During the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond, many employers have resorted to reducing employees’ pay – some with, and some without, consultation and/or agreement.  It all happened so quick, it was all so new and unfamiliar, and many employers understandably made some rather swift changes to better position their businesses to survive.  We are now seeing some of the consequences coming through the employment institutions, with a few cases coming out of the Employment Relations Authority that are giving some serious cause for concern!

Ready, willing and able to work

These cases centre around the principle that in order to be paid, employees need to be ‘ready, willing and able’ to work.  Many employers have taken the position that during the COVID-19 lockdown, employees were not ‘able’ to work, and as a result they were discharged from their normal obligations to pay wages and salary in accordance with the relevant employment agreements. However, while that may apply in some circumstances, we are now seeing is that is not necessarily the case!

Continue reading → Consequences of COVID-19 starting to show