Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015

PART 1 Preliminary and General

1. Short title, collective citations, construction and commencement

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015.

(2) The Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2012 and this Act, other than sections 24 and 36, may be cited together as the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2015.

(3) The Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2015 and Part 3, other than section 36, shall be construed together as one Act.

(4) The Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2007 and section 39 may be cited together as the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015.

(5) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so appointed for different purposes or different provisions.

2. Definitions

2. In this Act—

“Act of 1946” means the Industrial Relations Act 1946;

“Act of 1990” means the Industrial Relations Act 1990;

“Act of 2015” means the Workplace Relations Act 2015;

“Minister” means the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

3. Expenses

3. The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, be paid out of monies provided by the Oireachtas.

4. Repeals

4. The following provisions are repealed:

(a) section 10 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969;

(b) paragraphs (d), (e) and (f) of subsection (1) of section 23 of the Act of 1990;

(c) subsections (2), (5) and (6) of section 23 of the Act of 1990;

(d) sections 51 to 54 of the Act of 1990.

PART 2 Registered Employment Agreements and Sectoral Employment Orders

Chapter 1

5. Definitions (Part 2)

5. In this Part—

“Court” means the Labour Court;

“trade union” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1946;

“worker” has the same meaning as it has in Part III of the Act of 1990.

Chapter 2

6. Definitions (Chapter 2)

6. In this Chapter—

“employment agreement” means an agreement relating to the remuneration or the conditions of employment of workers of any class, type or group made between a trade union or trade unions of workers and one or more than one employer or a trade union of employers, that is binding only on the parties to the agreement in respect of the workers of that class, type or group;

“enactment” has the same meaning as it has in the Interpretation Act 2005;

“parties to the agreement” means—

(a) in the case of the workers, the trade union or trade unions specified in the agreement, and

(b) in the case of the employers, the employer, employers or trade union of employers specified in the agreement;

“Register of Employment Agreements” has the meaning assigned to it by section 7 ;

“registered employment agreement” means an employment agreement for the time being registered in the Register of Employment Agreements;

“trade dispute” has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 1946.

7. Register of Employment Agreements

7. (1) The Court shall establish and maintain a register of employment agreements, in this Chapter referred to as the Register of Employment Agreements.

(2) The Register of Employment Agreements shall include—

(a) notice of the registration of an employment agreement in accordance with section 8, together with such particulars of the agreement as the Court considers necessary,

(b) notice of the variation of a registered employment agreement in accordance with section 9, together with such particulars of the variation as the Court considers necessary,

(c) notice of the cancellation of the registration of an employment agreement in accordance with section 10, and

(d) details of any other matters the Court considers appropriate.

(3) The Court shall publish the Register of Employment Agreements on the internet.

(4) References to the Register of Employment Agreements in any enactment in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall, on and after such commencement, be construed as references to the Register of Employment Agreements maintained under this section.

8. Registration of employment agreements

8. (1) Any party to an employment agreement may apply to the Court to register the agreement in the Register of Employment Agreements.

(2) An application to register an employment agreement shall be accompanied by—

(a) a copy of the agreement, and

(b) confirmation, in such form and accompanied by such documentation as the Court may specify, that the trade union of workers is, or trade unions of workers are, substantially representative of the workers in the class, type or group to which the agreement is expressed to apply.

(3) Where an application is made to the Court to register an employment agreement in the Register of Employment Agreements, the Court shall, subject to this section, register the agreement if it is satisfied that—

(a) there is agreement amongst all of the parties to the agreement that it should be registered,

(b) the agreement is expressed to apply to all workers of a particular class, type or group and their employers and that it is normal and desirable practice or that it is expedient to have a separate agreement for that class, type or group,

(c) the trade union of workers is, or trade unions of workers are, substantially representative of the workers to whom the agreement relates, and in satisfying itself in that regard the Court shall take into consideration the number of workers to whom the agreement relates represented by the trade union or trade unions specified in the agreement that are employed by the employer or employers specified in the agreement,

(d) the agreement provides that if a trade dispute occurs between workers to whom the agreement relates and their employers, industrial action or a lock-out shall not take place until the dispute has been submitted for settlement by negotiation in the manner specified in the agreement,

(e) the agreement specifies the circumstances in which a party or parties to the agreement may terminate the agreement,

(f) registration of the agreement is likely to promote—

(i) harmonious relations between the workers concerned and their employer, and

(ii) the avoidance of industrial unrest,

and

(g) the agreement is in a form suitable for registration.

