Ms Marguerite Bolger:

I would suggest that six months does not, perhaps, cover the notion of seasonal employment. Seasonal work in the hotel industry would typically be work during the summer and perhaps during mid-term breaks and so on when occupancy levels are high. Six months is a perhaps a little artificial for seasonal employees bearing in mind that they might have had to work during a once-off event in respect of which there was particular demand within a particular season. Six months may be a little short. Nine months is a possibility.

The committee might bear in mind that 12 months is the period of employment required to be covered under the Unfair Dismissals Act and it, in effect, is almost like a statutory probationary period. In other words, a person has 12 months as an employee to prove his or her mettle and thereafter acquires a right to his or her job. A 12 month timeframe may be more of a policy issue rather than one on which we should comment today. Six months may be a little low but 12 months is the period that has been identified and is generally seen as a successful period in terms of cover under the Unfair Dismissals Act, such that once an employee passes 12 months in an employment, he or she has a right to the job. The committee could look to the 12 month timeframe in the context of when a person gains entitlement to particular hours. It may be a little on the high side and as I said that is more of a policy consideration but I would suggest that the six month timeframe has certain vulnerabilities in terms of there being combined seasonal with unexpected increases in hours. I would not set the timeframe at higher than 12 months, which we would suggest is the absolute limit reflected by the notion of a statutory probationary period under the Unfair Dismissals Act.