1 - About this application
This application can be applied for if your employer does not follow a decision made by an Adjudication Officer of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) or a decision made by the Labour Court after an appeal of the Adjudication Officer's decision.
This application allows you to enforce a decision made by the WRC or the Labour Court where either party has not taken the action as specified in the decision. This is called an Enforcement Order.
A WRC decision becomes legally binding if it is not appealed with 42 days. If the decision is not carried out within 56 days, you can apply to the District Court to have it enforced.
The application must be made in the District Court district where the employer resides or carries on business.
Who can help
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) or the Labour Court can assist you process.
The application can be made by the following:
- The employee or their legal representative
- A trade union, with consent of the employee
- An excepted body of which the employee is a member
Enforcement cases of a decision made by the WRC or LC can be complicated. You should consider getting legal advice to better understand the options available to you.
2 - How to make your application
You can download your application form Form No. 40C.01 Notice of Statutory Application or contact your local court office and they can send an application form to you by post. The person making the application is the claimant and the person you are making the application against is the respondent .
You will need to include the following information to complete your application:
- District Court number and area
- A record number which will be inserted by the court office
- Enter the enactment which is the section of the legislation that is relevant to your application - Section 43 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015
- Your full name and address
- The respondent's full name and address
- The date and time of court which the court office will give you
- Details of what you are asking the judge to do
- List of documents you intend to rely on or use in court, including the decision of the WRC or Labour court and attach copies also
- The address of the court office where you filed your application
You or your solicitor will be required to complete an affidavit.
Court fee
The fee for this application is €80. It can be paid at your local court office (or in Dublin, at the Stamping Office in the Áras Uí Dhálaigh building in the Four Courts complex) by card or cash.
Next steps after paying your fee
The court office will check your application, give it a record number and they will return the form to you. You will need three copies of the stamped application:
- The original for the court office
- A copy to be served upon the respondent
- A copy for yourself
3 - Serving and submitting your application
Serving your application
You must send a copy of your application to the respondent. This is called serving the application. Please see our serving and proof of service page for more information.
The Respondent must be notified at least 21 days prior to the court date by registered post. Your post office will give you a certificate of postage.
Submitting your application
A copy of the stamped application with the declaration of service attached must be lodged in your local District Court office at least 7 days prior to the court date.
Please see our preparing for civil court pages for more information on what to expect in court.
4 - Attending court
You and your legal representative (if you have one) should arrive on time on your court date and make yourself known to the court when your list number and name is called out. The time that your case will be heard will depend on where it is on the list. Sometimes your case may not be dealt with until later in the day.
The judge will hear the evidence and make a decision on your case.
Results from your hearing
Your case can have a number of outcomes.
The judge may:
- Dismiss your application
- Adjourn your case for more information
- Grant your application to enforce the decision and order the respondent to follow the WRC or labour court decision
- Award compensation instead of enforcing the decision where the WRC ordered that the employee should have their job back
What happens after your hearing
See our What happens after Civil Court page for more information on what to expect after your court hearing.
