The number of inspectors policing legislation to protect employees' rights in the workplace needs to be increased substantially, according to a report published yesterday.
It also pointed to "a significant gap" in existing unfair dismissal legislation which meant an employee with less than a year's service could be dismissed for seeking "even the most basic of employment entitlements", and have no redress.
Comhairle, the agency which produced the report, also published a guide to employees' rights, detailing all entitlements. It will be available from citizen information centres.
There are only 10 inspectors in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which is "clearly inadequate to enforce the entire range of employment legislation", Comhairle said.
The agency highlights the inadequate enforcement of legislation governing the employment of young persons in particular.
"There is a general acceptance that the legislation in this area is being widely breached and that effective enforcement is absent. The results can be extremely detrimental to the educational needs of many young people," it says.
In addition, it said the lack of employment protection legislation governing people in rehabilitative employment in sheltered workshops needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.