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Employers to Face a Collection of New Employment Legislation in 2010

The Towards 2016 Transitional Agreement 2008/2009, concluded by the social partners in mid September 2008 and endorsed by ICTU and IBEC in November 2008, provides for the introduction of employment legislation dealing with issues such as employment rights compliance, agency workers and collective bargaining.

Employment Law Compliance Bill

The Bill provides for the establishment of the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) on a statutory basis. NERA is currently operating on a temporary basis pending the enactment of this legislation.

It is undertaking inspections of employers’ records with a specific focus on the construction, security and catering sectors. In addition to targeting industry sectors, NERA is carrying out inspections across a broad range of sectors seeking compliance with the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 and the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996.

NERA has recently published a guide to inspections, setting out the records to be made available for inspection and the general powers of the inspectors. Download a copy of the guide here (PDF, 973Kb).

Relevant Records

While the Employment Law Compliance Bill 2008 in its existing format increases employers' record-keeping obligations, NERA is seeking compliance with record-keeping requirements provided for in existing legislation. The guide, while not definitive, sets out the standard records to which an inspector will require access during the course of an inspection.

There is also a general, catch-all paragraph in which the authority states that it may seek ‘any documentation necessary to demonstrate compliance with employment rights legislation’. For example, where a company has carried out redundancies, the authority may seek records evidencing compliance with the Protection of Employment Acts 1977 to 2007 and the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2007.

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