Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017
Work is ongoing regarding the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017, which could potentially be in place later this year. The Act, when commenced, will impact on all employers in the following ways
Terms of Employment
If the Bill is enacted employers will be obliged, within five days of an employee commencing employment, to provide a written statement to the employee outlining the five key terms of employment which are
- The full names of the employer and employee;
- The address of the employer;
- The expected duration or expiry date of their employment;
- The method of calculating pay; and
- The number of hours they are reasonably expected to work per day and per week.
Prohibition of Zero Hours Contract
The Bill proposes to prohibit the use of zero hour contracts (which have become more prevalent in recent years) by prohibiting employers from stating in an employee’s contract that the number of hours for which an employee must make themselves available for work is zero hours.
Banded hours of work
The Bill also proposes to introduce the concept of “banded hours”. In other words, if the hours which an employee is working do not reflect the hours of work stated in the employee’s contract, the employee can request that the employer play them in a category of “banded hours” as set out in the Bill. If the employer agrees to the employee’s request then the employee shall work hours the average of which will fall within the “banded hours” for a period of not less than 18 months.
If you would like to find out more about the Bill further information is available on Oireachtas website and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection website
