The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) hears claims under 18 separate pieces of legislation, some of which are lodged as direct claims to the Tribunal and others which come to the Tribunal by way of appeal or implementation of a Rights Commissioner's recommendation/decision.
I am informed that if a Rights Commissioner decision is referred to the Tribunal for implementation, the Tribunal will endeavour to list this type of case as quickly as possible and will stream similar types of referrals together. These can be dealt with relatively quickly.
However, if either party appeals a Rights Commissioner decision, it must go before the Tribunal for a fresh hearing. The type of claim, the fact that it is contested, the date of lodgement, current resources are all factors that impact on the time to hear the case. I am informed that at the end of May 2012, the overall Dublin waiting period was 79 weeks and the overall country waiting period was 82 weeks. The Tribunal targets areas with the longest waiting period and highest level of claims outstanding in an effort to distribute its existing resources in an even handed manner.
The Tribunal increased the number of claims disposed of in 2011 by 11% against the previous year, to date 2012 continues to show an increase.
The Reform Programme I have commenced will deliver a two tier Workplace Relations structure by merging the activities of the Labour Relations Commission, the National Employment Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal and the first instance functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Labour Court into a new Body of First Instance, to be known as the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The appellate functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal will be incorporated into an expanded Labour Court. Substantial progress has already been made and a number of important priority actions that I identified last July have been successfully delivered within the target timescale. Work has commenced on the drafting of a Workplace Relations Bill to give effect to the new two-tier structure. The purpose of the Reform Programme is to provide a more efficient and effective system of resolving employment disputes. Substantial progress has already been made in this regard. For example, the establishment of a Workplace Relations Single Contact Portal from January this year has resulted in all complaints now being acknowledged and respondents notified within, on average, 5 working days of receipt of the complaint. In 2010 Rights Commissioner complaints were being acknowledged within an average of 80 days. This service enhancement increases the likelihood of employers and employees resolving issues sooner and has substantially reduced the backlog for certain hearings. I understand that the backlog for Rights Commissioner hearings has effectively been eliminated.
The service improvements have also been underpinned by the launch from January this year of a Single Complaint Form for all first instance workplace relations complaints. A version of this Form which can be submitted online will be rolled out in quarter 3 of this year. A Pilot Early Resolution Service commenced on 14th May this year. This service will provide the opportunity in certain cases for employers and employees to resolve issues without recourse to formal adjudication hearings, thus relieving pressure on adjudication services such as the Rights Commissioner Service and the EAT.
The two tier model now being designed will deliver a just, fair and efficient adjudication service provided by independent, professional and impartial decision-makers with a target period of three months from the time of complaint to hearing, and written, reasoned decisions within 28 working days of the hearing with published decisions. Finally, I also intend to provide for a more effective method of enforcing the awards of adjudicators.
