LCR23229

PARTIES:

DIVISION:

SUBJECT:

Complaint under Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.

BACKGROUND:

This dispute could not be resolved at local level and was the subject of a Conciliation Conference under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission.

As agreement was not reached, the dispute was referred to the Labour Court on September 3rd, 2025, in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.         

A Labour Court hearing took place on the 12th of February 2026.

RECOMMENDATION:

The matter before the Court is a dispute between members of the Maintenance Team, represented by Connect, and their employer about the application of employer pension contributions. The company has recognition agreements with Unite, Connect and SIPTU. 

Company Position

The definition of pay for members of the Maintenance Team in the company’s Defined Contribution (DC) Scheme is clearly defined in a collective agreement concluded between the parties in 2011.

An administrative error affecting the calculation of pensionable pay for members of the Maintenance Team was identified in October 2021. The Union has resisted all attempts to resolve the matter and to return to terms and condition conditions of employment as specified in employee contracts of employment and the 2011 collective agreement.  Overpayments range from €6,452 to €23,338 per person with a total of overpayment €171,615 at February 2026. 

The Company put forward various repayment proposals to resolve the issue. The workers have continued to benefit from the administrative error, as the Company did not reduce contributions or attempt to recoup the overpayment, pending resolution of the matter through the agreed dispute resolution mechanism. The Company accepts that the error originated with the company. For that reason, and in an effort to resolve the matter no repayment is sought.

Union Position

The Union accepts that employee contracts of employment states that pension contributions are based on basic pay plus notional elements (in some cases), however, in practice pension contributions have been calculated based on full pay. 

In 2018, the overpayment error was discovered by management, however, no changes were implemented.  A shop steward’s record of a meeting from that time notes that a member of management told members to forget about the issue, which led employees to believe that the matter was resolved. Since then, new recruits receive pension contributions based on their full salary calculations. The established practice applied by the company is that pension contributions are based on full pay. This is now embedded through custom and practice.

The Union seeks that employer pension contributions based on full salary are retained on a red-circled basis or, in the alternative, a significant compensatory measure is made to the workers concerned.

The Court has given careful consideration to the oral and written submissions made.

The Union accepts that the dispute arose due to an administrative error on the part of the company which led to an overpayment of employer pension contributions over an extended period. While the Union contends that the error was identified in 2018, the Company’s position is that the oversight came to light as part of a review in 2021 and that, since then, the workers have continued to benefit from significant overpayments pending efforts to resolve the matter.

The Court notes that the method for determining pensionable pay for the workers encompassed by this dispute is set out in a collective agreement concluded between the Union and the Company in 2011. The longstanding position of the Labour Court is to uphold collective agreements in place between parties, unless requested by both parties to do otherwise.  The Court notes that the workers concerned have benefitted from overpayments made in error by the company for an extended period.

Having regard to all the circumstances, the Court finds in favour of the Company and recommends that the parties accept that that pensionable pay is calculated in accordance with definitions set out in employee contracts of employment and the 2011 collective agreement.  The Court recommends that the Union accept the proposal outlined by the Company in relation to non-recoupment of overpayments made to date. Finally, the Court recommends that implementation of the above pension calculations take effect from 30 June 2026. 

The Court so recommends.

	Signed on behalf of the Labour Court
	Katie Connolly
AR	______________________
19 February 2026	Deputy Chairman

NOTE

Enquiries concerning this Recommendation should be in writing and addressed to Mr Aidan Ralph, Court Secretary.