Minister Nash announces details of study into the prevalence of zero hour and low hour contracts and their impact on employees
“We want to establish the extent of these work conditions, their impact on workers and then make recommendations for Government”
Monday 17th November 2014
The Minister for Business and Employment, Ged Nash TD, has issued a call for tenders to carry out a study into the prevalence of zero hour and low hour contracts and the impact of such contracts on employees.
Zero hour contracts of employment are contracts typically where the employee is available for work but does not have specified or guaranteed hours of work. These types of contracts are usually found in sectors such as retail, hospitality, health and education.
Such a study was promised in the Statement of Government priorities agreed by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste.
The key objective of the study is to fill the gap that currently exists in terms of hard data on zero hour and low hour contracts. It is expected to collect information on the extent of these contracts, the manner in which they are used and also to look at recent developments in other jurisdictions, particularly in the UK.
The study will also focus on how these contracts operate in practice and particularly on how they impact on employees. It will assess the advantages and disadvantages from the perspective of employer and employee and assess the current employment rights legislation as it applies to employees on zero hours contracts.
Minister Nash said, “We are seeing increasing debate both here at home and further afield on zero hour contracts. But, there is a distinct lack of hard data in Ireland on the prevalence of zero hour contracts and low hour contracts and the impact they have on workers. We are addressing this information gap through this study.
“We need to map and better understand the prevalence and impact of zero hour contracts in Irish employment and then decide what policy changes, if any, Government needs to make in response to the findings.”
“Workers here have more protections than their counterparts in Britain through the Organisation of Working Time Act. This ensures that where employees suffer a loss by not being given the hours they were requested to work or be available for work, they can be compensated for 25% of the time or 15 hours, whichever is less. But, we also want to know if workers are availing of this mechanism,” Minister Nash concluded.
All sectors of the economy are expected to come within the scope of the study; however, a particular focus will be on the retail, hospitality, education and health sectors. The study is expected to cover both the public and private sectors.
It is also expected that stakeholders including employers, employees, employer representative bodies, trade unions and Government Departments will be canvassed to contribute to the study.
The request for tenders is being issued on the Government’s e-tenders website this afternoon and the deadline for applications is the 15th December.
It is expected that the study will commence early in the New Year and will report back its findings to Minister Nash by Q2.
ENDS
For further information please contact: Press Office, D/Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
Ph. 01 6312200 or press.office@djei.ie
Editors’ Notes
The key objectives of the study are:-
- To fill the gap that currently exists in terms of the hard data and information that is available concerning the prevalence of “zero hours contracts” in the Irish economy and the manner of their use.
- To assess the impact of “zero hours contracts” on employees.
- To enable the Minister to make any evidence-based policy recommendations to Government considered necessary on foot of the study.
In pursuit of these key objectives, the study should
- Collect and collate data/information through surveys or other appropriate means of the extent to which “zero hours contracts” are used by employers operating in the Irish economy.
- Collect and collate data/information about the manner in which “zero hours contracts” are used by employers operating in the Irish economy.
- Assess the main features of such contracts and how they operate in practice.
- Assess the advantages and disadvantages of such contracts from the perspective of both the employer and the employee.
- Assess the impact of such contracts on employees.
- Assess current employment rights legislation as it applies to employees on “zero hours contracts”.
- Consider recent developments in other jurisdictions, including the UK in particular.
- Repeat the above exercise for low hours contracts (8 hours per week or less).
Relevant Legislation
The Protection of Employees (Part Time Work) Act 2001 is the main piece of Irish legislation establishing the employment rights of part-time employees. The purpose of the 2001 Act is to provide that part-time employees are not treated in a less favourable manner than a comparable full-time employee unless there are objective reasons for such treatment. Two other Acts of note are the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012.
Section 18 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (OWT Act) provides for a specific protection for employees on zero hours contracts. 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. If the employee got less than 25% of the scheduled work, the compensation would bring the employee’s pay up to 25% (or 15 hours).
The Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012 provides rights regarding equality of treatment to temporary agency workers, many of who may be part-time workers. The Act gives all temporary agency workers the right to equal treatment with regular workers from their first day at work in respect of key terms and conditions of work, including pay, the duration of working time, rest periods, night work, annual leave and public holidays. Under the Act, temporary agency workers must also have equal access to facilities such as childcare and must be informed of permanent employment opportunities.