PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES (EMPLOYERS' INSOLVENCY) ACT, 1984

• (b) A person who, in or for the purpose of proceedings in relation to a complaint under this section, gives a statement material in the proceedings while lawfully sworn as a witness that is false and that he or she knows to be false shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

• (i) on summary conviction, to a class B fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both, or

• (ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both.

• (4B)
• (a) An adjudication officer may, by giving notice in that behalf in writing to any person, require such person to attend at such time and place as is specified in the notice to give evidence in proceedings in relation to a complaint under this section or to produce to the adjudication officer any documents in his or her possession, custody or control that relate to any matter to which those proceedings relate.

• (b) A person to whom a notice under paragraph (a) is given shall be entitled to the same immunities and privileges as those to which he or she would be entitled if he or she were a witness in proceedings before the High Court.

• (c) A notice under paragraph (a) may be given either by delivering it to the person to whom it relates or by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letter addressed to such person at the address at which he or she ordinarily resides.

• (d) A person to whom a notice under paragraph (a) has been given who—

• (i) fails or refuses to comply with the notice, or

• (ii) refuses to give evidence in proceedings to which the notice relates or fails or refuses to produce any document to which the notice relates,

shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a class E fine.

• (4C) Proceedings in relation to a complaint under this section shall be conducted in public unless the adjudication officer, of his or her own motion or upon the application by or on behalf of a party to the proceedings, determines that, due to the existence of special circumstances, the proceedings (or part thereof) should be conducted otherwise than in public.

• (4D)
• (a) Subject to paragraph (b), the Commission shall publish on the internet in such form and in such manner as it considers appropriate every declaration of an adjudication officer under this section.

• (b) In publishing a declaration under paragraph (a), an adjudication officer may determine that, due to the existence of special circumstances, information that would identify the parties in relation to whom the declaration was made should not be published by the Commission.

• (4E) The Minister may, by regulations, make provision in relation to any matter relating to the presentation of, the referral of, or the hearing of a complaint under this section that he or she considers appropriate.]

• F105[(4F) Where an application for a payment in relation to a debt under section 6, or for a payment to be made under section 7, relates—

• (a) to an employer who has become insolvent in the circumstances referred to in section 1(3)(i), or

• (b) to an amount disputed under section 4D(3)(b), a complaint shall not be presented to the Director General under subsection (1) in relation to such an application, and the Minister shall not refer a matter arising in connection with such an application to the Director General under subsection (3).]

• (5) F103[…]

• F102[(6) In this section—

‘adjudication officer’ has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2015; and

‘Director General’ means the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission.]

9A. F106[Appeal to Labour Court from declaration of adjudication officer under section 9

9A. Section 44 of the Act of 2015 shall apply to a declaration of an adjudication officer given in relation to a complaint under section 9 as it applies to a decision of an adjudication officer given in proceedings under section 41 of that Act, subject to the following modifications:

• (a) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (1):

‘ (1) A party to proceedings in relation to a complaint under section 9 of the Act of 1984 may appeal a declaration of an adjudication officer given in those proceedings to the Labour Court and, where the party does so, the Labour Court shall—

• (a) give the parties to the appeal an opportunity to be heard by it and to present to it any evidence relevant to the appeal,

• (b) make a decision in relation to the appeal affirming, varying or setting aside the declaration of the adjudication officer to which the appeal relates, and

• (c) give the parties to the appeal a copy of that decision in writing.’;

and

• (b) any other necessary modifications.]

10. Transfer to Minister of certain rights and remedies.

10.—(1) Where, in pursuance of section 6 of this Act, the Minister makes any payment to an employee in respect of any debt to which that section applies, any rights and remedies of the employee in respect of that debt (or, if the Minister has paid only part of it, in respect of that part) shall, on the making of the payment, become rights and remedies of the Minister.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, where rights and remedies become, by virtue of subsection (1) of this section, rights and remedies of the Minister, there shall be included amongst them any right to be paid in priority to all other debts under—

• (a) section 4 of the Preferential Payments in Bankruptcy (Ireland) Act, 1889; or

• (b) section 285, as amended by section 10 of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 1982, of the Companies Act, 1963,

and the Minister shall be entitled to be so paid in priority to any other unsatisfied claim of the employee concerned being a claim which, but for this subsection, would be payable to the employee in such priority; and in computing for the purposes of any of the provisions of the said section 4 or the said section 285, as so amended, any limit on the amount of sums to be paid, any sums paid to the Minister shall be treated as if they had been paid to the employee.

• F107[(2A) Where the Minister makes a payment to an employee under section 6(2)(a)(iii)(II) (inserted by section 15 of the Redundancy Payments Act 2003) of this Act, that payment shall be recoverable by the Minister as a debt to be paid in priority to all other debts under—

• (a) section 81 of the Bankruptcy Act 1988, or

• (b) section 285 (as amended by section 10 of the Companies (Amendment) Act 1982 and section 134 of the Companies Act 1990) of the Companies Act 1963,

and any amount of that payment which would, F108[but for the limit set by section 6(4)(a) (as may be varied by regulations under section 11(5)), or by section 6(4)(aa), as the case may be,] be payable to an employee, shall be treated for all purposes as if it were a payment required to be paid by virtue of an award under section 12(1) of the Act of 1973.]

• (3) Where in pursuance of section 7 of this Act the Minister makes any payment into the resources of an occupational pension scheme in respect of any contributions to the scheme, any rights and remedies in respect of those contributions belonging to the persons competent to act in respect of the scheme shall, on the making of the payment, become rights and remedies of the Minister.

