The Lodging and Defence of Claims within the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Rights Commissioner

We can advise you in relation to making your claim to the Employment Appeals Tribunal under the Redundancy Payments Acts, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, the Unfair Dismissals Acts and the Organisation of Working Time Acts. We also act for employers in defending such claims.

There are strict time limits (an extract of same are set out below, this is not an exhaustive list) in relation to making such claims and your claim is grounded by completing and lodging the T1A Application Form within the correct timeframe. We will assist you in completing this form and initiating your claim.

Once your claim has been lodged in the EAT, the other party has opportunity to respond by lodging a form T2. This essentially sets out why they are agreeing to your claim or in the alternative why they are contesting your claim. Documentation is then exchanged and you will be given a hearing date by the EAT in due course.  There is a long waiting list in relation to hearing dates at present and the wait can be up to a year and a half for a hearing date.

We act for both employers and employees in EAT cases and once the matter goes to hearing we will prepare booklets and legislation together with legal submissions for the EAT to refer to. The EAT comprises of a Chairperson, an Employer Representative and an Employee Representative together with a Secretary.

You will be given the opportunity to put your case before the EAT and you will give evidence regarding your case. If the employee is taking the case the employer will give evidence first and will be cross examined by the employee’s legal representative. Once all evidence and cross examination has been completed the EAT will consider the case and do up their notes and determination on same. The determination is not given on the day of hearing but usually about 6 weeks later.

We also represent both Employee and Employer in the Rights Commissioner. The Rights Commissioner Service operates as part of Labour Relations Commission. Rights Commissioners are independent in the performance of their duties. They investigate disputes, grievances and claims that individuals or small groups of workers make under employment legislation including the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977-2007, the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004, the Payment of Wages Act 1991, the National Minimum Wage Act 2000, the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 and 2001, the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996, the Industrial Relations Acts 1969-2001, the Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 and 2005, the Parental Leave Acts 1998 and 2006, the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001, the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

The Rights Commissioner service is less formal than that of the EAT, in that at a Rights Commissioner hearing there is one ‘adjudicator’. As per the EAT the matter is grounded upon your application form which we will assist you in filling out. Again there will be an exchange of documentation and we will prepare legal submissions, Booklets and legislation in advance of the hearing date. If the employer in an unfair dismissal objects to the matter being heard by a Rights Commissioner then the matter goes to the EAT for hearing.

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