Employment Law
Employment Legislation in Ireland
Employers in Ireland are responsible for ensuring that their organisation complies with all employment legislation and that all their employees receive certain fundamental employment rights. These rights are governed by a range of detailed employment legislation.
There are now 25 Employment Acts in Ireland. There have been c. 50 significant changes to employment law in Ireland in the past 5 years alone.
The table below provides a list of the main employments acts which every employer needs to be fully compliant with:
- Industrial Relations Act
- Terms of Employment (Information) Act
- Protection of Employment Act
- Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act
- Protection of Employee (Fixed Term Work) Act
- Organisation of Working Time Act
- Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act
- National Minimum Wage Act
- Payment of Wages Act
- Employment Permits Act
- Employment Agency Act
- Equality Act
- Employment Equality Act
- Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act
- Safety Health and Welfare Act
- Maternity Protection Act
- Pensions Acts
- Adoptive Leave Act
- Force Majeure Leave / Parental Leave Act
- Carer's Leave Act
- Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts
- Unfair Dismissals Acts
- Redundancy Payments Act
- Protection of Employees
Codes of Practice and Statutory Instruments
In addition to the above employment Acts, there are a myriad of Codes of Practice and Statutory instruments that make employment legislation in Ireland quite complex.
There are Codes of Practice on Bullying and Harassmanent, Disciplinary & Dismissal, Part-Time Working, Dispute Resolution, Sunday Working, Rest Breaks, etc.
There are many Statutory Instruments ranging from dealing with Discipline and Dismissal to a Transfer of Undertakings.
Employment Regulation Orders, Registered Employment Agreements and Joint Labour Committees
Some industry sectors e.g. retailing, catering, construction etc. are governed by additional agreements or Employment Regulation Orders (EROs).
These include:
- Aerated waters and wholesale bottling
- Agricultural workers
- Brush and broom
- Catering
- Contract cleaning
- Hairdressing
- Hotels
- Law clerks
- Provender milling
- Retail, grocery, and allied trades
- Security industry
- Shirtmaking
- Tailoring
- Women’s clothing and millinery
Registered Employment Agreements (REAs) and are agreements concluded between an employer and worker representatives and exist for the following sectors:
- Drapery, footwear and allied trades
- Construction industry
- Printing
- Electrical contracting
Complex Legislation
The complexity of the legislation, combined with the myriad of givernment agencies dealing with this area, along with employees increasingly ease of access to information and services, means that employers must be ever more alert to ensuring they are fully complying with all employment legislation.
Contact Us
Contact us to arrange a FREE consultation.
