WRC procedures 'barrier' to low-paid workers – CLM

Community Law & Mediation (CLM) has said that access to civil legal aid must be prioritised by the Government, amid concerns that the COVID-19 impact will erode employment, housing and other rights of marginalised groups.

The community law centre and charity, based in Coolock, Dublin 5, which publishes its 2019 annual report today assisted more than 3,100 people through its free legal advice, advocacy, mediation and education services last year.  

Employment, housing and family law issues dominated demand for its services. The charity has seen a doubling in employment law queries since the onset of COVID-19.

Complex

However, CLM notes that employment and equality law can be complex and technical and its clients are often working in low-paid, precarious jobs, and cannot afford the services of a lawyer.

“While the intention in creating the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) was to remove the need for lawyers from the workplace disputes process, it is our experience that, in practice, employers tend to engage legal representation which creates a real cause for concern from the point of view of equality of arms and natural justice,” the annual report says.

“There are other accessibility issues with the WRC too, such as the increasingly online process, and the Labour Court’s requirements for 'front loading' appeals with detailed written submissions, often from unrepresented lay litigants.

Written submissions

“The WRC requires written submissions in advance in employment equality claims, creating an often-insurmountable barrier for claimants.

“The short time periods within which claims must be submitted to the WRC also acts as a barrier.

“Most claims must be submitted within six months, with an extension to 12 months in very limited circumstances. For an individual who is emerging from a difficult experience, this is an extremely tight deadline,” the CLM says.

The charity also believes that urgent changes are needed in Ireland`s now 40-year-old civil legal aid scheme – specifically, to make the financial means test more inclusive.

Legal aid should also be made available for employment, equality and social welfare cases, CLM says.

Chief executive Rose Wall said this morning that the centre sees very difficult cases, and vulnerable people, coming through its door.

Nowhere to turn

“Often, they have nowhere else to turn,” she continued.

“In one instance, we assisted a woman who had been a loyal employee for more than 35 years but had been let go suddenly and without a redundancy payment when the company she worked for closed.

“She applied for the Redundancy Payments Scheme run by the Department of Social Protection but this was refused. We wrote to the Department on her behalf and lodged a complaint with the WRC.

“Ultimately, the decision was reviewed and she received the full amount due to her. She described our service as being `like a life buoy` as she had given up hope.”

Since the onset of the virus crisis, requests for legal advice in relation to employment concerns have more than doubled.

Disparities

CLM has witnessed disparities and inequalities in how marginalised groups experience the pandemic.

Rose Wall added that access to justice can play a vital role in protecting and empowering vulnerable groups.

“We welcome recent reports that the Minister for Justice Helen McEntee plans to carry out a review of the Civil Legal Aid Scheme, but we need to see reforms in the short-term,” she said.

Welfare appeals

CLM has also launched a new iteration of Casebase – a database of reports on decisions of the Social Welfare Appeals Office, which is a useful resource for those considering an appeal, or for advocacy organisations. 

The charity will also shortly expand its services with the opening of a new Centre for Environmental Justice which will focus on engaging communities experiencing poverty, social exclusion or inequality in relation to their environmental rights.

CLM was established in Coolock in 1975 as the first independent, community-based law centre in Ireland as part of the movement for civil legal aid – modelled on the American neighbourhood law centre model.

209 clinics

It has a panel of 80 volunteer barristers, solicitors and mediators and held 209 legal clinics last year.

The main categories of advice offered were:

• Family law – 24%,
• Employment law – 16%,
• Debt – 11%,
• Housing ­– 10%,
• Wills/probate – 7%.

There were 363 disputes requiring help from CLM`s mediation service, reflecting a growing demand for mediation as an alternative approach to resolving disputes.

The majority of mediation cases involved parental or wider family issues, followed by community/neighbour conflicts.