Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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252. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to publish the heads of the Bill to address problems caused by the increased casualisation of work and to strengthen the regulation of precarious work; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22634/17]

Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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On 2 May last, the Government approved draft legislative proposals as a response to the Programme for Government commitment to address the problems caused by the increased casualization of work and to strengthen the regulation of precarious work. The draft legislation was referred to the Office of the Attorney General on 4 May for priority drafting of a Bill.

The proposals aim to address a number of key issues which have been identified as being areas where current employment rights legislation can be strengthened to the benefit of employees, particularly low-paid and more vulnerable employees, without imposing unnecessarily onerous burdens on employers and businesses. 

The proposals are the result of extensive consultations, including the public consultation of the University of Limerick study on Zero Hour Contracts and low hour contracts as well as a detailed dialogue process with ICTU and Ibec over a period of several months.

The proposals address the following key issues:

- Ensuring that employees are better informed about the nature of their employment arrangements and in particular their core terms at an early stage of their employment.

- Strengthening the provisions around minimum payments to low-paid, vulnerable workers who may be called in to work for a period but not provided with that work.

- Prohibiting zero hours contracts, except in cases of genuine casual work or emergency cover or short-term relief work for that employer.

- Ensuring that workers on low hour contracts who consistently work more hours each week than provided for in their contracts of employment, are entitled to be placed in a band of hours that reflects the reality of the hours they have worked over an extended period.

- Strengthen the anti-victimisation provisions for employees who try to invoke a right under these proposals.

I am referring the draft legislation to the Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation for the Committee to consider and determine if it wishes to engage in pre-legislative scrutiny of the proposed Bill.