The Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 implemented EU Council Directive 97/81/EC into Irish law. The purpose of the Directive was to implement the Framework Agreement on part-time work concluded by the European cross-industry organisations UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC.
The purpose of the Framework Agreement, which was annexed to the Directive, was to eliminate discrimination against part-time employees and to improve the quality of part-time work. It also aimed to facilitate the development of part-time work on a voluntary basis and to contribute to the flexible organisation of working time in a manner which takes into account the needs of employers and employees.
Accordingly, the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 provides a wide degree of protection for part-time employees, including the general protection that a part-time employee shall not be treated in a less favourable manner in respect of his/her conditions of employment than a full time employee.
With regard to employees on zero hours contracts, who are a category of part-time employee, I note that these contracts must be entered into freely by the employer and the employee – one cannot be forced upon an employee. Zero hours contracts are normally found in sectors such as retail, healthcare and hospitality. I am very conscious that in certain circumstances, they may be of great benefit to both employers and employees. They allow greater flexibility for both, reducing the employer’s pay costs, while workers can decide when and if they want to work. Such contracts may be preferred by employees who require flexibility to facilitate educational or other personal requirements and banning such contracts could do a disservice to these workers. However, this is an area I will keep under review.
Section 18 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 contains a specific protection for such employees. The zero hours protection applies to all employees whose contract operates to require them to be available whether they work on a casual basis or not. It covers situations where, for example, an employee is sent home if things are quiet or is requested to be available for work and is not, on the day, asked to work. Where an employee suffers a loss by not working hours he/she was requested to work or be available to work, the zero hours provisions of the Act ensure that he/she is compensated for 25% of the time which he/she is required to be available or 15 hours, whichever is the lesser. The level of compensation may be impacted if the employee got some work. Claims of breaches of section 18 may be referred to a rights commissioner.
An expectation of work does not, however, entitle an employee to compensation. The zero hours provision does not apply to lay-offs, short-time, emergency or exceptional circumstances, employee illness, employee on-call or where the employee is paid wages for making him/herself available for work.
Sections 17 and 19 of the Organisation of Working Time Act may also be of particular interest to employees on zero hour contracts. Section 17 sets out the requirements regarding notification to the employee of the times at which he/she will be required to work during the week. Generally, an employee is entitled to 24 hours’ notice of his/her roster for the week, although section 17(4) allows for changes as a result of unforeseen circumstances.
Section 19 sets out an employee’s entitlement to paid annual leave equal to 4 working weeks in a leave year in which he or she works at least 1,365 hours (unless it is a leave year in which he or she changes employment) or one-third of a working week for each month in the leave year in which he or she works at least 117 hours or 8 per cent of the hours he or she works in a leave year (but subject to a maximum of 4 working weeks).
