Terms of Employment (Information) Act , 1994

1. Interpretation.

1.—(1)In this Act—

“the Act of 1973” means the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973;

F1["Commission" means the Workplace Relations Commission;]

F2["contract of employment" means—

(a) a contract of service or apprenticeship, or

(b) any other contract whereby—

(i) an individual agrees with another person personally to execute any work or service for that person, or

(ii) an individual agrees with a person carrying on the business of an employment agency within the meaning of the Employment Agency Act 1971 to do or perform personally any work or service for another person (whether or not the other person is a party to the contract),

whether the contract is express or implied and, if express, whether oral or written;]

“the Council Directive” means Council Directive No. 91/533/EEC of 14 October, 1991^(1);

“employee” means a person who has entered into or works under (or, where the employment has ceased, entered into or worked under) a contract of employment and references, in relation to an employer, to an employee shall be construed as references to an employee employed by that employer; and for the purposes of this Act, a person holding office under, or in the service of, the State (including a member of the Garda Síochána or the Defence Forces) or otherwise as a civil servant, within the meaning of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956, shall be deemed to be an employee employed by the State or Government, as the case may be, and an officer or servant of a local authority for the purposes of the F3[Local Government Act 2001(as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014)], a harbour authority, a health board or F4[an education and training board] shall be deemed to be an employee employed by the authority F4[or board], as the case may be;

“employer”, in relation to an employee, means the person with whom the employee has entered into or for whom the employee works under (or, where the employment has ceased, entered into or worked under) a contract of employment subject to the qualification that the person who under a contract of employment referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of “contract of employment” is liable to pay the wages of the individual concerned in respect of the work or service concerned shall be deemed to be the individual’s employer;

F5["employment regulation order" means an employment regulation order within the meaning of Part IV of theIndustrial Relations Act 1946;]

“the Minister” means the Minister for Enterprise and Employment;

F5["registered employment agreement" means a registered employment agreement within the meaning of Part III of theIndustrial Relations Act 1946.]

F2["seafarer" has the same meaning as it has in the Agreement concluded by the European Community Shipowners’ Associations (ECSA) and the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) on the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, implemented by Council Directive 2009/13/EC of 16 February 2009^2;

"sea fisherman" has the same meaning that "fisherman" has in the Agreement concerning the implementation of the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 of the International Labour Organisation, concluded on 21 May 2012 between the General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the European Union (Cogeca), the European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) and the Association of National Organisations of Fishing Enterprises in the European Union (Europêche) implemented by Council Directive (EU) 2017/159 of 19 December 2016^3;]

“the Tribunal” means the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

(2)A word or expression that is used in this Act and is also used in the Council Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning in this Act that it has in the Council Directive.

F6[(2A)A word or expression that is used insection 2,3,3A,4,5,5Aor6Dto6Ithat is also used in Directive (EU) 2019/1152 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019^4on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in those sections that it has in that Directive.]

(3)In this Act—

(a)a reference to any enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act,

(b)a reference to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,

(c)a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.

2. Exclusions.

2.—F8[(1)This Act, other thansection 3(1A), shall not apply to employment in which the employee has been in the continuous service of the employer for less thanF7[4 consecutive weeks].]

(2)Where the exclusion of a class or classes of employment from any provision of this Act is justified by objective considerations, the Minister may, after consultation with representatives of employers and of employees within that class or classes of employment, by order declare that that provision shall not apply to that class or those classes of employment and this Act shall have effect in accordance with the provisions of any such order for the time being in force.

(3)The First Schedule to the Act of 1973 shall apply for the purpose of ascertaining for the purposes of this Act the period of service of an employee and whether that service has been continuous with the following modifications and with any other necessary modifications—

F7[(a)subject tosubsection (3A), the reference to 21 hours shall be construed as a reference to 3 hours,]

(b)the references to an employee shall be construed as references to an employee within the meaning of this Act.

F7[(3A)For the purposes ofparagraph (a)ofsubsection (3), time worked with all employers forming or belonging to the same enterprise, group or entity shall count towards the period of 3 hours referenced in that paragraph.]

(4)The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this section, including an order under this subsection.

F7[(5)Subsection (1)shall not apply to employment where no guaranteed amount of work that is remunerated is predetermined before the employment starts.]

