Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 December 2018
55. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of proposed legislation to deal with bogus self-employment; the progress in drafting such legislation; when such a Bill will be brought before Dáil Éireann; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53450/18]
View answerProgressing legislation to protect the interests of workers has been one of my key objectives in 2018. I am very pleased therefore that the Employment Miscellaneous Provisions Bill will complete its passage this week and introduce important new protections - particularly for those workers in sectors where employment terms are perceived to be becoming more precarious.
As deputies will be aware, the issue of bogus or false self-employment was discussed during the debate on this Bill. There exist legislative provisions prohibiting this practice. For example, under sections 251 and 252 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, there are already offences specified in relation to misclassifying employment in order to avoid paying the correct social insurance contributions. On conviction, fines of up to €13,000 or imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years, or both, can ultimately be imposed.
Workers who have concerns in relation to their employment status also have recourse to the Department’s SCOPE section. This section determines employment status and the correct class of pay-related social insurance (PRSI). The section applies a Code of Practice agreed with employers and trade unions in making its determinations. Where misclassification of workers as self-employed is detected, the correct status and class is determined and social insurance arrears are collected as required. This collection of arrears due in itself can impose a significant penalty on employers.
Given the concerns expressed in this house and elsewhere regarding a perceived increase in the incidence of self-employment, the Department conducted a communications campaign covering radio, print and social media, in relation to the issue of false self-employment during 2018 and will repeat this campaign again during 2019.
The Department has also increased the number of employer inspections in recent months with a specific focus on detecting cases of false/bogus self-employment. Inspections are also undertaken jointly with other agencies including the Revenue Commissioners and Workplace Relations Commission. Where evidence of non-compliance is detected, it is pursued.
Our increased level of inspections are resulting, in general, in a very low level of false or bogus self-employment. This is in line with data published by the CSO which indicates that the share of employment accounted for by self-employment is falling while that accounted for by permanent full-time employment is increasing. It also accords with recent research on contingent employment published by the ESRI.
Given the ongoing concerns, I have, nevertheless, set up a working group to review the Code of Practice for Determining Employment Status. As part of the review, we will consider the feasibility of putting the Code on a legislative basis. I expect the group to report its findings in the first half of 2019.
