The Employment & Equality Law Committee has provided guidance for practitioners on new legislation.
New employee rights
Significant measures designed to improve the security and predictability of working hours for employees on insecure contracts, or who work variable hours, will be introduced when the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 (the “2018 Act”) comes into force in March 2019.
These changes apply to all employers but will be acutely felt by employers operating in sectors which utilise variable working arrangements, such as tourism, hospitality and retail. Joanne Hyde, a member of the Employment & Equality Law Committee and Head of Employment & Labour Law with Eversheds Sutherland, sets out some of the key provisions below.
Terms of Employment
An employer will now be required to notify its employees in writing of five core terms within five calendar days of commencing employment:
- full names of the employee and employer;
- address of employer;
- expected duration of the contract;
- rate/method of calculating pay and pay reference period; and
- normal daily and weekly hours that the employer reasonably expects the employee to work.
Failure to do so may expose an employer to an award of up to four weeks’ remuneration. A further failure to provide such terms within one month is a criminal offence punishable by up to one year’s imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding €5,000. Personal liability also arises for such a breach.
This new obligation is in addition to an employer’s current obligation under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 to provide a written statement of particulars to an employee within two months of commencing employment.
Prohibition of zero hours contracts
A zero hours contract refers to an arrangement where an employee is requested to be available for a certain number of hours per week without the guarantee of work, or when required, or a combination of both. The 2018 Act inserts a new section 18 to the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 Act (the “1997 Act”) which prohibits such contracts. Work done in emergency situations and short-term relief work to cover routine absences are the only cited exceptions.
Banded hours
The 2018 Act inserts section 18A to the 1997 Act which enables employees, whose contracts do not reflect the reality of the hours actually worked, to be placed into an appropriate specified band of weekly working hours. The employer must determine the appropriate band on the basis of the average number of weekly hours worked over a 12 month reference period. This essentially guarantees the employee with a minimum number of weekly hours.
Where an employer fails to place an employee on the appropriate band, the WRC can require the employer to reallocate the band specification.
Employees who are penalised for invoking their rights under the 1997 Act can be awarded compensation of up to two years’ remuneration.
Introduction of a “minimum payment”
Employees who are expected to be available for work during a particular period and are not called to work, or where they are called to work but do not complete work for the expected period will be entitled to a minimum payment, amounting to 25% of their contract hours or 15 hours, whichever is less, and calculated at three times the national minimum hourly rate.
Member eZine
This article originally appeared in the February 2019 Member eZine. For more information, and to subscribe, visit eNewsletters.