Fears over impact of reforming employment relations bodies

Concern over the unforeseen consequences of delegalising the employment relations process was expressed at the Employment Appeals…

Concern over the unforeseen consequences of delegalising the employment relations process was expressed at the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) yesterday.

Chairman of the EAT ad-hoc committee Noel Dowling was part of a delegation speaking to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise about proposed reforms for merging five employment relations bodies.

He was concerned about one of the motivations of the reforms being to “lighten the regulatory burden on employers”. Some people would read that as making it easier for employers to dismiss people.

Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary said the burden and amount of regulation was not just affecting those in employment but those out of employment as people were “scared of hiring”.

Genevieve Carbery

Genevieve Carbery

Genevieve Carbery is Deputy Head of Audience at The Irish Times