3. Written statement of terms of employment.

3.—(1)An employer shall, not later than F9[one month] after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment, that is to say—

(a) F13[…]

(b) F13[…]

(c) F10[…]

(d) F10[…]

(e) F10[…]

(f) F13[…]

F14[(fa)a reference to any registered employment agreement or employment regulation order which applies to the employee and confirmation of where the employee may obtain a copy of such agreement or order,]

F15[(g)F13[…]

(ga)that the employee may, undersection 23of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, request from the employer a written statement of the employee’s average hourly rate of pay for any pay reference period as provided in that section,]

(h) the length of the intervals between the times at which remuneration is paid, whether a week, a month or any other interval,

(i) F10[…]

(j) any terms or conditions relating to paid leave (other than paid sick leave),

(k) any terms or conditions relating to—

(i) incapacity for work due to sickness or injury and paid sick leave, and

(ii) pensions and pension schemes,

(l) the period of notice which the employee is required to give and entitled to receive (whether by or under statute or under the terms of the employee’s contract of employment) to determine the employee’s contract of employment or, where this cannot be indicated when the information is given, the method for determining such periods of notice,

(m) a reference to any collective agreements which directly affect the terms and conditions of the employee’s employment including, where the employer is not a party to such agreements, particulars of the bodies or institutions by whom they F9[were made,]

F11[(n) the training entitlement, if any, provided by the employer,

(o) in the case of a temporary contract of employment, the identity of the user undertakings (within the meaning of Directive 2008/104/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008^5on temporary agency work), when and as soon as known, and

(p) if the work pattern of an employee is entirely or mostly unpredictable, the statement shall inform the employee of—

(i) the principle that the work schedule is variable, the number of guaranteed paid hours and the remuneration for work performed in addition to those guaranteed hours,

(ii) the reference hours and days within which the employee may be required to work, and

(iii) the minimum notice period to which the employee is entitled to before the start of a work assignment and, where applicable, the deadline for notification in accordance with section 17 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, and

(q) where it is the responsibility of the employer, the identity of the social security institutions receiving the social insurance contributions attached to the contract of employment and any protection relating to social security provided by the employer.]

F16[(1A) Without prejudice tosubsection (1), an employer shall, not later than 5 days after the commencement of an employee’s employment with the employer, give or cause to be given to the employee a statement in writing containing the following particulars of the terms of the employee’s employment, that is to say:

(a) the full names of the employer and the employee;

(b) the address of the employer in the State or, where appropriate, the address of the principal place of the relevant business of the employer in the State or the registered office (within the meaning of theCompanies Act 2014);

(c) in the case of a temporary contract of employment, the expected duration thereof or, if the contract of employment is for a fixed term, the date on which the contract expires;

F9[(d) the remuneration, including the initial basic amount, any other component elements, if applicable, indicated separately, the frequency and method of payment of the remuneration to which the employee is entitled and the pay reference period for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act 2000;]]

(e) the number of hours which the employer reasonably expects the employee to work—

(i) per normal working day, and

(ii) per normal working F12[week;]

F12[(f) wheresections 4Bto4E(in so far as they are in operation) of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 apply to the employer, the employer’s policy on the manner in which tips or gratuities and mandatory charges (within the meaning of section 1 of that Act)F9[are treated,]]

F11[(g) the place of work or, where there is no fixed or main place of work, a statement specifying that the employee is employed at various places or is free to determine his or her place of work or to work at various places;

(h) either—

(i) the title, grade, nature or category of work for which the employee is employed, or

(ii) a brief specification or description of the work;

(i) the date of commencement of the employee’s contract of employment;

(j) any terms or conditions relating to hours of work (including overtime);

(k) where a probationary period applies, its duration and conditions.]

F16[(1B) Where a statement undersubsection (1A)contains an error or omission, the statement shall be regarded as complying with the provisions of that subsection if it is shown that the error or omission was made by way of a clerical mistake or was otherwise made accidentally and in good faith.]

F17[(2) Each statement referred to insubsection (1)and(1A)shall be given to an employee notwithstanding that the employee’s employment ends before the end of the period within which the statement is required to be given.]

