Say my Name!

I read a report today about a Judge in Tennessee who has ordered that the parents of a baby boy cannot name him “Messiah”. Apparently, the Judge was quoted as saying “The word “messiah” is a title, and it’s a title that has only been earned by one person, and that one person is Jesus Christ”. 

Although the parents of the child were before the Judge because they couldn’t agree on a name, it seemed to me a bit harsh for her to dictate what they can or can’t call their child. Especially when you consider that last year one child was reportedly named “Hashtag”, and a couple from Israel named their new daughter “Like” in homage to their favourite social media sites. 

However, I was surprised to learn that in some countries naming your child is not entirely down to you. In Germany your child’s name must denote the baby’s gender, and must not affect the well-being of the child. When German parents pick their baby name it is reviewed and can be rejected if it is deemed not to meet the criteria. In Denmark, you have to choose from a pre-approved list and make a special application if your chosen name isn’t listed. There are similar rules in Iceland and New Zealand, among other countries. 

It remains to be seen whether there will be a new Messiah in Tennessee. 

(If you want to change your name in Ireland, we can help with that … just saying!)

Maria O’ Donovan

www.wolfe.ie

maria.odonovan@wolfe.ie

028 21177

Facebook & the Law: How not to fire an employee

This is a story about how not to go about dismissing an employee even when an employer thinks they are justified in giving someone their marching orders. 

Niall Kass from Perthshire, Scotland was a driver for Gillies & Mackay Ltd. One day while he was out driving in the company vehicle he was stopped by the police and had to pay a fine as his MOT was out of date. He was upset about this and posted a comment on facebook criticising his employers for not looking after the MOT properly. 

This all happened on a Friday. One of the bosses saw the post on facebook and they asked him to delete the post. On Saturday another boss called him to a meeting on Monday morning. By Monday morning the post had been removed by Mr. Kass but his employers had already decided that his behaviour amounted to serious misconduct and fired him. Mr. Kass appealed the decision within the company but they upheld the decision to dismiss him.

When the matter came to the employment appeals tribunal they had no difficulty in deciding that the dismissal was unfair. The company accepted that they did not follow proper procedures. However, the tribunal did reduce the amount of the award made to Mr. Kass by 20% on the basis that he had contributed to his own dismissal. 

If the company had followed fair procedures would they have been successful in dismissing Mr. Kass? Probably not fully successful in this case, but if the facebook post had been more critical or abusive towards the employer, or if it had not been removed within a matter of days then there could easily have been a very different result. 

It’s really important not only to have procedures in place, but also to follow them! If you’re not sure how to handle a troublesome employee, or if you think you’re being treated unfairly by your boss, give us a call.

Maria O’ Donovan

www.wolfe.ie

maria.odonovan@wolfe.ie

028 21177

Here's my number ... call me maybe!

I have spent this afternoon researching a piece of law dating back to over 100 years ago. Boring? Maybe. Necessary? Unfortunately. 

So why am I telling you about my afternoon of trawling through dusty text books and law reports? Well, the reason I had to do this is all down to a phone call that was never made. A client made a certain business decision last year. No bad thing in itself. However, at the time the client omitted to seek legal advice on the issue. When the matter came to my attention recently I had to advise that unfortunately the business decision which was taken has legal consequences which could require a court application or two to put their house back in order. Now that business decision, taken for economic reasons to reduce costs in the long term, could have unintended economic results for the client. 

The moral of the story? If you’re not sure what legal effect a decision you’re thinking of taking might have on your business, or even if it will have any legal effect, pick up the phone and give us a call. We might be able to put your mind at rest, or we might have to highlight some problems that you could be facing. We might even be able to save you some money! Either way, you’ll have all of the legal information you need to make your decision.

So, in the words of Carly Rae Jepson, call me maybe!

Maria O’ Donovan

Wolfe & Co.

028 21177

www.wolfe.ie

maria.odonovan@wolfe.ie

Court Closures in West Cork

The news has reached us that the Courts Service are to close Kinsale Courthouse. It appears that a decision has not yet been made in relation to Skibbereen Courthouse, but we understand that it is to close in the near future. 

In the Submissions made to the Courts Service by the West Cork Bar Association the difficulties that West Cork citizens will face if the number of venues is reduced were highlighted. These include:

• Lack of public transport in the area and lack of suitable public transport. It is proposed that Kinsale court matters will be heard in Bandon. There is no public transport between those towns. Public transport between Skibbereen and Bantry is limited to the summer months. This will no doubt result in people being late for court resulting in bench warrants being issued in criminal matters, or cases being struck out in civil matters.
• The travel issue will also impact on necessary witnesses. It is often difficult enough to persuade people to attend court to give evidence on your behalf. This will be doubly so where those witnesses have to travel and wait for even longer in an increased court list for the matter to be dealt with. 
• Gardai, HSE staff and traffic wardens will be required to leave their posts to travel to attend court. While courts are being closed in order to save the Courts Service money, what savings they might make will cost other State departments significantly more in terms of overtime payments and travel expenses. It will also mean, if all on duty Gardai from any one station are required in court on a particular day, that there will be no Gardai on duty on that town.

The impact on access to justice for West Cork citizens will be far-reaching. The decision taken by the Courts Service is disappointing to say the least and in our view is short-sighted.

Wolfe & Co.

www.wolfe.ie

info@wolfe.ie