The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), also known as Workplace Relations, has published their annual report for the service for 2013. NERA has 58 inspectors and 31 information officers running the service which ranges from information to inspection to conciliation. This is important information for every employer to be mindful when seeking to ensure compliance with employment rights obligations.
2013 Report Highlights
The highlights of the 2013 annual report include;
- 5,546 business inspections and visits carried out during 2013;
- Information provided to over 61,999 people (54,044 callers and 7,955 e-form queries);
- Employees and former employees accounted for 72% of callers; and
- Working hours, Employment Permits, Redundancy, Payment of Wages, Terms of Employment and Unfair Dismissal represent the most common categories of queries dealt with.
The report also highlights that the Workplace Relations Customer Services, which is based in NERA and is the single portal for all employment rights complaints, received 15,558 employment rights complaints (Rights Commissioner Service, the Equality Tribunal, the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Labour Court) in 2013 - an increase of 18% on the 13,219 complaints received in 2012.
Workplace Inspections
In 2013 a total of 5,546 inspection cases were completed involving over 70,360 employees, this compares to 4,689 cases in the same period on 2012. There was also an increase in the number of inspections undertaken as a result of complaints, 917 in 2013 compared with 763 in 2012.
The amount of unpaid wages recovered in 2013 was €824,052, compared to €855,935 in 2012, which is a marginal drop however when again compared to 2011 (€1,905,262) you can see a trend in the data. Issues relating to statutory minimum pay rates arose in 8% of businesses where a full inspection was carried out.
What is interesting in the report of the inspections and visits carried out during 2013 almost 9% (486) were jointly undertaken with officials from Revenue, Department of Social Protection or the Gardaí, an increase from 401 in 2012.
We can see above that NERA have increased their focus on joint inspections, most likely in light of the issues surrounding Employment Permits and Registered Employment Agreements public attention being drawn to these particular areas of Employment Law.
- The Amjad Hussein -v- The Labour Court and Mohammah Younis [2012] No. 194 J.R. case which exposed a loop hole in the legislation on employing workers who require a work permit.
- The Supreme Court case of McGowan & Ors -v- Labour Court Ireland & Anor [2013] IESC 21 which held that Part III of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 was unconstitutional thus nullifying the 70 Registered Employment Agreements created on this legislation.
Employment Permits
Since 25 November 2013, the Employment Permits Call Centre Service - previously provided by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation - has been delivered by NERA. In 2013 the service detected 453 possible breaches of the Employment Permits Acts; which is similar to 2012 where 472 suspected breaches were detected. However, with increased public awareness of THE Employment Permits issue as a result of the Hussein case, NERA have seen 48 employers successfully prosecuted under the Employment Permits Acts in 2013, and at the close of 2013 almost 100 additional cases were presently at various stages in the prosecution process for hearing in 2014.
Prosecutions
NERA will highlight that the vast majority of cases are resolved during the inspection process, with only a very small number (1.5%) prosecuted. However as a result of such prosecutions in 2013 over €109,800 in fines were imposed and €41,226 in arrears of wages was awarded to employees.
It should also be known that where it is suspected that a Company has committed an offence under Irish Employment Legislation and where it is suspected that a Director, Secretary, Manager or an Officer of that Company has consented, approved or been involved (even through neglect) in the commission of the offence, they may also be prosecuted. NERA has successfully instituted proceedings against Directors under Employment Legislation in a number of cases in 2013. In addition, for the first time during the course of a NERA investigation, a bench warrant was issued and a search warrant was used to gain access to records held. Employers should take note of these escalations by NERA in their prosecution for non-compliance.
Domestic Workers
In 2013 NERA inspectors continued to monitor compliance in the domestic work sector, which has become an area of priority given the recent adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189) by the ILO, and NERA has stated that this sector will be the focus of continued information and compliance measures in 2014.
There were 31 inspections carried out in homes and other premises where domestic workers are employed. The main issue encountered was maintenance of employment records, with over €4,400 in arrears of wages was recovered for four workers in the course of these inspections.
Published Employers
NERA’s Deputy Director Padraig Dooley has also followed through on his intention to publish the names of those employers whose cases came before the District or Circuit Court and had a sanction imposed. This list is appended to the 2013 Annual Review.
The report makes for interesting reading, with 15 pages of names and addresses of employers who were prosecuted, their industry/sector, and the legislation to which the conviction relates. Unsurprisingly the Catering industry forms the bulk of the convictions with Organisation of Working Time Act and Employment Permits Act claims forming the majority of the convictions. Catering has long been the leading supplier of complaints and inspections to NERA with over 500 inspections and €132,005 in recovered wages in 2012, and twice that in 2013 with 1,048 inspections and € 252,109 in recovered wages.
Conclusions
The 2013 report provides some interesting statistics for an employer but the main highlights being that there are more inspections being carried out year on year, and although recoveries are decreasing other areas have increased with prosecutions on the rise. And now with the published list of employers who underwent prosecution being highlighted it is most certainly a list that no employer will want to get on.
Should you receive notice of an upcoming NERA inspection or wish to get clarification on any element of an inspection or employment rights claim please don’t hesitate to contact our 24 Hour Advice Service on 01 855 50 50
