Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank an Cathaoirleach. I thank the witnesses for their attendance here this afternoon and for the submissions they presented to the committee. I also thank them for the very important work they do throughout society in respect of access to justice and equality, not just at this time, but at all times. I have a question for Ms Barry. Her submission was very detailed and covered quite a lot of areas. I only have five minutes, so I do not have time to ask questions on all the areas covered. I want to ask questions, in particular, on employment rights for workers during the pandemic. I note that queries to the witnesses' services about employment law are up by almost 60%. This is perhaps unsurprising given the upheaval in employment and the impact on employers and employees at this time. In Ms Barry's report, she states that there is no legal obligation on employers to use a mandatory procedure in writing to place employees on lay-off from their jobs, or a specific written procedure to notify them that their lay-offs are coming to an end and the date when they will be expected to return to work. It is her contention that there is no legal basis to compel employers to inform employees of a lay-off, or at the end of a lay-off period, in writing. Could she expand on that point, and the impact it is having on employees?