There was almost a 19 per cent increase in the number of claims and appeals disposed of by the Employment Appeals Tribunal last year, from 2,695 to 3,199, according to the annual report published yesterday.
Of the 3,199, many were withdrawn before or during hearing. Some 958 cases were heard by the tribunal under the various acts of the Oireachtas within its remit.
The body, established in 1967 to adjudicate in disputes on redundancy, also saw an 11.5 per cent increase in the total number of cases referred to it in 2000.
While much of the tribunal's workload last year centred on hearing unfair dismissal, minimum notice and redundancy payment cases, there were also quite a number of appeals under the Protection of Employees Acts, as a large number of workers from one company brought cases.
Ms Mary Faherty, chairwoman of the tribunal, said the trend in last year's report concerning holiday entitlement claims continued in 2000, with the number of claims referred reaching 270.
This was an increase of 35 on the 1999 figure.
"The number of claims under this Act now being referred to the tribunal in conjunction with other claims, justifies the decision of the legislature to give the tribunal jurisdiction in relation to holiday complaints," she said.
The tribunal continued to be an effective and expeditious forum for employees and employers to litigate disputes. In this way, the tribunal was playing its part in making an effective contribution towards a stable industrial relations environment.
The highest number of cases, 1,749, out of the 3,377 referred to the tribunal came under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts.