In January 2012, the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, announced the commencement of some of the initiatives that form part of his overall plan to reform and consolidate the five existing employment rights institutions.
A single point of contact, called the Workplace Relations Customer Service (WRCS), has been established to process all first instance complaints and to determine whether they are suitable for early resolution, a hearing or inspection. All first instance complaints currently referred to the Labour Relations Commission, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT), the Labour Court and the Equality Tribunal will now be submitted to the WRCS. The WRCS will also process queries relating to the status of complaints, referrals and investigations and will act as the principal provider of information in relation to employment, equality and industrial relations rights and obligations. An expanded Labour Court will act as the appellate body and will integrate the appellate functions of the EAT into its current appellate role. It is expected that this two tier structure will be in place by the Autumn.
As and from 3 January 2012, a single form (the complaint form) must be used to initiate all employment complaints. The complaint form, which replaces the 30 or more forms previously in use, must be completed electronically and, depending on what options are selected, further relevant questions may appear on screen. Currently, all complaint forms must be completed online and then posted to the WRCS.
In relation to certain types of claims, the complaint form requires significantly more detail to be provided by the claimant than was required by the pre-existing forms. The complaint form automatically sets out the redress options available to the claimant on the basis of the information provided and it also gives the option of making multiple complaints in the one form.
The time limits that currently apply to the lodging of claims under the various employment Acts will continue to apply to the lodging of the complaint form with the WRCS.
The aim of the reforms is to make the operation of the employment dispute resolution system more effective and efficient. However, concerns have been expressed that the new complaint form is not quite as user friendly as one might have hoped and specialist knowledge is required in respect of making certain claims. For example, one year’s service is not required for an unfair dismissal claim where the dismissal was by reason of pregnancy, but this is not reflected in the form.
An interim website providing information on the various redress and resolution mechanisms has been launched to support the phased replacement of the current workplace relations websites. It is the Minister’s intention that the official workplace relations website will be up and running, and the phased replacement of existing websites completed, towards the end of 2012. The consolidation of the existing employment legislation is expected to start in 2013.
In appropriate cases, an officer of the Workplace Relations Early Resolution Unit (ERU) may contact the claimant and the respondent to suggest and offer to facilitate an informal resolution of the dispute as an alternative to a formal hearing as part of a pilot scheme. It is not yet known how the ERU will assess the suitability of a dispute for early resolution. If both parties refuse to participate in early resolution or if attempts at early resolution are unsuccessful, the complaint will be referred to the relevant workplace relations body.
