Seanad debates

Tuesday, 4 December 2018

Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Committee Stage

 

2:30 pm

Photo of Catherine ArdaghCatherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 8, lines 17 to 20, to delete all words from and including “(1) An” in line 17 down to and including line 20.

The rationale for proposing to delete section 6B(1) and the second part of section 6B(3) of the 1994 Act stems from the fact that Fianna Fáil believes these stipulations put significant onus on small companies that may not have a HR section. Many one-man companies are overburdened by employment legislation. We do not intend to make any amendment to section 6B(2), which provides that an employer who deliberately provides false or misleading to an employee or who is reckless as to whether false or misleading information is provided as part of the statement required by section 3(1A) shall be guilty of an offence. However, in respect of section 6B(1), we believe there is a comfort to employees in that if they are not provided with a contract of employment within a six-week period, they have recourse to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. The legislation reduces that timeframe but criminal sanctions for small businesses are a step too far. The provisions are putting a significant onus on the small, one-man band type company. The provisions as they stand would have unforeseen consequences for small SMEs. They are unfair and unreasonable.

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