John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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7. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his plans to review redundancy legislation in relation to correspondence (details supplied). [21025/21]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I fully appreciate the difficult circumstances that employees are facing. The purpose of the emergency measure which relates to redundancy entitlements following temporary periods of lay-off and short-time work due to Covid-19 was to mitigate the serious risks to businesses and jobs and to ensure employees have a continued link to their employment. The measure was brought into effect from 13th March 2020 and given the ongoing serious risks to businesses and jobs, the Government decided to extend the provision to 30th June 2021.

The decision to extend these provisions further has been a difficult one and the Government acknowledges that it will come as a disappointment for many employees who want certainty in relation to their redundancy entitlements. However, due to the ongoing public health situation and restrictions which remain in place, serious risks to businesses and jobs remain. If the Government did not extend the emergency provision further employers will be subject to significant redundancy claims which will damage the ability of a business to recover and result in insolvency situations which will only exacerbate the risk of further permanent job losses.

All other redundancy provisions remain unchanged and in force. If an employer is going to make an employee redundant, protections such as notice periods for redundancy and the payment of a redundancy lump-sum to the affected employee still apply and the existing suite of employment rights legislation remains in place.

Finally, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is the organisation mandated to secure compliance with employment rights legislation. The Customer Service section of the WRC operates a telephone helpline at 1890 808090 and one of their functions is to assist employees in relation to their concerns or complaints regarding their employment rights. They can also be contacted via their website.