(4) Where an application is made to the Court to register an employment agreement, the Court shall direct such parties to the agreement as the Court shall specify to publish specified particulars of the agreement in such manner as, in the opinion of the Court, is best calculated to bring the application to the notice of all persons concerned.

(5) (a) The Court shall not register an employment agreement until at least 14 days after publication of particulars of the agreement in accordance with subsection (4).

(b) If, within 14 days of publication of particulars of the agreement in accordance with subsection (4), the Court receives notice of an objection to the agreement being registered, the Court shall, unless it considers the objection frivolous, consider the objection and shall hear all parties appearing to the Court to be interested and desiring to be heard, and if, after such consideration, the Court is not satisfied that the agreement complies with the requirements specified in subsection (3), the Court shall refuse to register the agreement.

(6) A registered employment agreement shall not prejudice any rights as to rates of remuneration or conditions of employment conferred on any worker by or under this or any other Act.

(7) References to a registered employment agreement in any enactment in force immediately before the commencement of this section shall, on and after such commencement, be construed as references to a registered employment agreement within the meaning of this Chapter.

(8) In this section—

“industrial action” has the same meaning as it has in Part II of the Act of 1990;

“lock-out” has the same meaning as it has in Part II of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967.

9. Variation of registered employment agreements

9. (1) Subject to this section, a party to a registered employment agreement may apply to the Court to vary the agreement in its application to any worker or workers to whom it applies.

(2) Where all of the parties to the registered employment agreement agree to vary the agreement in the terms of the proposed application, the Court shall within 6 weeks of receipt of an application under subsection (1) consider the application and shall hear all persons appearing to the Court to be interested and desiring to be heard.

(3) Not later than 4 weeks after considering an application under subsection (2) and where it is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so, having regard to the matters specified in subsection (3) of section 8, the Court shall, as it thinks fit, refuse the application or make an order varying the agreement in such manner as it thinks proper.

(4) Where a party to a registered employment agreement wishes to apply to the Court to vary the agreement, and one or more parties to the agreement does not agree with the proposed variation, a party to the agreement may invoke the dispute resolution procedures contained in the agreement.

(5) Where the dispute resolution procedures have been invoked under subsection (4) and the parties to the registered employment agreement have failed to reach agreement, a party to the registered employment agreement may refer the dispute to the Workplace Relations Commission for conciliation.

(6) Following a referral of a dispute to the Workplace Relations Commission under subsection (5), where the parties have failed to arrive at a settlement of the dispute through conciliation, the Commission shall, within 6 weeks of referral of the dispute, forward a report to the Court stating that it is satisfied that no further efforts on its part will advance the resolution of the dispute and, notwithstanding section 26 of the Act of 1990, the Commission shall request the Court to investigate the dispute.

(7) On receipt of a report under subsection (6), the Court shall consider the request and shall hear all persons appearing to the Court to be interested and desiring to be heard, and the Court shall, within 6 weeks of receipt of the report, issue a recommendation to the parties to the registered employment agreement setting out its opinion on the merits of the dispute and the terms on which it should be settled.

(8) Where, 6 weeks after the date on which a recommendation under subsection (7) has issued, the dispute has not been resolved, a party to the agreement may apply to the Court to vary the agreement in the terms of the Court’s recommendation.

(9) The Court shall consider an application under subsection (8) and shall hear all persons appearing to the Court to be interested and desiring to be heard, and after such consideration, where it is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so having regard to the matters specified in subsection (3) of section 8, the Court shall, within 6 weeks of receipt of the application, as it thinks fit, refuse the application or make an order varying the agreement in such manner as it thinks proper.

(10) Where a registered employment agreement provides that a party may withdraw from the agreement where the Court has made an order under subsection (9), the Court shall where it has—

(a) made an order under that subsection, and

(b) received notice from a party to the agreement of that party’s proposal to withdraw from the agreement,

cancel or amend the agreement as appropriate.

10. Cancellation of registration

10. (1) The registration of an employment agreement may be cancelled by the Court on the joint application of all parties to the agreement if the Court is satisfied that the consent of all such parties to its cancellation has been given voluntarily.

(2) Where a registered employment agreement does not provide for its duration, the Court may, after the lapse of 12 months from the date of registration, cancel the registration on the application, made after 6 months’ notice to the Court, of all parties to the agreement.

