E.A.T. Annual Report for 2010
The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) recently published its 2010 Annual Report, full details of which can be access at The Employment Appeals Tribunal's website.
Some of the main highlights of the Report are as follows:
After a two-year growth in the number of cases referred to the Tribunal (numbers trebled from 2008 to 2009); there has been a slight decrease in the number of cases in 2010.
Of the 8,778 cases referred in 2010, 2,951 related to Redundancy and 2,157 to Unfair Dismissal.
In 2010, a Pilot Scheme was launched by the EAT to streamline Redundancy-related claims. Under the Croke Park Agreement, three secretaries were seconded to the Tribunal from other departments to aid in this process. The pilot saw the disposal of 2,431 claims, an increase of 1,000 on 2009. This scheme has continued into 2011.
Overall, there was a 30% increase in the number of cases disposed of from 2009.
With regard to waiting times in 2010, there was an average of 58 weeks waiting in Dublin and 55 weeks in provincial areas.
With regard to Redundancy Claims, of the 2,431 disposed of:
- 994 were allowed
- 334 were dismissed
- 178 were withdrawn during the hearing
- 925 withdrawn prior to hearing
With regard to Unfair Dismissal Claims, of the 1,081 disposed of:
- 194 were allowed
- 237 were dismissed
- 215 were withdrawn during the hearing
- 435 withdrawn prior to hearing
A total of €3,485,898 was awarded for Unfair Dismissal Cases, with an average award of €16,064. In addition, re-instatement was ordered in 6 cases, with re-engagement in 3.
Again in 2010, the majority of both employers and employees opted for legal representation, at 57% of employees and 66.9% of employers.
