An Equality Tribunal case has stated that employers should put in place clear procedures for ensuring that non-national employees understand their terms and conditions of employment as well as health and safety documentation.
On 30 April 2008 the Equality Tribunal issued its decision in the case of 58 Named Complainants v Goode Concrete Limited. Like many companies operating in the construction sector, Goode Concrete Limited has an extremely diverse workforce. In its total workforce of 166 people, 14 nationalities are represented and 13 different languages are spoken.
Fifty-eight employees, representing six different nationalities, brought claims against the company alleging discrimination on race grounds. Most of the complaints were similar, all alleging discriminatory treatment in the company's failure to provide each employee with a contract of employment in his native language and in failing to provide employees with the safety documentation in their own language. A number of employees also brought claims alleging race discrimination in the conduct of disciplinary and dismissal procedures.
The Equality Tribunal found that each of the complainants was subjected to race discrimination in relation to their contracts of employment and safety documentation. Each complainant was awarded €5,000 for the effects of this discrimination. One employee was awarded a further €2,000 for the stress suffered as a result of the discriminatory treatment when he returned to work late after the Christmas vacation. In addition, two employees received additional awards arising out of allegations of race discrimination in the manner of their dismissal. In total, Goode Concrete faces a compensation bill of €327,000.
Apart from the fines, the Equality Officer ordered the company to put in place clear procedures for ensuring that non-national employees understand their terms and conditions of employment and understand all safety documentation. The Equality Officer also ordered the company to maintain better records of disciplinary meetings and to provide training to management on the provisions of the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2007.
What is of concern to employers in this case and what makes it more noteworthy is that the company actually had comprehensive procedures and documentation in place with much of the documentation having been translated into Russian as well as English and it had arranged for translators to be present at safety training sessions of two weeks' duration.
The Equality Officer noted that the company had translated other documentation (mainly safety documentation) into Russian, it being the language understood by many of the nationalities employed and reasoned therefore that it was reasonable for the employer to provide employees with contracts of employment in either Russian or English. Alternatively, she suggested that if an employer is not in a position to provide contracts of employment in different languages to its employees, it should have the English language version explained to all employees, using a translator acting on behalf of the employer. She pointed out that it is not appropriate for the translator to be another employee and that all employees should be asked to sign a document confirming that the contract of employment has been explained to them.
Whilst the Equality Officer accepted that the company had endeavoured to communicate safety documentation to all of its employees she suggested that the training which employees had received should have been documented and that all employees should be obliged to sign a document confirming that they have received this training in a language that they understood. It was the failure to take these additional steps which resulted in a finding of race discrimination against the employer.
This latest decision from the Equality Tribunal goes far beyond what is demanded of employers in current Irish employment legislation and will impose an increased financial and administrative burden on companies employing foreign workers.
Employment Law Consolidation Bill
As part of the Government's and Social Partners' joint commitment to securing better compliance with employment law, it is expected that the Employment Law Consolidation Bill 2008 will be published later this year. Significant work has already been done in the preparation of the Bill. This Bill will draw together, for the first time, in a single updated format, all existing employment rights legislation with a view to codifying employment laws and dispute procedures.
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