• (4) Any sum recovered by the Minister in exercising any right or pursuing any remedy which is his by virtue of this section shall be paid into the F109[the Social Insurance Fund].

11. Power to amend Act.

11.—(1) The Minister may from time to time by order amend section 3 of this Act so as to—

• (a) extend the application of this Act to employees who are of a class or description specified in the order,

• (b) exclude from such application employees who are of a class or description so specified.

• (2) The Minister may from time to time by order amend section 6 of this Act so as to effect either or both of the following—

• (a) substitute for the number of weeks specified in all or any of the following subsections, namely, subsection (2) (a) (i), (2) (a) (ii) or (2) (a) (iv) a different number of weeks,

• (b) substitute for the number of months specified in the definition of “the relevant period” contained in subsection (9) thereof a different number of months.

• (3) The Minister may from time to time by order amend section 4 (2), as amended by section 17 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1979, and by section 12 of this Act, of the Act of 1967, so as to vary the number of hours specified therein.

• (4) The Minister may from time to time by order amend—

• (a) paragraph (a) of section 3 (1), as amended by section 13 of this Act, of the Act of 1973,

• (b) paragraph 8, as amended by the said section 13, of the First Schedule to the Act of 1973,

so as to vary the number of hours specified in that paragraph.

• (5) The Minister may by regulation amend section 6 of this Act so as to vary the limit specified in subsection (4) (a).

• F110[(5A)
• (a) The Minister may, from time to time, by order amend section 4B so as to substitute for the number of weeks specified in subsection (1)(a)(ii) of that section a different number of weeks, being not less than 4 weeks but not more than 12 weeks.

• (b) An amendment made by order under this subsection shall have effect in relation to a notice under section 4A that is served on or after the day on which the order comes into operation.]

• (6) The reference in section 2 (4) of the Act of 1977 to the First Schedule to the Act of 1973 shall be construed as being a reference—

• (a) in case an order under this section amending that Schedule is for the time being in force, that Schedule as amended by section 20 of the Act of 1977, by section 13 of this Act and by the order,

• (b) in case no such order is so in force, that Schedule as amended both by the said section 20 and the said section 13.

• (7) Where an order under this section is proposed to be made, the Minister shall cause a draft of the order to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by each such House.

12. Amendment of section 4 of Act of 1967.

12.—Subsection (2) of section 4, as amended by section 17 of the Redundancy Payments Act, 1979, of the Act of 1967 is hereby amended by the substitution of “18 hours” for “20 hours”, and the said subsection (2), as so amended, is set out in the Table to this section.

TABLE

• (2) This Act shall not apply to a person who is normally expected to work for the same employer for less than 18 hours in a week.

13. Amendment of section 3 of and First Schedule to Act of 1973.

13.—The Act of 1973 is hereby amended by—

• (a) the substitution in paragraph (a) of section 3(1) of “eighteen hours” for “twenty-one hours”, and

• (b) the substitution of “eighteen hours” for “twenty-one hours” in paragraph 8 of the First Schedule;

and the said paragraphs (a) and 8, as so amended, are set out in paragraphs 1 and 2, respectively, of the Table to this section.

TABLE

14. Institution of proceedings for offence.

14.—Proceedings for an offence under section 15 of this Act shall not be instituted except by or with the consent of the Minister.

15. Offences.

15.—(1) If any person, in relation to an application under section 6 or 7 of this Act, whether for himself or for some other person,

• (a) knowingly makes any false statement or false representation or knowingly conceals a material fact, or

• (b) produces or furnishes, or causes or knowingly allows to be produced or furnished, any document or information which he knows to be false in a material particular,

he shall be guilty of an offence.

• (2) If a person refuses or wilfully neglects to provide any information or produce any document which he has been required to provide or produce by a notice under section 8 of this Act he shall be guilty of an offence.

• (3) If a person, in purporting to comply with a requirement of a notice under section 8 of this Act, knowingly or recklessly makes any false statement he shall be guilty of an offence.

• (4) A person who is guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.

• (5) Subsections (8) and (9) of section 266 of the Act of 1981 shall apply in relation to an offence under this section which is committed by a body corporate as they apply to offences under Part V of the Act of 1981 which are so committed.

• (6) Subsection (10) of section 266 of the Act of 1981 shall be construed and have effect as if the reference therein to proceedings under Part V of the Act of 1981 contained a reference to proceedings under this section.

16. Regulations.

16.—(1) The Minister may make regulations for giving effect to this Act.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, regulations under this section may make provision requiring an applicant under section 6 or 7 of this Act to make the application within the prescribed time.

• (3) The Minister may make regulations for prescribing any matter referred to in this Act as prescribed.

• (4) Regulations under this section may apply to applications under this Act generally or to such applications which are of a prescribed class or description.

• (5) Every regulation made under this Act by the Minister shall be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

17. Expenses, etc.

17.—(1) The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

• (2) The Minister may pay out of the F111[the Social Insurance Fund] to a relevant officer or a person to whom an appointment under section 5 of this Act relates, in respect of the functions performed by him under this Act, such fees as the Minister shall, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, determine.

18. Short title and collective citations.

18.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act, 1984.

• (2) Section 12 of this Act and the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1979, may be cited together as the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1984.

• (3) Section 13 of this Act and the Act of 1973 may be cited together as the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973 and 1984.

Footnotes