Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Government is taking a number of initiatives to ensure that the economic recovery that is under way is benefiting all citizens and that the jobs we are helping to create are decent jobs with decent pay. The setting up of a low pay commission is one of the key commitments in the statement of Government priorities agreed last July.

The principal function of the low pay commission will be to examine and make recommendations each year to the Minister on the national minimum wage with a view to securing that the national minimum wage, where adjusted, is adjusted incrementally having had regard to changes in earnings, productivity, overall competitiveness and the likely impact any adjustment will have on employment and unemployment levels.

Alongside examining the national minimum wage, the low pay commission will also be tasked with examining matters related generally to the functions of the commission under the Act. This work programme will be agreed by Government and presented to the commission in February of each year. In addition, in the discharging of its function, the commission will be required to make recommendations that are evidence-based using a suite of agreed data sets or, where required, based on bespoke research undertaken at the behest of the commission. It is intended that the interim membership will constitute the commission when it is established on a statutory basis. A particular function of the commission will be to ensure that any advice or recommendations it makes to Government is evidence-based utilising agreed data; carrying out research and consultations with employers, workers and their representatives; and taking written and oral evidence from a wide range of organisations.

With a view to ensuring that the low pay commission is in a position to carry out its functions as soon as possible, the commission, in the first instance, will be established on an interim basis in the next few weeks. Legislation to provide for the establishment of the low pay commission on a statutory basis will be published as soon as possible thereafter with a view to its enactment as soon as possible in 2015.

Another key commitment of Government provided for in the statement of Government priorities is the commissioning of a study into the prevalence of zero-hours and low-hours contracts and the impact of such contracts on employees. Earlier this week, I announced the appointment of the University of Limerick to carry out the study. The appointment of UL follows a competitive tendering process. The key objectives of the study are to fill the gap that currently exists in terms of the hard data in that area, to assess the impact of zero-hours and low-hours contracts on employees and to enable me to make any evidence-based policy recommendations I can to Government on foot of the study. I have asked the group to come back to me with specific recommendations pertaining to the three pieces of legislation in particular that govern this area.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

All sectors of the economy, both public and private, will come within the scope of the study, including the retail, hospitality, education and health sectors in particular. The study will examine how zero-hours and low-hours contracts operate in practice and how they impact on employees. It will assess the advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of employer and employee and assess the current employment rights legislation as it applies to employees on such contracts. The study will also consider recent developments in other jurisdictions, including the UK in particular.

It is expected that a wide range of stakeholders will be canvassed to contribute to the study, including employers, trade unions, relevant Departments and relevant State bodies. I expect the study to be completed within six months of commencement. While I do not want to anticipate the outcome of the study or the Government's consideration of the study's findings, I have made it clear that if the study finds such work contracts have a serious and detrimental impact on citizens then the Government will act.

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