The WRC
Workplace Relations Commission Act
Establishment day
9. The Minister shall, by order, appoint a day to be the establishment day for the purposes of this Act.
Annotations:
Editorial Notes:
E6
Power pursuant to section exercised (1.10.2015) by Workplace Relations Act 2015 (Establishment Day) Order 2015 (S.I. No. 412 of 2015).
Establishment of Commission
10. (1) There shall stand established on the establishment day a body, which shall be known as the Workplace Relations Commission (in this Act referred to as the “Commission”), to perform the functions conferred on it by or under this Act.
(2) The provisions of Schedule 3 shall apply to the Commission.
Functions of Commission
11. (1) The Commission shall, in addition to the other functions conferred on it by this Act—
(a) promote the improvement of workplace relations, and maintenance of good workplace relations,
(b) promote and encourage compliance with relevant enactments,
(c) provide guidance in relation to compliance with codes of practice approved under section 20,
(d) conduct reviews of, and monitor developments as respects, workplace relations,
(e) conduct or commission research into matters pertaining to workplace relations,
(f) provide advice, information and the findings of research conducted by the Commission to joint labour committees and joint industrial councils,
(g) advise and apprise the Minister in relation to the application of, and compliance with, relevant enactments,
(h) provide information to members of the public in relation to employment enactments (other than the Act of 1998), and
(i) attend meetings outside the State relating to employment law matters and industrial and workplace relations upon the request of the Minister.
(2) The Commission may provide such advice as it considers appropriate on any matter relating to workplace relations to—
(a) employers or representative bodies or associations of employers, or
(b) employees, trade unions or excepted bodies,
whether or not it has received a request in that behalf from any such person.
(3) Subject to this Act, the Commission shall be independent in the performance of its functions.
(4) The Commission shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions.
(5) The Commission shall perform its functions through or by the Director General or any member of the staff of the Commission duly authorised in that behalf by the Director General.
Director General of Workplace Relations Commission
12. (1) There shall be a chief executive officer of the Commission (in this Act referred to as the “Director General”).
(2) The Director General (other than the Director General first appointed after the commencement of this section or a Director General appointed under subsection (5) ) shall be appointed by the Minister from among persons in respect of whom a recommendation for the purposes of this section has been made by the Public Appointments Service consequent upon the holding of a competition in accordance with the Act of 2004.
(3) The Public Appointments Service shall, in relation to a competition referred to in subsection (2), not make a recommendation for the purposes of that subsection in respect of more than 3 persons.
(4) The Director General shall hold office for such period not exceeding 5 years from the date of his or her appointment as the Minister may determine.
(5) The Minister may reappoint a person whose term of office as Director General expires by the efflux of time to be the Director General.
(6) A person who is reappointed to be the Director General in accordance with subsection (5) shall not hold office for periods the aggregate of which exceeds 10 years.
(7) The Director General shall hold office upon and subject to such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration, allowances and superannuation) as may be determined by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
(8) The Director General shall not hold any other office or employment or carry on any business without the consent of the Minister.
Resignation, removal or disqualification of Director General
13. (1) The Director General may resign from office by giving notice in writing to the Minister of his or her resignation and the resignation shall take effect on the day on which the Minister receives the notice.
(2) The Minister may, at any time, remove the Director General from office if the Minister is satisfied that—
(a) the Director General has become incapable through ill-health of performing his or her functions,
(b) the Director General has committed stated misbehaviour, or
(c) the removal of the Director General appears to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance by the Commission of its functions.
(3) If the Director General is removed from office in accordance with subsection (2), the Minister shall provide the Director General with a statement of reasons for the removal.
(4) The Director General shall cease to be qualified for office and shall cease to hold office if he or she—
(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,
(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,
(c) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment,
(d) is convicted of any indictable offence in relation to a company or any other body corporate,
(e) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, whether in connection with a company or not, or
F4[(f) is, or is deemed to be, the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act 1990 or a disqualification order within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 14 of the Companies Act 2014.]
Annotations:
Amendments:
F4
Substituted (1.10.2015) by National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015 (22/2015), s. 20(1)(c), S.I. No. 411 of 2015.
Functions of Director General
14. (1) The Director General shall carry on and manage, and control generally, the administration and business of the Commission and such other functions as are conferred on him or her by or under this Act.
(2) The Director General shall be accountable to the Minister for the efficient and effective management of the Commission and for the due performance of his or her functions.
Consultation by Director General with Board
15. (1) The Director General may consult with or request the advice of the Board on any matter relating to a function (other than a function to which Part 4 applies) of the Commission.
