Mandate members in Paddy Power expect to win up to €80,000 over denial of rest breaks
Wednesday 20 February 2019Mandate Trade Union said it expects members to receive between €70,000 to €80,000 in compensation from Paddy Power concerning the denial of rest breaks in 92 separate cases.
The claim was made after a second tranche of decisions by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ordered Paddy Power to pay 11 workers a cumulative €10,100 in compensation for the denial of rest breaks. This follows 14 cases won by Mandate in July 2018 where workers were awarded between €750-€1,000 each.
Robert McNamara, Divisonal Organiser for Mandate said the union has lodged 78 separate cases on behalf of members – bringing the total claims up to 92 – and expects awards of between €750-€1,000 per person when all the cases are completed based on awards to date.
Mr McNamara said the WRC has made rulings concerning 42 cases resulting in €38,000 in awards made against the Paddy Power business.
In the latest rulings made by the WRC, the Commission has ordered Paddy Power pay over €1,000 in respect of eight claimants; €800 in one other case and €650 in two remaining cases.
The Paddy Power business initially appealed the first tranche of rulings to the Labour Court but then withdrew the appeals and paid over the monies to Mandate members.
“We do not expect appeals in relation to the latest tranche of decisions,” said Mr McNamara.
Mandate has taken the cases under the Organisation of Time Act and McNamara said that these cases are just the tip of the iceberg.
“There are thousands of workers in the retail, pharmacy, bar and betting industries who are currently being denied their statutory entitlements but do not know their rights or do not have a trade union to back them up. The Paddy Power workers who joined Mandate and have won these cases are a good example of why it’s important to be a member of a trade union.”
He said that the union is considering taking further ‘denial of rest break’ cases on behalf of members in Paddy Power.
At the WRC, Mandate argued that the workers have not received their statutory break entitlements throughout the course of their employment.
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