The Labour Court has recommended the restoration of a fixed sum travel allowance at Sligo County Council on the basis that the allowance was abolished without exhausting agreed dispute resolution procedures. The Labour Court hearing took place in March, and Sligo County Council has accepted the recommendation, which requires the allowance to be restored from the date of its abolition.

IMPACT official Richy Carrothers, representing IMPACT staff at the local authority, made the case to the Labour Court that the employer had made a unilateral decision to withdraw the fixed sum travel allowance, that the taxable allowance formed part of staff pay and that staff should be compensated for the loss in line with public service agreements.

IMPACT sought compensation for the loss of the allowance in accordance with the public service agreement, which has entailed a practice of a loss of earnings formula of 1.5 times the annual loss.

The Labour Court recommendation states that the matter of whether the fixed travel allowance comes under the protection of public service agreements, and whether it should be replaced by a standard travel allowance, should be the subject of national discussions “through the appropriate negotiating structures” as a recommendation by the Court will have implications in other local authorities.

Richy said that the Labour Court’s recommendation was clearly a positive outcome for members in Sligo. “The really important part of this recommendation is that the Labour Court won’t allow employers to act unilaterally, which is of even greater significance for our members all across the country” he said.