As a part of the on-going programme for the reform of Industrial relations in Ireland, Minister Richard Bruton has established the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) as the primary body for dealing with Industrial Relations in Ireland. The Commission has now published a quarterly report to chart the progress of the scheme to date, and highlight the work being done in the recent months.
A fundamental element of the reform programme, and a starting point for the Quarterly Report was the reform of the Employment Rights bodies, and a trumpeting of this by the Department. As a background, on 5th April 2012 Minister Richard Bruton launched a Blueprint document paving the way for reform of the Irish Industrial Relations system. This Blueprint set out detailed procedures in which the Minister intends to legislate for a new Two Tier structure which will merge the services of the LRC, NERA, the EAT and the Equality Tribunal by the end of 2012. The Blueprint encouraged interested stakeholders to review and comment on the proposals and provide suggestions where necessary for inclusion.
Single Complaint form
The next highlight of the report is the new Single Complaint form which has been developed as a part of the reform. The Single Complaint Form, launched on the 1st January 2012, has the capacity to deal with over 100 first instance complaints and replaces over 30 forms previously in use. There has been a 70% uptake in the new form with a second release of the form, reflecting feedback received from users and stakeholders, having been released on 29th March 2012 and is available on www.workplacerelations.ie
According to the report, work has commenced on the development of a version of the Single Complaint Form which can be submitted online (the current version is downloaded online, completed on PC, printed down and submitted by post), and will be available later this year.
Single Contact Portal
A primary element of the Workplace Relations Commission is the Single Contact Portal function, which provides information to callers and is a single point of entry into the Workplace Relations System. As a development in the new system, complaints are now acknowledged and the employer is also notified within five working days on average of the complaint being lodged. Prior to the introduction of the WRCS this process was taking up to eight months in some cases. This has been highlighted as one of the biggest successes of the reform thus far.
This prompt notification increases the likelihood of employers and employees resolving issues sooner, which is the basis of the reform and aims to resolve disputes in the workplace instead of the adversarial tribunal setting. The introduction of this service has also assisted in reducing the backlog for Rights Commissioner hearings and as a result there is now no backlog for Rights Commissioner hearings.
According to the report 61% (2,186) of all complaints were referred to the Rights Commissioner Service (RCS) and 29% (1,033) of all complaints were referred to the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT). 127 complaints were handled by the WRCS on behalf of the Equality Tribunal. Over 1,000 complaints were received each month during the first quarter, 1,117 (January), 1,222 (February) and 1,248 (March).
As a breakdown of the type of complaints received the report published the following information in relation to this.
- Unfair dismissal and wages each comprised some 21% of complaints submitted to the WRCS in the first quarter of 2012.
- 13% (470) of complaints related to IR (individual) issues
- Redundancy and working hours complaints remained prominent at 10% (371) and 8% (286) respectively.
- 65% of all unfair dismissal complaints were made to the Rights Commissioner Service and 35% to the EAT).
New Interim Website
An interim website has been created, with the aim to provide a single source of information regarding rights and obligations under employment, industrial relations and employment equality legislation. In the first three months since its launch the website has attracted over 23,500 visits and an average weekly total of over 1,800 visits.
The report makes clear that this is only an interim website at the moment and will continue to develop to fully reflect the on-going reform of workplace relations structures and processes pending its replacement with a newly-designed site. Accordingly work has already commenced on the design and development of the new website, which will serve both the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court, while also replacing the existing websites of the five Workplace Relations Bodies.
Early Resolution Service
The final achievement highlighted in the report relates to the newly created Pilot Early Resolution Service (ERS). The new pilot scheme was launched by the WRC to seek resolution of workplace relations complaints as an alternative to either a formal hearing by the EAT, Rights Commissioner Service, Labour Court or Equality Tribunal or a NERA inspection. The scheme will see people being offered the option of a Case Resolution Officer being assigned to their case in the hope of seeking early resolution and avoiding the matter going to tribunal. The Case Resolution Officer will contact the parties or their representatives to find a solution that both sides find acceptable. It is hoped that the new pilot system will offer the following benefits to employers and employees.
- Early and timely intervention,
- Minimisation of the need to proceed to formal hearings and inspections,
- Enhanced capture of invalid and inadmissible complaints,
- The provision of an alternative method of dispute resolution,
- Leveraging at an early stage the expertise, skills and knowledge which currently reside within the Workplace Relations Service in order to efficiently and effectively resolve disputes,
- Contributing towards the simplification of access to and navigation of the employment dispute resolution processes,
- Generating efficiencies and savings in terms of staff input and associated administrative costs, and
- Reducing costs for employers and employees.
The WRC has set itself to reform the Industrial Relations landscape in Ireland, and work has begun on this with the launch of the Blueprint document, the single complaint form, the new Website and the Early Resolution Service. There is further work to be done and barriers to cross before legislation on the new two tier system will be enacted however if the previous months work is anything to go by, it is clear there is a real intent to reform the system and the Minister has set his sights on doing so.
Employers should seek advice from Peninsula Business Services when faced with a potential claim. Please phone the 24 Hour Advice Service on 01 855 5050 and one of our experienced advisors will be happy to assist.
