Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Zero-hour contracts are matters of contract law. They must be entered into freely by the employer and employee and cannot be forced on an employee. While the CSO does not collect data on zero-hour contracts, this does not mean that there is no information available regarding them.

The National Employment Rights Authority, NERA, which is within the remit of my Department, has a team of inspectors who enter workplaces on a daily basis. NERA also has an information service that provides information in response to queries from employees and employers on issues of concern. My officials are in regular contact with NERA with a view to ascertaining emerging issues that may need to be addressed from a policy perspective. Zero-hour contracts have not arisen as an issue in this context.

It must be noted that much of the media coverage regarding zero-hour contracts relates to the situation in the UK. It is possible to distinguish the position in Ireland on zero-hour contracts from that of the UK by virtue of the fact that, in section 18 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, we have a specific protection for employees on zero-hour contracts. There is no equivalent provision in UK legislation. In the UK, employees on zero-hour contracts are only paid for time spent working. If they are not given hours by their employers, they receive no compensation.

In Ireland, the zero-hour protection set out in section 18 covers situations where, for example, an employee is sent home if work is quiet or is requested to be available for work and is not, on the day, asked to work. Where an employee suffers a loss by not working hours he or she was requested to work or to be available to work, the zero-hour provisions of the Act ensure that he or she is compensated for 25% of the time that he or she is required to be available or 15 hours, whichever is the lesser. Of course, the level of compensation available under section 18 may be impacted if the employee gets some work.

In addition to protections under section 18, the protections in the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 and other employment rights legislation that apply to part-time employees also apply to employees on zero-hour contracts.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The foregoing demonstrates that existing protections in Irish employment rights legislation for persons on zero hours contracts are better than protections in some other EU countries. Finally, it is worth noting that under EU law, zero hours contracts are in themselves permitted as long as they are used in a way that respects the relevant provisions of EU law, with particular reference to workers' health and safety.

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