Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

37. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the measures he will introduce to improve security for workers on zero hour contracts, low hour contracts and short-term contracts, and for part-time workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18413/15]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

In accordance with the Statement of Government priorities, I commissioned, last February, the University of Limerick (UL) to carry out a study into the prevalence of zero hour and low hour contracts and the impact of such contracts on employees. The appointment of UL follows a competitive tendering process. The key objectives of the study are:

- To fill the gap in knowledge that currently exists in terms of the hard data and information that is available concerning the prevalence of zero hour and low hour contracts in the Irish economy and the manner of their use.

- To assess the impact of zero hour and low hour contracts on employees.

- To enable the Minister to make any evidence-based policy recommendations to Government considered necessary on foot of the study.

The study will have a broad scope, covering both the public and private sectors, with a particular focus on the retail, hospitality, education and health sectors. The study will examine how zero and low hour 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. The study may also identify how the information gap might be addressed in the future.

A wide range of stakeholders is being canvassed to contribute to the study and I expect the study to be completed in Q3. The Deputy will appreciate that I cannot anticipate the outcome of the study or the Government’s consideration of the study’s findings. However, the Deputy can rest assured that where the evidence points to some adjustment being required to the protections already in place under Irish employment law, these will be brought forward for consideration by Government.

In relation to part-time workers and short-term contracts, Irish employment rights legislation contains strong safeguards for part-time workers. The Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 implemented EU Council Directive 97/81/EC into Irish law. The purpose of the Directive was to implement the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded by the European cross-industry organisations UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC. The Act provides a wide degree of protection for part-time employees, including the general protection that a part-time employee shall not be treated in a less favourable manner in respect of his/her conditions of employment than a full time employee.

Section 13(5) of the 2001 Act contained provisions in relation to the preparation and publishing of a Code of Practice by the Labour Relations Commission in relation to the steps that could be taken by employers for the purposes of Clause 5.3 of the Framework Agreement. Clause 5.3 of the Framework Agreement provided that, as far as possible, an employer should give consideration to a request by workers to transfer from full-time work to part-time and vice-versa. The Labour Relations Commission prepared this Code of Practice, based on the provisions in Section 13 of the 2001 Act, following consultation with the social partners. It was deemed to be a Code of Practice and implemented, in 2006, by the Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Code of Practice on Access to Part-Time Working) (Declaration) Order 2006 (S.I. No. 8 of 2006). Under Section 42(4) of the Industrial Relations Act 1990, the Code is admissible in evidence in any proceedings before a Court, the Labour Court, the Labour Relations Commission, the Employment Appeals Tribunal or the Equality Tribunal.

The Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 provides that fixed-term employees may not be treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees, unless the employer can objectively justify the different treatment. Any justification offered cannot be connected with the fact that the employee is on a fixed-term contract.

The 2003 Act also establishes a framework to prevent abuses arising from the use of successive fixed-term employment contracts. The Act provides that where an employee has been on two or more continuous fixed-term contracts, the total duration of those contracts may not exceed four years. After this, if the employer wishes to renew the employee’s contract, it must be an open-ended contract unless there are objective grounds justifying the renewal of the contract for a fixed term only.

The Unfair Dismissal Act 1977 as amended contains a provision aimed at ensuring that successive temporary contracts are not used in order to avoid that legislation. It provides that where a fixed-term or specified-purpose contract expires and the individual is re-employed within 3 months, the individual is deemed to have continuous service for the purposes of that Act.