The Final Update – Mission Accomplished

So after 6 roller coaster days, I am pleased to say that we finally made it to Nice safe and well.

I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to everyone for their support over the last few months. Between us we’ve raised over €11k for Special Olympics Ireland and we really couldn’t have done any of this without your support.

For those of you that are interested I’ve included some photo’s of the event above.

Thanks again,

Philip.

Stage 4 – Carpentras to Aix [105KM]

Some photos from yesterdays cycle to Aix.

Philip en-route to Aix.

View from the top

Mid-way through the cycle while en-route to Aix.

The group are now about to depart on the second last stage of their cycle which will bring them from Aix to Maxime (128 KM). We understand that it is getting progressively harder as the trip goes on with the elevation gain increasing from 547m to 1574m.

Sponsor Philip & Adie

Stage 3 – Logis to Carpentras [90KM]

Slightly later than scheduled, the group set off on their way to Carpentras just after 12.00pm this afternoon. The cycle took them through the lavender fields in the region via the village of Grignan which hosts a stunning Renaissance Castle.

The group are expected to finish todays cycle in the next hour which will see them reach the half way point of the challenge.

Sponsor Philip & Adie

Stage 2 –  Montargis to Nevers [143KM]

The group have now completed Stage two of their cycle to Nice. They are currently in the town of Nevers in central France.

Today they left Montargis and travelled 143km to Nevers where they arrived at around 16:45. Tomorrow they will leave to cycle to Carpentras on stage 3 of the cycle.

Two cyclist have been injured in the last 48 hours which sadly means they will be unable to complete the challenge.

Check back again tomorrow for further updates and thanks again for all your support.

Sponsor Philip & Adie

The HR Company Proudly Supporting Special Olympics Ireland

The HR Company has teamed up with Sigmar Recruitment in support of Special Olympics Ireland. This year’s event ‘Paris2Nice’ is just about to get underway with both Managing Directors of The HR Company and Sigmar joining an additional 93 cyclists as they make their way to Paris for the start of the 700 mile cycle.

The first stage of the of cycle which commences tomorrow morning Saturday 20th September 2014, will see the group travel 128km from Paris to Montargis.

Since 2011 Paris2Nice has raised €1.25m for a number of different charities. Paris2Nice is a central coordination hub, which in 2014 is supporting 95 riders to raise funds for 18 charities. The cycle will take place from 20th-25th September and the target for this year is €1,000,000!

Philip and Adie would like to pay a special thank you to everyone who has supported them over the last 9 months or contributed to this very worthy cause.

You can continue to contribute to this cause with all funds raised going directly to the charity.

Sponsor Philip & Adie

Please note Philip and Adie will be paying for the cost of the trip independently of the fundraising, so be rest assured your donation will make a difference to those who need it.

e-Day is the date from which central Government, local authorities and State agencies stop issuing and accepting cheques from businesses. e-Day is today, 19th September 2014. The particular focus of e-Day is to encourage SMEs to migrate from cheque usage. Cheques are an expensive means of payment for businesses because of bank charges, stamp duty, postage, time spent making lodgements, and unpaid cheques. Businesses are migrating away from cheque usage and opting for more efficient payment methods instead. e-Day will move this process along while reducing costs for businesses.

Mandatory electronic filing and payment

Revenue has introduced Regulations providing for the mandatory electronic filing, payment and repayment of certain taxes as part of a strategy to establish the use of electronic channels as the normal way of conducting tax business. Currently the vast majority of Revenue’s business customers have been brought into the mandatory regime.

Cheque usage

There has been a significant reduction in business cheques received and issued by Revenue over the past number of years. This has accelerated with the phased implementation of mandatory efiling and payment.

Alternative to cheques and cash

Revenue provides an extensive range of alternative payment methods to cheque and cash. The online payment methods include direct debits, single debit instructions, debit card and credit card. Payment by credit card by telephone is also available. Refunds are processed electronically direct to customers bank account.

Business customers currently using cheques

Coinciding with e-Day Revenue is actively promoting the use of alternatives to cheque payments as outlined above. Those business customers currently paying or receiving refunds by cheque are advised to prepare for e-Day. ROS customers can nominate bank accounts for payments and refunds by selecting the “Manage Bank Accounts” option on their My Services tab. Alternatively business customers can contact ROS Payment Support Unit at 1890 226 336 to discuss payment solutions with the Revenue Commissioners.

Outsourced HR Services from The HR Company ]]> http://blog.thehrcompany.ie/index.php/dont-forget-about-e-day/feed/ 0 http://blog.thehrcompany.ie/index.php/receptionist-awarded-63k-for-reduced-hours/ http://blog.thehrcompany.ie/index.php/receptionist-awarded-63k-for-reduced-hours/#comments Thu, 18 Sep 2014 16:41:24 +0000 http://blog.thehrcompany.ie/?p=660 €63,000 has been awarded to a receptionist by The Equality Tribunal after it found she was discriminated against on the grounds of gender and race, and subsequently victimised.

