Complainant

Respondent

Parties

Evelyn Accoto

Academic Bridge Ltd

Representatives

Self-represented

 M.P. Moloney Solicitors

Act

Complaint Reference No.

Date of Receipt

Complaint seeking adjudication by the Workplace Relations Commission under section 7 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994

CA-00069997-001

14/03/2025

The complainant was employed as an English language teacher with the respondent.

This complaint concerns section 5 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 and the requirement for an employer to notify an employee in writing whenever a change is made or occurs in the particulars of the statement provided under the 1994 Act.  

The parties agreed that the adjudication of this complaint could proceed notwithstanding other complaints.

At a staff meeting with the respondent’s Director of Studies on 10 January 2025, the complainant advised that she did not agree to a change in both contract hours and duration of rest breaks.

The complainant received an email of 10 January 2025 about these proposed changes.   The complainant did not receive anything else from the respondent in relation to the changes.

The complainant was not informed about class timetable changes effective 3 March 2025 but learned this from a social media post addressed to students on 18 January 2025.

The respondent notified the complainant of proposed adjustments to teaching hours, breaks and class timings by email of 10 January 2025.

The changes were implemented by the respondent on 3 March 2025.

There was a process of engagement between the respondent and a Union, of which the complainant was a member, in late February/early March 2025 in relation to the issuing of revised contracts of employment.   The outcome of a ballot on 31 March 2025 was to not accept the new contracts/terms of employment.

I have fully reviewed the documentation before me and considered the submissions of the parties at the hearing. 

The complaint referred to the Commission concerned the respondent’s change, without the complainant’s agreement, to the complainant’s hours of work and the duration of rest breaks.

It is worth noting at the outset that the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, as amended, (the “1994 Act”) is not concerned with the right of an employer to vary or change terms and conditions of employment. 

The parties agreed at the hearing that the issue for adjudication was whether the email of 10 January 2025 met the respondent’s obligations under section 5 of the 1994 Act.

The Relevant Law

Section 5(1) of the 1994 Act provides as follows:-

“Subject to subsection (2), whenever a change is made or occurs in any of the particulars of the statement furnished by an employer under section 3, 4 or 6, the employer shall notify the employee in writing of the nature and date of the change as soon as may be thereafter, but not later than—

(a) the day on which the change takes effect, or

(b) where the change is consequent on the employee being required to work outside the State for a period of more than 1 month, the time of the employee's departure.”

The Relevant Facts

The material facts, set out below, were not in dispute between the parties.

The complainant’s full-time employment with the respondent commenced in July 2018.

A written statement of terms of employment issued by the respondent and receipt of same was acknowledged by the complainant in January 2023.

Clauses in the previously mentioned written statement referable to hours of work and rest breaks provided as follows:-

“Your normal hours of work are usually 37.2 hours per week between the hours of 9.00am and 5.00pm.  Monday to Friday with agreed paid lunch breaks of one hour each day.  You may be required to work additional hours when authorised and as necessitated by the needs of the business.  Your direct contact teaching hours are 30 per week, 6 hours a day.

…

Full-time employees are entitled to 5 hours of lunch break pay …”

At a staff meeting on 10 January 2025, the complainant voted against a change to contract hours and to rest breaks.  On the same date, the complainant received an email from Mr Islam, director of the respondent, entitled update on financial situation and proposed policy changes.  Under a heading ‘proposed adjustments’, the email set out the following, in relevant part, in relation to daily teaching hours, lunch break and class timings:-

·       Daily Teaching Hours:

Full-time:  6 hours of teaching + 40 minutes of paid breaks (total 6.4 hours/day)

…

·       Lunch Break:  Reduced to 50 minutes

·       Class Timings:  Morning:  9:00 AM – 12:10 PM  Afternoon:  1:00 PM – 4:10 PM

In February 2025, the respondent notified the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment of a proposed collective redundancy.  The respondent engaged in a consultation process with a Union from late February/early March 2025 regarding new terms and conditions of employment.  The outcome of a ballot on 31 March 2025 was to reject the proposed terms and conditions.

The adjustments to timetable and teaching hours, proposed in January 2025, were implemented by the respondent on 3 March 2025. 

The complainant worked the adjusted timetable and teaching hours from 3 March until her employment with the respondent terminated on 8 April 2025 on grounds of redundancy.   

The complainant referred this complaint of a contravention of section 5 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 to the Workplace Relations Commission on 14 March 2025.

Findings

Section 5 of the 1994 Act concerns notification in writing of the nature and date of a change made or occurring in any of the particulars of terms of employment required to be provided in a written statement under the 1994 Act. 

The complaint of a breach of section 5 requires establishing in the first instance whether the change the subject of the complaint is to particulars required to be provided under the 1994 Act.  Where the change in this case related to normal daily working hours and the terms and duration of rest breaks, I am satisfied that they are matters in respect of which particulars are required to be provided under the 1994 Act.

The email of 10 January 2025 to the complainant proposed a number of necessary adjustments and referred to considering implementing changes.  The proposed adjustments included adjustments to daily teaching hours, class timings and lunch break.  There was no reference to the date of the proposed adjustments taking effect.

I am not satisfied that social media posts addressed to students from Academic Direction regarding a new class timetable with effect from 3 March 2025 discharged the respondent’s obligation to the complainant under section 5 of the 1994 Act. 

Nor am I satisfied that the process of engagement in late February/early March 2025 discharged the respondent’s obligation to the complainant under section 5 as, on the information provided, it was a consultation process in relation to revised terms and conditions/contracts of employment, broader in scope than the subject matter of this complaint.   

On the application of the law to the facts, I therefore find this complaint to be well founded and order the respondent to pay to the complainant compensation in the sum of €728.00, equivalent to approximately 1 week’s remuneration, which I consider just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances. In determining the sum of compensation, I have taken into account the fact that the changes that took effect on 3 March 2025 were the same as those communicated to the complainant as proposed adjustments in the email of 10 January 2025, and further that the complainant was aware from a social media post of 18 January 2025 of the effective date of the change to class timetable.

For the reasons set out above, my decision is that the complaint of a contravention of section 5 of the 1994 Act is well founded, and I order the respondent to pay to the complainant compensation of €728.00 in relation to the contravention.

Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 - Notification of changes in statement particulars