Ms Cathy Maguire:

I thank the joint committee on behalf of the Employment Bar Association, EBA, for inviting us make submissions. Our submission sets out in detail the points we wish to raise with the committee. I will address members briefly on whether the joint committee should consider amending existing legislation rather than introducing new legislation. In the 1970s and early 1980s, which were the early days of employment legislation, we had approximately five key employment Acts. Since then, the number of Acts has increased to approximately 40. Rather than add another layer, the committee could consider adapting existing legislation to address the particular problems that have been identified in the Limerick study and at the committee's hearings. These problems are faced by workers who are not contractually entitled to the hours they work.

The advantage of this approach is that employees and employers are already familiar with their rights under the relevant Acts as well as the mechanisms for enforcing them. Hopefully, if the committee adopts this approach, it will make the new rights more accessible to both sides. In considering which legislation it may wish to consider, if the committee takes the view that workers whose contracts do not reflect the actual hours worked do not have sufficient notice of their hours from week to week, it could consider amending section 17 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, which already provides certain rights in this regard. However, the committee may take the view that this needs to be extended.

The committee could also consider inserting new provisions in the Act, perhaps along the lines of those contained in the Bill put forward by the sponsor, albeit to reflect the original intention of the sponsor, as we understand it, so as to confer on employees a right to request a statement of their hours over a reference period, defined by the Act, and then a right to acquire a contractual entitlement reflecting the hours they have in fact worked over the reference period. If that were to be done, it would also be appropriate to amend the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 to include in the contractual terms or terms of employment the right to request the statement of hours over the reference period and that the statement must incorporate the hours to which the employee has been deemed to be entitled under the Organisation of Working Time Act, as amended. This is the mechanism by which the committee could achieve the end it seeks.

If the committee wishes to continue with the Bill, as proposed by the sponsor, it may, as Ms Bolger indicated, need to consider adjusting section 3 to reflect the apparent intention of the sponsor that the hours reflect the hours worked rather than increasing them. In addition, it should perhaps take account of any unusual circumstance which may have given rise to increased hours over the reference period and incorporate the test on objective justification. Those are my submissions.