Sylwia Wach, a Polish receptionist began working at the Waterford Travelodge in 2007 where she was initially employed as an accommodation assistant before becoming a receptionist one year later.  Ms Wach went on maternity leave on 23rd March 2011 before returning on 21st September 2011.

On her return from maternity leave, Ms. Wach found her hours reduced, and also found that the company brought in a staff member from Cork to do shifts when Ms. Wach was available.

Her manager allegedly expressed annoyance when he learned that she had raised this matter with their HR manager. He further stated that Ms. Wach’s contract was only for 24 hours, and that therefore, that was all she was entitled to.  Ms. Wach outlined that those 24 hours were “minimum hours”, and that, on agreement with the previous manager, she had been working full time for the last three years.

Her HR manager also accused her of not having sufficient English to work the job.

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Ms Wach sent a written complaint about all the matters to her manager in October 2011 and as a result, a meeting was held in November 2011. Ms. Wach told the tribunal that following the complaint, her manager allegedly threatened to look through CCTV footage for any possible wrongdoing by her, where she was accused of selling alcohol to non-residents.

Equality Officer Stephen Bonnlander outlined that he was satisfied Ms. Wach was fluent in both written and spoken English and that Ms. Wach’s manager was “determined to make life difficult for her”.

In his judgement Mr. Bonnlander said:

“I find that the complainant is entitled to succeed in her complaint of discrimination on the ground of gender, with regard to her conditions of employment. I do not accept the complainant’s manager’s statement with regard to the complainant’s proficiency in English, and therefore do not accept his reason for not assigning her day shifts, I find that the complainant is also entitled to succeed on her complaint of discrimination in her terms and conditions on the ground of race.”

In accordance with Section 82 of the Acts, Mr Bonnlander ordered that Travelodge pay the Ms. Wach:

(i) € 21,000 which equals one year’s salary for the complainant according to her P60 form for 2010 in compensation for the effects of discrimination and

(ii) € 42,000 or the equivalent of two year’s salary in compensation for the effects of victimisation. This reflects the seriousness of the finding that the complainant found herself immediately threatened with false disciplinary charges when she exercised her right of complaint under the respondent’s own policies.

He also said that the awards were in compensation for the distress suffered by the complainant and are not in the nature of pay and therefore not subject to tax.

Do you want to protect your business with Ireland’s leading HR and Employment Law experts ? If so, please feel free to contact The HR Company on 01 2911870.

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The Protected Disclosure Bill 2013, commonly known as the ‘Whistleblowers Bill’ was published on July 3rd 2013 by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, T.D. The Bill was drafted to establish a comprehensive legislative framework protecting whistle-blowers in all industries in Ireland.

The Bill recently passed through the Oireachtas and Minister Howlin announced the commencement of the Protected Disclosures Act, 2014 today.

The purpose of this Act is to protect workers who raise concerns regarding wrongdoing (or potential wrongdoing) that they have become aware of one way or another in the workplace. The Act offers significant employment and other protections to whistle-blowers if they suffer any penalties at the hands of their employer for coming forward with information of wrongdoing in their place of work.

The Protected Disclosures Act, 2014 closely reflects best practices in whistle-blowing protection in developed nations around the world.

Minister Howlin said that the Act “sends out a very clear message that whistleblowers’ concerns must be listened to and acted on and those who make such reports should not be penalised for doing so.”

The Minister wanted to “instil all workers with confidence that should they ever need to take that decisive step and speak-up on concerns that they have about possible misconduct in the workplace, they will find that society values their actions as entirely legitimate, appropriate and in the public interest”.

Some key elements included in the Bill are as follows:

Compensation of up to a maximum of five years remuneration can be awarded in the case of an Unfair Dismissal that came about as a result of making a protected disclosure. This is a massive step forward in Ireland’s attempt to match the standards set by other established nations.

The Act also provides for interim relief if an employee is dismissed for making a protected disclosure.

*It is important to note that limitations relating to the length of service that usually apply in Unfair Dismissals cases are set aside in instances of protected disclosures.

As a result of this Act, whistle-blowers will benefit from civil immunity from actions for damages and a qualified privilege under defamation law.

The legislation provides a number of disclosure channels for potential whistle-blowers and stresses that the disclosure, rather than the whistle-blower, should be the focus of the attention.

The Act provides strong protections against the disclosure of a whistle-blower’s identity.

Protections for the whistle-blower remain in place even where the information disclosed does not reveal any wrongdoing when examined. Deliberate false reporting, however, is not be protected.

These measures should encourage more people to come forward, and feel comfortable doing so, when they become aware of (or suspect) any criminal activity, misconduct or wrongdoing in the workplace.

What should employers do?

As it applies to all employees in Ireland including contractors, agency workers, Gardaí and members of the defence forces; all employers should establish and clearly communicate a comprehensive ‘whistleblowing’ policy to ensure that staff are aware of and understand the provisions of the Protected Disclosures Act, 2014.

It is important that cultural issues and negative connotations surrounding whistle-blowing are addressed within companies to ensure that employees adhere to the appropriate whistleblowing guidelines.