The Government is implementing significant changes to how labour affairs are managed in Ireland, including changed responsibilities and names for the relevant Government departments.

From 2 September 2017, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has become the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, with Frances Fitzgerald, TD as the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. The Department has a new website address – www.dbei.gov.ie.

At the same time, the Department of Social Protection has become Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, and Regina Doherty, TD is now Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection. The website is still www.welfare.ie.

A new statutory instrument No 361 of 2017, provides for the transfer of the labour affairs and labour law functions from DJEI (now DBEI) to the new Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (now DEASP). This represents a fundamental change as it transfers the functions of workplace and employee protections to Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, who already provide a number of employment-related services.

Possible implications

Immediate issues on the DEASP Minister’s plate are the July 2017 report of the Low Pay Commission, recommending an increase in the national minimum wage of 30c to €9.55 per hour, and the planned wide-ranging legislation on protections for precarious workers. The integration of labour affairs activity with social welfare could lead to increased integration or new policy directions around issues such as the relationship between the national minimum wage and social welfare rates, the operation of part-time working and social welfare benefits, the social welfare implications of redundancy and dismissal, working time records and social welfare payments.

Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection

The functions being transferred to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection include:

• Employment rights policy and legislation

  • This covers responsibility for eleven primary Acts governing employment rights and their related policy issues. The legislation includes the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973 to 2005, Protection of Employment Acts 1977 to 2014, Payment of Wages Act 1991, Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 to 2014, Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, Protection of Employees, part-time, fixed-term, and temporary agency workers, as well as Protection of Employment (Exceptional Collective Redundancies and Related Matters) Act 2007.

  • It also includes the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015, with some exceptions, and the enactment of codes of practice under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. Protections under TUPE regulations (European Communities (Protection of Employees on Transfer of Undertakings) Regulations 2003) are also now with Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection.

• The national minimum wage and the Low Pay Commission
  • Ministerial responsibility for the national minimum wage under the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 has been transferred to DEASP, along with the Low Pay Commission, which makes annual recommendations on the appropriate level of the national minimum wage.

At EU/international level, the lead responsibility transferred for employment policy functions associated with:

• Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
• Council of Europe Social Charter and the EU Pillar of Social Rights
• Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council and the Employment Committee (EMCO).

These changes have transferred over a vast array of employee protections, and we will have to wait to see the implications for practice, and how they are aligned with other traditional DEASP services.

Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation

Meanwhile the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation retains responsibility for Government policy in the areas of enterprise, innovation, the regulation of business, industrial relations and employment conditions. The role of the Labour Affairs Division will be to ensure that employment rights are appropriate and respected, and it has retained employment functions related to:

• Workplace relations reform
• Employment permits
• Industrial relations (including Protection of Young Persons Acts and Employment Agency legislation) as well as trade union matters, monitoring of industrial disputes and legislation relating to employee involvement in the workplace.
• Safety health and chemicals policy
• Labour market

Interestingly, the lead on the gender pay gap consultation process lies with the Department of Justice and Equality and DBEI propose to coordinate engagement with the private sector, including wage surveys.

We welcome feedback and comments from interested members to info@cipd.ie.