Review of JLCs Leads to Several Recommendations for Reform

This is an issue which will certainly cause a lot of employers to stand up and take note. In July 2011, the High Court issued a decision which rendered all Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) in Ireland to be unconstitutional. What this meant was that any industry wage agreements they had created, affecting hundreds of thousands of employees, were also unconstitutional. Since then the Government has been busy reviewing the system and seeking suitable reform and on 1^st of October 2013, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, published the Report of the Labour Court’s Review of the Joint Labour Committee (JLC) system. He said that he accepted the recommendations contained in the Report and set out the legal steps necessary for their implementation. So what has been recommended and what may you expect to see coming down the line?  Reduced Number of JLCs The Report recommends that the number of JLCs be reduced and that they must be flexible in terms of recognizing changing circumstances in the industry/sector it applies to. Specifically, the report recommends the abolition of the Dublin Hotels JLC, and the Law Clerks’ JLC, to narrow the scope of the Agricultural, Hairdressing, Retail Grocery, Hotels (outside Dublin), Contract Cleaning and Security JLCs, and to amalgamate the two Catering JLCs. In addition, the Hairdressing JLC will be expanded so that it will apply nationwide. JLC Summaries In our very own submission on this subject, Peninsula advocated that all JLCs be abolished given the extent of legislation protecting all workers in Ireland. While only two will be abolished, the rest will at least provide greater clarity and flexibility for employers. Here are the changes to expect:  Agricultural Workers  This JLC will be retained albeit with reduced scope and will cover the following three areas;

• It will cover workers engaged in farming, defined as the production, sorting and packing of animals, animal produce, crops, fruit and vegetables for consumable use and those engaged in horticulture including market gardens, garden nurseries and nursery grounds;
• Employers who do not perform the above will not be bound and specifically those employers engaged in “osier land or woodland”, “sports grounds”, “the caring for or the rearing or training of animals”, and “any other incidental activities connected with agriculture” will not be bound.

 Catering (Dublin and Dun Laoghaire) JLC/Catering (Other) JLC These two JLCs will be amalgamated meaning uniform terms will apply across the country. The following recommendations will also come into play:

• Employers will be bound if they are “a business or premises approved primarily for the purpose of and continuing to supply prepared food or drink for consumption on or off the premises, for reward to any persons”. The “off the premises” addition is interesting as previously this JLC only applied to premises who supplied food for consumption “on the premises” but this new addition would suggest that take-away only premises will be bound by a future Catering JLC.
• If an employee could also equally be considered as coming under the Retail Grocery JLC or Hotel JLC then they will not come under the Catering JLC. This will provide greater clarity as to which JLC to apply to an employee when multiple JLCs could apply to them.
• The JLC will extend to all public houses regardless of food being served on the premises.
• Off licenses will also be covered.
• Catering companies will also be included under the extended scope.

Contract Cleaning  This JLC will be retained with an amended Establishment Order that reflects the consensus reflected in the draft Registered Employment Agreement recently agreed.

• It will apply to all employees “employed by companies engaged in whole or part on the provision of cleaning and janitorial services in, or on the exterior of establishments including hospitals, offices, shops, stores, factories, apartments buildings, hotels, airports and similar establishments”

Hairdressing  This JLC will be retained albeit with reduced scope meaning it will only apply to those workers in establishments which provide a hairdressing service only. Hotels (Dublin and Dun Laoghaire)/Hotels (Other excluding Cork)  The recommendation is that the Hotels JLC for the Dublin area should be abolished. The Hotel JLC for all areas outside of Dublin will be retained but amended in the following manner:

• That it more definitively clarifies the type of workers to which it applies.
• That the term “incidental work” be clearly defined to allow for greater certainty in terms of the JLCs application to employees who carry out work “incidental” to hotel work.
• Employees who are employed in leisure facilities, health and beautician services and outdoor grounds workers will also be covered by the JLC
• That subcontractors will not bound by the hotel JLC.

Law Clerks  The recommendation is that the JLC be abolished. Retail Grocery and Allied Trades  This JLC will be retained albeit with an amended scope amended scope in terms of the competitive sector to which the JLC will apply. The recommendations include the following;

• Employees involved in clerical and incidental work will be excluded.
• It will only apply to establishments owned or operated by, or working under a franchise to, provide groceries and other goods for sale to the public, including the sale of all food whether it is prepared on or consumed on or off the premises.
• It effectively states that any subcontractor or individual working on the premises providing a service other than the sale of goods and groceries, but employed by an unrelated employer, will not be bound by the JLC.
• In a big move, the JLC will not apply to any outlets who do sell some items which are “groceries” but for whom the sale of such items is only an incidental part of their business. A common example would be a petrol station whose primary focus is the provision of fuel and not necessarily the sale of goods and groceries.

Security  This JLC will be retained with an amended Establishment Order that reflects the consensus reflected in the draft Registered Employment Agreement recently agreed.  The recommendations are as follows:

• The meaning of “security firm” is now “an employer who employs persons, hereinafter referred to as security operatives, to provide a security service for contract clients of their employer, and performing one or more functions of below

1. 1.    Prevention or detection of theft, loss, embezzlement, misappropriation or concealment of merchandise, money, bonds, stocks, notes or other valuables
2. 2.    The prevention or detection of intrusion, unauthorised entry or activity, vandalism or trespass, on private property either by physical, electronic or mechanical means
3. 3.    The enforcement of rules, regulations and policies related to crime reduction
4. The protection of individuals from bodily harm”

• It will also apply to an employer who provides a service of a security or surveillance nature, the purpose of which is to protect persons and property. This will likely have a great impact on alarm companies who do not necessarily provide security guards but who provide a surveillance service.

Conclusions Those employers who operated under the old JLC system may be disappointed to hear of their return but will no doubt recognise the improvements being outlined above in terms of clarity and flexibility. This will no doubt improve their application for employers and remove a lot of the uncertainty that existed previously. Employers who wish to discuss the impact of the JLCs on them, or are unsure if they do apply to their business, are encouraged to contact our 24 Hour Advice Service on 01 855 50 50 and one of our experienced consultants will be more than happy to discuss them with you.