A new bill which will at least double the amount of statutory redundancy has been published by the Tanaiste. However, Mary Harney has said that because of legal advice, the increased payments cannot be backdated.
The issue of redundancy payments was brought to the fore in recent months after disputes about the treatment of workers in companies like Peerless Rugs and the Irish Glass Bottle Company.
Now, as promised under the new partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress, the Tanaiste has published the Redundancy Payments Bill, which she hopes to bring into law as soon as possible.
At present, workers aged over 41 years of age receive a week's pay per year of service if made redundant, while younger workers get just half a week's pay per year of service.
If passed, the new Bill will remove the age distinction, and give each worker made redundant a statutory entitlement to two week's pay for every year of service.
The Tanaiste also claimed that the Bill would simplify the operation of the scheme to make it speedier and more effective, and said it will give a reasonable level of increased statutory payments to redundant employees.
However, she said the higher payments would not be backdated, because obligations cannot be assigned to employers retrospectively.
