Workers ‘happy’ with longer wait for severance application

Minister of Labour and Social Relations Colin Jordan has declared workers’ support for changes to the Severance Payments Act which extends the period in which employers are required to pay severance.

Jordan said employees were more interested in long-term employment than in receiving severance.

Speaking in Parliament during debate on the Severance Payments (Amendment) Bill 2020 on Tuesday night, Jordan said workers had given input into the new legislation and were in full agreement.

The amendment, which specifically targets workers in the hotel and hospitality industry, means employers who laid-off workers between March 1 and May 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic will now have a 22-week cushion before those employees are allowed to apply for severance payments.

Jordan said workers had opted for long-term employment rather than lump-sum payouts.

The labour minister said: “The right to severance kicks in in the substantive act at 13 weeks. Now we are working through and had to work through how do we defer, or do we defer that right that is enshrined in the Severance Payment Act. How do we balance a defer of that right with providing long-term employment for the workers who have that right and that is where the dialogue makes a whole lot of sense.

“In that dialogue, the workers said to us and the workers said to business, ‘we are interested in long-term employment’. Workers are saying that ‘we have obligations and we recognize that these lump sums sometimes look good but they disappear just as fast as you get them’.”

In describing the amendment as a  “balancing act”, Jordan said Government had to consider calls from employees, their unions and employers.

He said while at the end of the dialogue between the two parties each side did not get exactly what it wanted, they were both satisfied with the outcome.

“And that is the essence of good leadership and good governance where everybody wins but for the long-term good of everybody and the long-term good of the country,” Jordan added.

He noted that workers were satisfied that during the period of time they were laid off they would continue to receive unemployment benefits from the National Insurance Scheme for up to 26 weeks.