merrion street

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD today (Tuesday) secured Government approval for the Workplace Relations Bill 2014.

The law, when enacted, will replace the current five workplace relations bodies with two. The new system will provide a world-class service for employers and employees, while also delivering savings for the taxpayer.

It forms part of a broader reform programme within the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation which will see the total number of agencies under the responsibility of the Department reduced by 41 by end 2014.

The new workplace relations system will comprise two bodies – the Workplace Relations Commission which will deal with complaints at first instance, and the Labour Court which will deal with appeals.

The various responsibilities of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC), the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), the Equality Tribunal, Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) and the Labour Court, which have built up over time, will be subsumed into the two new bodies.

Enactment of this legislation is targeted by the end of 2014, and will deliver much needed reform of the State’s workplace relations services and institutions. The Government’s decision to reform this area is recognition that the current system for resolving individual disputes related to the workplace is wasteful, both for the State and users of the system. The current system is confusing and frustrating for employers, employees and professionals representing them. It was for this reason that Minister Bruton commenced the root and branch reform of the State’s existing employment rights and industrial relations structures on coming to office in 2011.

The cost of running the workplace relations institutions will be cut by €2m (or 10%) when the project is completed. At the same time the number of staff assigned to the bodies will fall by 20% as efficiencies are generated following the mergers.

Commenting on the decision the Minister said: “Reform of the State’s employment rights and industrial relations bodies has two principal goals: to deliver a better service for employers and employees, and to deliver savings for the taxpayer, businesses and workers. To date we have made substantial progress in terms of delivering administrative reforms, including major reductions in waiting times and replacing 30 forms with one.

“The next step is to reform the structures, by merging five State bodies in this area into two. Delivering this requires the enactment of detailed legislation and I am delighted that today the Government have given approval of the text of the legislation which will give statutory effect to these reforms.

“I believe this project has been an exemplar of public service reform. Through the rationalisation of five public service bodies, and with the better use of technology and shared services, we will reduce the cost of running those bodies by 10%, we will reduce the number of staff working in these bodies by 20%. At the same time we will deliver a better service to the users of these services – employers and employees who wish to avoid or resolve disputes in the workplace or who are seeking to have employment rights enforced or adjudicated.

“I wish to thank all those who have contributed to the process so far, in particular those who have worked so hard to deliver the progress achieved, including officials of my Department, the Chief Officers and staff members of the five existing employment bodies.

“I look forward to the continued support and cooperation of all stakeholders as we develop a world class employment rights and industrial relations system that we can be proud of and that will serve future generations well”.

Notes for Editors:

The Workplace Relations Bill will provide the statutory basis for the programme which the Minister is currently implementing to reform the State’s existing employment rights and industrial relations structures.

While there are excellent and committed people working in the five existing Workplace Relations Bodies, often with challenging workloads, clearly the system itself has not performed and needs to be changed. Indeed, there is universal acceptance of the need for root-and-branch reform of the existing structures and processes which have evolved in an ad hoc fashion over the last eighty years. These deficiencies have given rise to, among other matters, complexities for practitioners and users of the service, multiple points of entry to the system, forum shopping, long delays in scheduling hearings and issuing decisions.

The Government Decision to reform the State’s existing employment rights and industrial relation structures arose from the recognition that the current system for resolving individual disputes related to the workplace is wasteful, both in terms of state resources and those of the users. It is also frustrating for employers, employees and professionals representing them. The system has been the subject of much analysis involving eight reports in as many years. Some of the criticisms of the system outlined in these reports include:

• Five organisations with overlapping, but completely separate, objectives and operations

• The current arrangement is so complex that even experienced practitioners find it difficult to comprehend;

• Claims are often referred to the wrong forum or under the wrong statute: they sometimes become statute barred before the error is discovered;

• Lack of consistency between, and in some cases, within the bodies regarding the degree; of formality of hearings, application of the rules of evidence and the use of adversarial or inquisitorial procedures;

• Overly legalistic with many users feeling the need to incur legal expenses;

· A set of circumstances arising in respect of a single employee and single employer can give rise to a number of claims, which must be processed through different fora to obtain redress

• Different routes of appeal can apply for issues arising out of the same set of circumstances in the same employment;

• Irrational and inequitable variations in how compensation is calculated and in remedies available - no reasons are given for decisions in some cases;

• Duplication of functions between the bodies results in “forum shopping”;

• Delays in hearing claims and appeals are excessive, and

• For all of the above reasons, the current system represents poor value for money.

It was for these reasons that Minister Bruton commenced a root and branch programme of reform of the State’s employment rights procedures and institutions upon coming to office in 2011. The Minister’s objective is to deliver a world-class workplace relations service which is simple to use, independent, effective, impartial, cost effective and provides for workable means of redress and enforcement, within a reasonable period of time.

An essential step to achieving the two-tier structure is the enactment of the Workplace Relations Bill which will see the existing five State bodies replaced by two. The Labour Relations Commission (LRC), the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), the Equality Tribunal, the first instance functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) and the first instance functions of the Labour Court will be replaced by the new Workplace Relations Commission, and the appellate functions of the EAT will be transferred to a new expanded Labour Court.

