Labour Court Annual Report 2023

The report details the main operating figures of the Labour Court for the year 2023 along with other activities the Court has been engaged in throughout the year. Some of the headline figures can be seen below.

The Labour Court received 1,141 appeals/referrals. This was on par with the 1138 appeals/referrals received by the Labour Court in 2022. Referrals and Appeals under the Industrial Relations Act 1946 to 2015 accounted for 31% (353) of this figure which was an increase of 43% (247 to 353). Whereas appeals under employment legislation accounted for 69% (788) cases.

In 2023, appeals of WRC adjudicator recommendations under, section 13(9) of the 1969 IR Act, increased from 106 to 151. Disputes under section 20(1), binding only on the party referring the dispute increased, from 52 to 99. The rarely-used section 20(2) referral mechanism, binding on both parties to the dispute increased from 1 to 5. Collective disputes to the Court’s conciliation service (section 26(1) of the 1990 Act) decreased from 79 to 74.

Discrimination and unfair dismissal appeals to the Court both increased in 2023. Equality claims doubled to 146, while unfair dismissal cases went up by approximately 38% to 173. There were 112 Payment of Wages claims a decrease on the 2022 figure of 204, and appeals under the Organisation of Working Time Act dropped from 248 to 80. Redundancy payment appeals increased by approximately two thirds.

There were 1,513 hearings scheduled in the Court, including hearings of appeals received in 2023 and previous years as well as those rescheduled following postponement/adjournment, this was an increase from 1,485 hearings scheduled in 2022.

A total of 753 appeals to the Court were withdrawn in 2023, a 60% increase from 2022 (457). Of the 753 withdrawn, 486 were withdrawn after the parties had been allocated a hearing date, a rise from 294 in 2022. There were 297 requests for postponement of scheduled hearings, a significant decrease from 447 in 2022.
​There were 425 recommendations/determinations/decisions issued by the Court in 2023.

There were new employment regulation orders in the contract cleaning and security JLCs, while the Court made a recommendation in respect of the Early Years JLC in September 2023.

One new Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) was formed in 2023 (Construction) while another one (Mechanical Engineering) was quashed by the High Court.

The full report can be read here.