Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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134. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he has examined banning zero-hour contracts as has transpired in New Zealand recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5263/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Statement of Government Priorities, July 2014 committed to conduct a study on the prevalence of zero hour contracts among Irish employers and their impact on employees and make policy recommendations to Government on foot of this. The University of Limerick was appointed in February 2015, following a competitive tendering process, to carry out a study into the prevalence of zero hour contracts and low hour contracts in the Irish economy and their impact on employees.

The study, published in November, 2015, found that zero hour contracts as defined within current Irish employment rights legislation are not extensively used in Ireland. The Study noted that “the term ‘zero hours contract’ means someone who is not guaranteed hours of work but who is contractually required to make themselves available for work with an employer. This is the meaning ascribed by Section 18 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Under the Act, someone with a zero hours contract is entitled to some compensation if they are not required by an employer in a week.

New Zealand had no legislative definition of Zero Hours Contracts and no similar compensation arrangements in place and Zero hours Contracts were widely used in certain sectors. As I understand the New Zealand provisions they retain the concept of casual working where these workers do not have certainty of hours, but they can decline work, and the employer is under no obligation to offer work but may not have someone available when needed. I understand the new provisions require, however, that where hours of work are agreed, they must be clearly specified, such as in collective agreements or the individual’s employment agreement, and there is an avenue of redress for employees where there is a failure to record agreed hours in the employment agreement. This is intended to ensure that employers and employees are clear about their commitments to each other to provide or undertake work, respectively. I understand that where parties do not set agreed contracted hours, or when employees are offered hours above their agreed contracted hours, employees will be free to decline work on a case-by-case basis or the employment agreement must specify compensation when the employee is required to be available.

In the Irish context, the UL study found low working hours can arise in different forms in employment contracts, such as regular part-time contracts with fixed hours or a contract with “If and when” hours only or a hybrid of the two. If and when contracts are contracts where workers are not contractually required to make themselves available for work.

The UL report made a range of recommendations relating to contracts, hours of work and notice, minimum hours, how contracted hours should be determined, collective agreements, data gathering and wider contextual issues.

The UL study was an independent study and the conclusions drawn and the recommendations made in it are those of UL. Therefore, it was essential that the various stakeholders who contributed to the study and indeed other interested parties who may not have had an opportunity to engage with UL, were given an opportunity to consider and respond to the report.

To this end, my Department sought submissions from interested parties by way of a Public Consultation. A large number of submissions were received by 4 January 2016, the closing date for receipt of such submissions. The responses contain a variety of views both for and against the findings and recommendations as made by UL, which require, and are currently being given, careful consideration by my Department. This will inform the policy response to be considered by Government arising from the study as will any other approaches, such as in New Zealand, that come to attention.