A road worker who was employed by a county council for 50 years is entitled to have his pension payments increased because he worked at least nine hours of compulsory overtime every week, the High Court has ruled. The pensioner will be entitled to a future increase in his ongoing pension payments to reflect the fact that he worked at least nine hours extra, the judge said. The council contended that the employment contract only required the plaintiff to complete 39 hours per week and that any hours worked in excess of that amount constituted optional overtime hours. The court concluded that this amount of overtime hours was compulsory. His conclusions were grounded on the wording of the employment contract read in light of the employment rights legislation and the pattern of working hours and the agreed overtime spreadsheet.

Source: Irish Examiner January 14, 2026 10:03 UTC