Continuity of Service

The length of time an employee is considered to have been employed by the employer is defined by his or her continuous service. It is important to determine the appropriate length of service for both contractual and statutory rights.

KEY POINTS

• The statement of terms and conditions should include the date the employee's continuous service began.
• The Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977-2015, contain provisions to determine an employee's continuous service, outlining circumstances in which the contract is deemed to continue even if the employee has not attended work for an extended period of time. This could be because they were on maternity leave or on strike, for example. This could be, for example, because they were on maternity leave, or on strike. In both of these cases, continuous service is not broken.
• One of the main reasons the date of continuous service is important is in order to determine whether the employee has reached the necessary length of service to be protected against unfair dismissal.