An employee was seconded by his employer to work for a client, but issues over his performance arose, and he was subsequently stood down by his employer. The employee applied to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) to be permanently reinstated, as well as temporarily reinstated while his claim for unjustified dismissal awaits judgment. 

One of the primary remedies that the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) can provide for an employee who has succeeded in a personal grievance claim is to reinstate that employee to their former position in the workplace. However, this will not be a possible remedy in situations where the employee has been seconded by their employer to work for a third party.

Where a personal grievance has been caused by a third party, the ERA is able to provide the following remedies only:

  •          Reimbursement of any lost wages as a result of the grievance;
  •          Compensation for humiliation, loss of dignity, and injury to feelings; and
  •          Compensation for the loss of any benefit, whether monetary or not, which the employee might reasonably have been expected to obtain had the grievance not occurred.

In providing a remedy, the ERA will consider the extent to which the actions of the controlling third party caused or contributed to the situation which led to the personal grievance. The employer will be jointly liable if they also caused or contributed to the grievance.

In this case, the ERA rejected the former employee’s claim for reinstatement to a secondment as it is not a possible remedy. His employer had no work other than the secondment, so there was no job for the employee to be reinstated to at his employer’s place of work.

The ERA decided that damages would be an adequate remedy if the employee was successful in his claim at the full hearing.

It pays for employees to seek legal advice from a legal professional to understand the remedies available to them in the event of an employment dispute. 

Leading law firms committed to helping clients cost-effectively will have a range of fixed-price Initial Consultations to suit most people’s needs in quickly learning what their options are.  At Rainey Collins we have an experienced team who can answer your questions and put you on the right track.