(3)(a) Where a registered employment agreement is expressed to be for a specified period, it shall, if in force at the end of that period, and notwithstanding any provision that it shall cease to have effect at the expiration of such period, continue in force until its registration is cancelled in accordance with this section.

(b) The registration of an employment agreement continued in force under paragraph (a) may be cancelled by the Court on the application of any party to the agreement, made after 3 months’ notice to the Court, and consented to by all parties to the agreement.

(4) Where a registered employment agreement is terminated by any party to the agreement in accordance with any provision contained in the agreement, the Court shall, on receiving notice of the termination, cancel the registration.

(5) The Court may cancel the registration of an employment agreement if it is satisfied, having regard to subsection (3)(c) of section 8, that a trade union who was a party to the agreement is no longer substantially representative of the workers concerned.

11. Adaptation of contracts of service consequential upon registration of employment agreement

11. (1) A registered employment agreement shall, so long as it continues to be registered, apply, for the purposes of this section, to every worker of the class, type or group to which it is expressed to apply, and the employer or employers to which it is expressed to apply.

(2) If a contract between a worker of a class, type or group to which a registered employment agreement applies and his or her employer provides for the payment of remuneration at a rate (in this subsection referred to as the “contract rate”) less than the rate (in this subsection referred to as the “agreement rate”) provided by such agreement and applicable to such worker, the contract shall, in respect of any period during which the agreement is registered, have effect as if the agreement rate were substituted for the contract rate.

(3) If a contract between a worker of a class, type or group to which a registered employment agreement applies and his or her employer provides for conditions of employment (in this subsection referred to as the “contract conditions”) less favourable than the conditions (in this subsection referred to as the “agreement conditions”) fixed by the agreement and applicable to such worker, the contract shall, in respect of any period during which the agreement is registered, have effect as if the agreement conditions were substituted for the contract conditions.

12. Interpretation of registered employment agreements

12. (1) The Court may at any time, on the application of any person, give its decision on any question as to the interpretation of a registered employment agreement or its application to a particular person.

(2) A court of competent jurisdiction, in determining any question arising in proceedings before it as to the interpretation of a registered employment agreement or its application to a particular person, shall have regard to any decision of the Court on the said agreement referred to it in the course of the proceedings.

(3) If any question arises in proceedings before a court of competent jurisdiction as to the interpretation of a registered employment agreement or its application to a particular person, the court may, if it thinks proper, refer the question to the Court for its decision.

Chapter 3

13. Definitions (Chapter 3)

13. In this Chapter—

“Act of 2000” means the National Minimum Wage Act 2000;

“economic sector” means a sector of the economy concerned with a specific economic activity requiring specific qualifications, skills or knowledge;

“overtime” means any hours worked in excess of normal working hours;

“remuneration” means basic pay and may include pay in excess of basic pay in respect of—

(a) shift work,

(b) piece work,

(c) overtime,

(d) unsocial hours worked,

(e) hours worked on a Sunday, or

(f) travelling time (when working away from base),

but shall not include remuneration paid by an employer to his or her spouse, civil partner within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, step-father, step-mother, son, daughter, step-son, step-daughter, grandson, grand-daughter, brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister;

“sectoral employment order” has the meaning assigned to it by section 17.

14. Submission of request to Court

14. (1) Subject to subsection (3) —

(a) a trade union of workers,

(b) a trade union or an organisation of employers, or

(c) a trade union of workers jointly with a trade union or an organisation of employers,

may request the Court to examine the terms and conditions relating to the remuneration and any sick pay scheme or pension scheme, of the workers of a particular class, type or group in the economic sector in respect of which the request is expressed to apply.

(2) A request under this section shall include confirmation, in such form and accompanied by such documentation as the Court may specify that—

(a) where the request is made by a trade union of workers or jointly with the trade union of workers, the trade union of workers is substantially representative of the workers of the particular class, type or group in the economic sector in respect of which the request is expressed to apply, and

(b) where the request is made by a trade union or an organisation of employers or jointly with a trade union or an organisation of employers, the trade union or organisation concerned is substantially representative of the employers of the workers specified in paragraph (a).

(3) Where the Minister has made a sectoral employment order in relation to a class, type or group of workers in a particular economic sector, the Court shall not consider a request under subsection (1) in relation to the same class, type or group of workers in that sector, until at least 12 months after the date of the order, unless the Court is satisfied that exceptional and compelling circumstances exist which justify consideration of an earlier request.

(4) A request under subsection (1) shall be in a form prescribed by the Court.

15. Examination by Court