Despite widespread legislation covering the rights of workers, cases of employer non-compliance with employment law are on the increase in Donegal. That's according to the Citizens Information Centre (CIC), which in recent months has seen increasing numbers of clients from a wide range of occupations requesting assistance with employment-related issues.
Construction workers who've been let go from their jobs following the downturn in the construction sector are amongst the growing number requesting assistance with employment-related issues, according to the CIC.
"Everybody working in the building
industry is affected by cut-backs, whether they are foreign nationals or local Donegal people," said Agata Szarek, a CIC Information Officer in Letterkenny. "This change in fortunes started a few months ago, and is growing every day. We are busier than ever informing laid-off workers about their entitlements, other job opportunities open to them, or retraining schemes for other careers."
In some cases, workers have not received proper notice of employment cessation, while in others there have been failures to pay the redundancy payment, holiday pay, or overtime bonuses due, according to the CIC. The discovery by employees that they have never been registered for Pay-Related Social Insurance (PRSI) is the most worrying issue of all that workers have had to face, CIC officers said.
The increase in Donegal CIC clients with employment-related issues has been occurring at a time when unemployment rates in the county have been increasing, as well. Central Statistics Office figures indicate that there has been a 27 percent increase in unemployment in Donegal over the last year, including a 10 per cent rise in the month of June.
Ms. Szarek, who is Polish and speaks many Eastern European languages, works alongside Paddy Hannigan and Siobhan McLoone in the CIC at the Letterkenny Public Services Centre, and staffs the HSE Health Information Line. She mainly deals with health issues, but is often engaged in assisting migrant workers from Eastern Europe who do not speak English fluently and who have employment-related issues.
Ms. Szarek advised all clients looking for advice on employment issues to come prepared to the CIC. "They need to have all their relevant documents (pay slips, PPSN, P45, etc.) to hand," she said. "This expedites the process for claiming benefits or looking for redress."
Ms. Szarek can be contacted by phone at 1850-636313 on Mondays through Fridays from 9.00 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.
The full article contains 413 words and appears in Journal Friday newspaper.
