Written answers

Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation

Employment Rights

9:00 pm

Photo of Tom FlemingTom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 134: To ask the Minister for Jobs; Enterprise and Innovation if he will confirm the length of delay in cases referred to the Employment Appeals Tribunal and Rights Committee Services; and the steps he is taking to shorten the periods. [17768/11]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The Rights Commissioner Service comes under the direct remit of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) which is a statutory body that is independent of me in the performance of its functions. Accordingly, the length of time it takes for the Rights Commissioner Service to schedule hearings is a day-to-day matter for the Service and I have forwarded your Question to the Chief Executive of the LRC and asked that he respond directly to you on the matter.

Insofar as the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) is concerned, the EAT deals with disputes under 18 pieces of Employment Rights legislation. Members of the EAT panel - employee nominee Members, employer nominee Members and independent Chair and Vice-Chairs - are appointed for fixed terms of office and their services are utilised as required. My Department's direct responsibility in relation to the operations of the EAT extends to the provision of staffing resources, ICT facilities and accommodation for the Tribunal.

The EAT has seen a marked increase in its caseload in recent years, as it is one of the front-line services directly impacted upon by the significant economic downturn. Between 2007 and 2009, the number of claims coming to the Tribunal trebled, although there was a slight (7%) decrease in new claims lodged in 2010. However, the first half of 2011 has continued to show a high level of claims being submitted and contested.

Tribunal Staff are conscious that parties in dispute are anxious to have claims dealt with as early as possible and are working extremely hard to deal with the sizeable increase in claims submitted. In that regard, there has been a large increase in the number of claims disposed of by the Tribunal in recent years. These efforts have resulted in a 51% increase in cases disposed of in 2010 over 2008.

The increased number of cases referred to the EAT in recent times has, nonetheless, had a strong impact on case processing timeframes. I am informed that the longest waiting periods at the end of June 2011 ranged from 60 weeks to 90 weeks, although such figures can be somewhat misleading in terms of the very different nature of claims referred to the Tribunal.

Although the EAT conducts hearings in about 36 locations across the State, where the number of cases is relatively small, the Tribunal may wait until a sufficient number of cases are on hand before hearings in certain locations can be listed, so as to maximise value for money in relation to the costs of hearings outside Tribunal HQ. Once a critical mass of cases is assembled, 5 days of hearings in a single location can reduce the "waiting time" in the area concerned by approximately 30 weeks.

In relation to managing its caseload and costs, I understand that the EAT targets areas with the longest waiting period and highest level of claims outstanding, within the resources it currently has available, when scheduling hearings.

The EAT has been pro-active in driving efficiencies as it addresses the significantly increasing demands for its services at a time of significantly constrained resources. Divisions of the Tribunal are sitting longer, listing more cases per hearing, and seeking to manage the caseload so as to maximise efficiency. These efficiencies have resulted in improvements in the service provided to individual applicants and respondents and have also resulted in a significant increase in the EAT's output. In this connection, over 6,000 claims were processed between January and end-December 2010 – the highest number on record.

The EAT is also piloting the streaming of certain types of cases in particular, in order to increase the number of cases being dealt with and assist parties in these instances. The Tribunal is also in the process of developing a "fillable" electronic form, which will facilitate the more expeditious processing of a claim form once lodged. Furthermore, the Tribunal is piloting a specialist Division to hear claims submitted in relation to redundancy payments which are significant in number and where determinations by the EAT are necessary.

Most recently, my Department has supported the EAT in processing its increased caseload through the assigning of additional Tribunal Secretaries and support from the National Employment Rights Authority of my Department in managing the administration of case logging and document preparation. Such cross-unit support has been a vital support to the Tribunal in tackling its caseload.

All of these measures are being taken against the backdrop of severe resource constraints - both monetary and staffing – and I can assure the Deputy that my Department will keep the workload challenges for the EAT under review with a view to assisting it further improve its levels of customer service.

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