It is not part of the National Procurement Services (NPS) remit to monitor employment law obligations or enforcement of awards. Employment law and its enforcement apply equally to public and private sector contracts. My colleague Mr Richard Bruton TD, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has overall policy responsibility for employment rights including redundancy entitlements. The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) is responsible for enforcing minimum statutory employment rights and entitlements in the State and, in undertaking that role, carries out a range of functions including the provision of employment rights information and the inspection of employment related records. NERA operates a system of risk based inspections in sectors where there are identifiable risks. Inspections are also carried out in response to complaints received and routine inspections are undertaken as a control measure.
It is a condition of any contract entered into by a public authority with a private sector entity (other than for operations that may reasonably be considered as small scale) that the entity is required to provide access to certain information. This information may assist the authority to assess compliance with employment legislation consistent with the requirements of EU and national law.
In addition, the NPS has made provision within its template suite of tender and contract documentation to address situations where breach of employment (or other relevant) legislation comes to its attention in the context of contract administration. Discharge of fees is subject to compliance with terms and conditions of contract which includes legislative compliance. Similarly material breach of such terms may trigger a right of termination. Provision is also made for a requirement for contractors to comply with directions of the contracting authority (NPS) in the administration of a contract.
Finally, I should point out that the functions of the NPS transferred to the Office of Government Procurement at the start of this year.