(3) The particulars specified in F9[paragraphs (d),(j)and(k)ofsubsection (1A)orparagraphs (h),(j),(k),(l),(n)and(q)ofsubsection (1)], may be given to the employee in the form of a reference to provisions of statutes or instruments made under statute or of any other laws or of any administrative provisions or collective agreements, governing those particulars which the employee has reasonable opportunities of reading during the course of the employee’s employment or which are reasonably accessible to the employee in some other way.

(4) A statement furnished by an employer under F17[subsection (1)or(1A)] shall be signed and dated by or on behalf of the employer.

(5) A copy of F17[a statement furnished under this section] shall be retained by the employer during the period of the employee's employment and for a period of 1 year thereafter.

(6) (a) The Minister may by order require employers to give or cause to be given to employees within a specified time a statement in writing containing such particulars of the terms of their employment (other than those referred to in F17[subsection (1)or(1A)]) as may be specified in the order and employers shall comply with the provisions of such an order.

(b) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order under this subsection, including an order under this paragraph.

(7) This section (other than subsection (6)) shall not apply or have effect as respects contracts of employment entered into before the commencement of this Act.

F11[(8)Paragraphs (p)and(q)ofsubsection (1)shall not apply to seafarers or sea fishermen.]

3A. F18[Form of statement to be provided

3A.A statement furnished by an employer undersection 3,4,5,6,6Eor6Fshall be—

(a) signed and dated by or on behalf of the employer,

(b) in writing, and

(c) transmitted on paper or, provided that the information is accessible to the employee, that it can be stored and printed, and that the employer retains proof of transmission or receipt, in electronic form.]

4. Employment outside State.

4.—(1)Where, after the commencement of this Act, an employee is required to work outside the State for a period of not less than 1 month, the employer concerned shall give or cause to be given to the employee, prior to the departure of the employee from the State, a statement F21[containing the particulars specified insubsections (1)and(1A)ofsection 3] and there shall be added to the statement the following particulars, that is to say—

F19[(a)the country or countries in which the work outside the State is to be performed and the anticipated period of employment,]

(b)the currency in which the employee is to be remunerated in respect of that period,

(c)any benefits in cash or kind for the employee attendant on the employment outside the State,

(d)the terms and conditions, where appropriate, governing the employee’s repatriation.

F20[(1A)Without prejudice tosubsection (1), where an employee is a posted worker within the meaning of the European Union (Posting of Workers) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 412 of 2016), there shall be added to the statement specified insubsection (1)the following particulars—

(a) the remuneration to which the employee is entitled in accordance with the applicable law of the host Member State,

(b) where applicable, any allowances specific to posting and any arrangements for reimbursing expenditure on travel, board and lodging, and

(c) the link to the single official national website developed by the host Member State pursuant to Article 5(2) of the Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014^6on the enforcement of Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System ("the IMI Regulation").

(1B)Subsection (1A)shall not apply to seafarers or sea fishermen.]

(2)The particulars referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (1) F20[orparagraph (a)ofsubsection (1A)] may be given in the form of a reference to provisions of statutes or instruments made under statute or of any other laws or of any administrative provisions or collective agreements, governing such particulars.

5. Notification of changes.

5.—(1)Subject to subsection (2), whenever a change is made or occurs in any of the particulars of the statement furnished by an employer under section 3, 4 or 6, the employer shall notify the employee in writing of the nature and date of the change as soon as may be thereafter, but not later than—

F22[(a)the day on which the change takes effect, or]

(b)where the change is consequent on the employee being required to work outside the State for a period of more than 1 month, the time of the employee’s departure.

(2)Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a change occurring in provisions of statutes or instruments made under statute F23[, other than a registered employment agreement or employment regulation order,] or of any other laws or of any administrative provisions or collective agreements referred to in the statement given under section 3 or 4.

5A. F24[Contracts of employment existing before the commencement of European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022

5A.(1) Where, before the commencement of the European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022 (S.I. No. 686 of 2022), an employee has entered into a contract of employment with an employer, then, the employer shall, if so requested by the employee, furnish to the employee a statement containing the particulars specified in—

(a)subsections (1)and(1A)ofsection 3, and

(b)subsections (1)and(1A)ofsection 4.

(2) Notwithstanding that an employee has not made a request undersubsection (1), he or she is entitled to the rights specified insections 6Dto6H.]

6. Existing contracts of employment.