Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2015
315. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the maximum anticipated timeframes to reach, respectively, mediation and a hearing under the new Equality Tribunal structure as specified in the Workplace Relations Act 2015. [32811/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Workplace Relations Act 2015, which was signed into law on 20th May, 2015 reforms the State’s existing employment rights and industrial relations structures. This legislation provides a statutory basis for a new structure which will see the existing five workplace relations bodies replaced by two. While a number of technical and operational provisions of the Act were commenced on 1st August, the majority of the provisions, including those related to the new structures, will be commenced on 1st October, 2015. This Act will also result in the establishment of new structures for the resolution and adjudication of complaints and disputes across the entire corpus of employment rights and equality legislation. The aim of the Act is to create a modern, user-friendly, world-class employment workplace relations system that will provide significant benefits for its users and society as a whole. The focus will be on resolving the workplace disputes as quickly and inexpensively as possible.
The Workplace Relations Act 2015 is not prescriptive in terms of the anticipated time frames for the progression of complaints to mediation and hearing under the new workplace relations structures.
Mediation will be offered to facilitate resolution of complaints where possible at an early stage and without recourse to adjudication. Mediation will be offered only where all parties have indicated their willingness to participate in the mediation process and where acceptance by the relevant parties is received. In such circumstances, it is anticipated that the time frame to reach mediation will be three weeks.
All first instance complaints requiring adjudication will be heard in private by WRC Adjudication Officers. The Adjudication Officer will convene a hearing where both parties are given the opportunity to be heard and to decide the matter. Parties will be free to represent themselves or choose their own representation. All appeals will lie to the Labour Court (except in the case of complaints under the Equal Status Acts where the appeal will lie to the Circuit Court). The target waiting time for a hearing under the new structures will be three months from the time of referral of the complaint to hearing.
The deputy will wish to be aware that, as part of the workplace relations reform process, additional adjudicators have been selected through the Public Appointments Service. Over recent months a number have been working as Equality Officers and have already significantly reduced the waiting times for equality cases.
