At the recent Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Centenary Conference in Dublin, Adrian Twomey, of Advokat Employment Law Solicitors, stated that employers continue to make the same mistakes each year with carelessly drafted employment contracts leading to litigation and cost to the employer.

One example is the failure to manage fixed-term contracts – where contracts lapse. Such a lapse could lead to the company having to accept that the employee is effectively permanent. Another example was the case of an employee transferred in a TUPE situation to another company, and issued with a new contract with a probation period, despite the fact that the employee had over 4 years’ experience in the previous company. When the company made the employee redundant, they issued the employee with one months’ notice which was the probation period notice.  The employee argued that he was entitled to 6 months’ notice and was awarded €32,000 – the equivalent of 5 months’ salary. The judge stated that the ‘inclusion of a probation clause was ludicrous’.

The importance of seeking good advice for implementing and changing contracts is vital, and Voltedge offers this service to all it’s clients, to ensure compliance and practical implementation.