by the relevant minister.
There are significant changes planned to the rights and redress provisions of the 1977 Act, which are set to be enacted in 2024. These include liquidators/receivers of insolvent companies being liable for information and consultation breaches, as well as a new complaint workers can bring against employers effecting their redundancy before the 30-day consultation period expires.
It is considered in some commentary that the €5,000 fine for breaching consultation and information supply obligations in collective redundancies is not effective enough to dissuade non-compliance with these requirements.
The potential €250,000 penalty for carrying out redundancies before a 30-day consultation period has been completed does not apply to situations of liquidation/formal wind up of a company. In July 2015, the Minister for Business and Employment noted this is because where an insolvent firm goes into liquidation, it can no longer trade. It can no longer accrue debts that it is in no position to discharge. It would be difficult to keep staff on books and expect them to work, merely to serve out a 30-day notice period, where the employer has no resources to pay those staff, and it would not appear to be in the interests of the staff themselves.
Nonetheless, the government commissioned an expert report into amending the 1977 Act. Proposal #3 from this report is that the redress for affected workers could be enhanced (up to two years' salary) to provide as an effective deterrent against the contravention of the consultation obligations. However, the government decided not to implement this report. Following the controvery around the closure of Debenhams Ireland in April 2020, there was renewed pressure on the government to legislate on the 1977 Atc.
In June 2021, the government confirmed it will remove the exemption on the 30-day consultation for collective redundancies in insolvency scenarios. An outline of the government's plan includes:
These changes were expected be legislated for by 2023 but it is now likely to to be 2024.
Eurofound (2015), Ireland: Effects of non-compliance with dismissal regulations, Restructuring legislation database, Dublin, https://apps.eurofound.europa.eu/legislationdb/effects-of-non-compliance-with-dismissal-regulations/ireland
Between the end of 2022 and the first half of 2023, almost 300,000 employees working for ‘big tech’ companies were laid off across the world, making headlines for months in global media. This development has been a shock, considering the high numbers of jobs in well-known tech corporations with a reputation for offering good working conditions and well-paid positions.
The retail banking sector is fertile ground for studying the impacts of digitalisation on work and employment. Financial services are increasingly provided online, without the intermediary of customer-facing institutions. Many banks in the sector have been undergoing serial restructuring since the global financial crisis, and it is one of the few service sectors with stagnant or declining employment.
Since 2011, the Restructuring support instruments database of the EU PolicyWatch has been collecting information on measures that assist companies and workers to anticipate and manage restructuring. This article looks at measures in the database aimed at supporting employees and employers during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2022).
Eurofound’s European Restructuring Monitor database reveals the impact of the energy crisis on employment in the EU. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, energy prices have hit record highs. The European Commission imposed sanctions and limitations on the import of oil and gas from Russia, which has reacted by reneging on supply commitments to many Member States.