The reform programme will deliver a modern, user-friendly, world-class employment workplace relations system that will provide significant benefits for its users and society as a whole. The focus will be on resolving the workplace disputes as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

The reform will deliver a new world-class system characterised by:

• Increased emphasis on, and assistance with, early and informal resolution of

disputes;

• One body to which all employment, equality and industrial relations disputes will be

referred at first instance;

• Employees with multiple complaints will have all complaints dealt with in one plac

at the same time;

• Employers will no longer have to defend complaints in a number of fora;

• One route and time limit for all appeals;

• Far speedier listing of cases for hearing and issuing of decisions;

• Standardised procedures and time-frames across employment rights legislation;

• Better, quicker and less expensive means of enforcing awards;

• Greater use of electronic forms and filing;

• One authoritative website with comprehensive information on employment in place

of five currently;

• A transparent system of appointments to the adjudication service of the Workplace

Relations Commission and the Labour Court through the Public Appointments Service.

In addition to greatly enhancing the service provided, the reform of the Workplace Relations bodies has the potential to reduce staff numbers and the associated costs of delivering the service. It is expected that the savings achieved by the reforms will amount to €2 million per annum mainly due to staff reductions and pier diem costs and efficiencies achieved.

The Minister has undertaken two extensive public consultation exercises with regard to the proposed reform and published two policy papers. The Policy document ‘Legislating for a World Class Workplace Relations Service’ was submitted to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in July, 2012 and the Minister had a constructive dialogue with the Committee in July, 2012 on the basis of the document. Numerous meetings have also taken place with interested parties, representative of employees, employers and equality interests including IBEC and ICTU to get their input into the process. There is generally a broad welcome for the reform proposals though there are divergent views with regard to some of the detailed design.

Significant progress has also been achieved to date, in advance of the enabling legislation, insofar as the technological, structural, administrative and staffing changes required to underpin the Workplace Relations Reform Programme are concerned.

• Transfer of the Equality Tribunal from the Department of Justice and Equality to the

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in anticipation of its becoming part of the WRC,

• Establishment of a Single Contact Portal (Workplace Relations Customer Service),

• Launch of a single Workplace Relations Complaint Form and e-complaint facility,

replacing the 30 complaints forms that did exist covering 130 different complaints

• Design and launch of a single Workplace Relations website,

• Establishment of an Early Resolution Service,

• Finalisation of Adjudicator training and recruitment plans, and

• Implementation of enhanced technologies and business processes, including the

completion of the procurement phase in relation to the design and commissioning of a Customer

While considerable progress has been achieved to date on an administrative basis, completing the proposed reform requires the enactment of detailed legislation in order to provide the statutory basis for the new structures and processes. The Workplace Relations Bill will provide for the following measures:

· The services of the Equality Tribunal, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Labour Relations Commission and the first instance functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) to come together under the remit of the WRC. The appellate functions of the EAT will be amalgamated into a reconfigured Labour Court.

· Disputes or complaints are currently addressed by means of adjudication by a Rights Commissioner, the Employment Appeals Tribunal, an Equality Officer or the Labour Court or by means of NERA inspection depending on the legislation involved. The WRC Bill will replace the existing complex system of five different bodies with a straightforward two-tier system:

o The Workplace Relations Commission will deal with all cases in the first instance

o The Labour Court will deal with all cases on appeal

· The creation of the position of Director General of the WRC; appointment of the Director General by the Minister on specified terms of appointment; the statutory powers and functions of the Director General. This position will provide a single point of leadership rather than four that exist in NERA, the EAT, the LRC and the Equality Tribunal, and follows on from the abolition of a series of senior positions within these organisations as part of these reforms

· The establishment of the WRC Board with responsibility for strategy and annual work programme. This Board will comprise primarily representatives of employers groups, unions and equality bodies. Two boards (NERA and LRC) are being stood down as part of these reforms

· The transfer of the existing functions provided by the LRC (including conciliation, workplace mediation and advisory services) to the WRC.

· Providing workplace relations information and advisory services.

· The staffing of the WRC by officials from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

· A statutory basis for the use of innovative measures such as Compliance Notices and Fixed Charge Notices to enhance the compliance functions of the WRC.

· The sharing of employment related and other specified information between the WRC, the Labour Court and other official agencies in the context of promoting compliance with employment legislation.

· The appointment of additional members to the Labour Court to facilitate the increased workload of the Court in the new system.

· A new more transparent system of appointment of adjudicators of the WRC and Chairs, Vice-Chairs and ordinary members to the Labour Court.

· The transfer of the information provision function relating to the Family Leave Acts from the Equality Authority to the new Workplace Relations Commission.

· The standardisation of certain procedural matters (limitation periods; the length of the period within which a first instance adjudicator’s decision may be appealed etc.) across the full range of employment rights legislation.

· A new more robust and efficient system for the enforcement of awards under employment legislation.

· Necessary and consequential amendments to existing employment, industrial relations, equality and other legislation.

· Better enforcement of employment rights awards and better compliance and enforcement measures for employment rights.

Project Office

A dedicated Project Office with a team of officials from the Minister’s Department was established to drive the implementation of this project. The establishment of such a dedicated Office was a critical factor in relation to this reform project. The members of this team have been chosen because of their professional, technical and specialist skills.

A Project Delivery Team

An Implementation Team was established within the Minister's Department to lead the change process. This Group which reports directly to the Minister was chaired by Kieran Mulvey, CEO of the Labour Relations Commission (and by the Minister himself at regular intervals) and comprised the Secretary General of the Department representatives of all the bodies concerned as well as the Department and the Minister’s office. This Group provided the overall governance and management structure for the project and will continue to see the project to completion.