Minister promises reform of workplace rights in autumn

NEW LEGISLATION to streamline employment rights and industrial relations structures will be introduced in the autumn, Minister for Enterprise and Jobs Richard Bruton has said.

The move will see the establishment of a Workplace Relations Commission. This will bring together the existing services of the Equality Tribunal, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Labour Relations Commission and some elements of the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

Separately, there will be a new single appeals body, which will effectively be an expanded Labour Court. This will also contain the appellate functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

In a speech at the Industrial Relations News annual conference in UCD yesterday, the Minister said all initial or first-instance complaints about employment law breaches would be made to the Workplace Relations Commission.

“Three options for resolving complaints will be available – early resolution, inspection and adjudication. The Workplace Relations Commission will have a greater capacity to determine which of these interventions by the State is the most appropriate and most cost-effective in any given case.”

He said the hearings of the Workplace Relations Commission would be held in private, but parties would have the right to request that their case be dealt with in public.

Mr Bruton said there would also be changes to compliance and enforcement arrangements, including the possible introduction of on-the-spot fines.

Labour inspectors will in future be known as compliance officers, and the Minister said the aim of the Compliance and Enforcement Service would be to seek voluntary compliance where breaches of employment law were detected.

“As an aid to compliance, and in order to reduce the need for costly and time-consuming enforcement proceedings, I am examining the possibility of introducing a scheme of administrative or on-the-spot fines and making more effective use of Labour Court orders for certain contraventions.”

Ibec director Brendan McGinty suggested there could be a fee introduced to deter multiple claims, which could be refunded if the case was successful. He urged that a cap be placed on awards of two years’ salary or €100,000.

Tom O’Driscoll of Siptu said the union would be absolutely opposed to capping awards.