A union representing staff at Paddy Power Betfair has lodged 78 separate cases on behalf of its members seeking compensation for alleged denial of rest breaks.
The move by Mandate come after recent decisions by the Workplace Relations Commission which ordered the company to pay 11 workers a total of €10,100 in compensation over the same issue.
Those rulings followed the awarding by the WRC of up to €1,000 per person to 14 employees last year on similar grounds.
The union now expects the 78 other staff who haven’t already lodged cases to win between €750-€1,000 per person based on awards to date.
The cases have been taken under the Organisation of Working Time Act.
According to Mandate, after appealing the initial tranche of rulings, Paddy Power Betfair withdrew the appeals and paid the money due to the workers.
As a result, the union says it does not expect further appeals for the most recent decisions.
It added that the union is considering taking further ‘denial of rest break’ cases on behalf of its members at the firm.
"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," said Robert McNamara, Divisonal Organiser for Mandate.
"We have systems in place to enable employees to take their breaks, and we will continue to ensure that our employees get them," said a spokesman for Paddy Power Betfair .
"We are disappointed with this ruling but we will be abiding by it and reviewing our processes accordingly."
