O’Briens Sandwich Bars threatens redundancies over Sunday pay rates

THE founder of O’Briens Sandwich Bars has warned that his company may lay off 60 full-time staff unless it is permitted to stop paying overtime on Sundays.

Brodie Sweeney told a group of business leaders in Cork that he had called on the Enterprise Minister Mary Coughlan to amend legislation that rules that his employees must receive the extra rate.

Pay and conditions of employment are subject to employment rights orders (EROS) created by the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) system and O’Briens’ outlets are governed by two JLCs in the restaurant and catering sector — one for the boroughs of Dublin and Dún Laoghaire and the other for the rest of the State.

“Since the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) inspections began in our industry, some of our operations have ceased trading on Sundays, as they are trading at a loss to do so. In particular, our stores outside Dublin and Dún Laoghaire are finding it more difficult to open due to the ‘double time’ premium imposed. This will inevitably lead to closure of O’Briens outlets on Sundays, inconvenience to the public and redundancies, estimated to be a minimum of 60 full-time employees,” Mr Sweeney told the Cork Chamber Business Breakfast.

“In modern Ireland, Sunday trading is a fact of life. Most employers offer Sunday hours on a purely voluntary basis, and of course we have no ability to charge extra to our customers, to reflect the increased cost,” Mr Sweeney said.

Currently 75% of O’Briens’ 126 stores in Ireland are open on Sundays.

“NERA are only doing what they are instructed to, and we absolutely believe that employers should respect the laws of the country we operate in,” said Mr Sweeney. “But this outmoded, outdated piece of legislation is well overdue for reform.”