(2) The Director General shall have regard to any advice of the Board pursuant to a request under this section before performing any function to which the advice relates.
Delegation of functions of Director General
16. (1) The Director General may delegate any of his or her functions to a specified member of staff of the Commission, and that member of staff shall be accountable to the Director General for the performance of the functions so delegated.
(2) The Director General may revoke a delegation made in accordance with this section.
Accountability of Director General to committees of Oireachtas
17. (1) In this section “Committee” means a Committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas or jointly by both Houses of the Oireachtas, other than—
(a) the Committee of Dáil Éireann established under the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann to examine and report to Dáil Éireann on the appropriation accounts and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General,
(b) the Committee on Members’ Interests of Dáil Éireann or the Committee on Members’ Interests of Seanad Éireann, or
(c) a subcommittee of a committee referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).
(2) Subject to subsection (3), the Director General shall, at the request in writing of a Committee, attend before it to give account for the general administration of the Commission.
(3) The Director General shall not be required to give account before a Committee for any matter which is or has been or may at a future time be the subject of proceedings before a court or tribunal (including an adjudication officer and the Labour Court) in the State.
(4) Where the Director General is of the opinion that a matter in respect of which he or she is requested to give an account before a Committee is a matter to which subsection (3) applies, he or she shall inform the Committee of that opinion and the reasons for the opinion and, unless the information is conveyed to the Committee at a time when the Director General is before it, the information shall be so conveyed in writing.
(5) Where the Director General has informed a Committee of his or her opinion in accordance with subsection (4) and the Committee does not withdraw the request referred to in subsection (2) in so far as it relates to a matter the subject of that opinion—
(a) the Director General may, not later than 42 days after being informed by the Committee of its decision not to do so, apply to the High Court in a summary manner for determination of the question whether the matter is one to which subsection (3) applies, or
(b) the Chairperson of the Committee may, on behalf of the Committee, make such an application,
and the High Court shall determine the matter.
(6) Pending the determination of an application under subsection (5), the Director General shall not attend before the Committee to give account for the matter the subject of the application.
(7) If the High Court determines that the matter concerned is one to which subsection (3) applies, the Committee shall withdraw the request referred to in subsection (2), but if the High Court determines that subsection (3) does not apply, the Director General shall attend before the Committee to give account for the matter.
(8) In the performance of his or her duties under this section, the Director General shall not question or express an opinion on the merits of any policy of the Government or a Minister of the Government or on the merits of the objectives of such a policy.
Membership of either House of Oireachtas or European Parliament
18. (1) Where a member of the Board is—
(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,
(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to be a member of the European Parliament, or
(c) regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1997 as having been elected to that Parliament,
he or she shall thereupon cease to be a member of the Board.
(2) Where the Director General is—
(a) nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,
(b) elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or to be a member of the European Parliament, or
(c) regarded pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1997 as having been elected to that Parliament,
he or she shall thereupon cease to be Director General.
(3) A person who is for the time being entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit therein or who is a member of the European Parliament shall, while he or she is so entitled or is such a member, be disqualified for membership of the Board or for employment in any capacity by the Commission.
(4) In this section “Act of 1997” means the European Parliament Elections Act 1997
Acting Director General
19. (1) Subject to subsection (2) , the Minister may appoint a person to perform the functions of the Director General during—
(a) any period or periods when the Director General is absent from duty or from the State or is, for any other reason, unable to perform the functions of Director General,
(b) any suspension from office of the Director General, or
(c) any vacancy in the office of Director General.
(2) A person shall not be appointed to perform the functions of the Director General for a continuous period of more than 12 months during a vacancy in the office of Director General.
(3) The Minister may at any time terminate an appointment under this section.
Codes of practice
20. (1) (a) The Commission may, for the purpose of providing guidance to employers, employees and any other persons to whom this Act applies with respect to compliance with an employment enactment, prepare and submit to the Minister draft codes of practice.
(b) The Commission may, for the purpose of providing guidance to employers, employees and any other persons to whom this Act applies with respect to compliance with an employment enactment, submit to the Minister a draft code of practice prepared by any person other than the Commission.
(2) The Minister may give a direction to the Commission requiring it to prepare and submit to him or her a code of practice for the purpose mentioned in subsection (1).
(3) The Commission shall comply with a direction under subsection (2).
(4) The Commission shall, before submitting a draft code of practice to the Minister under subsection (1), request any person that it considers appropriate, including trade unions and employer representative bodies, to make representations to it in relation to the draft code of practice, and the Commission shall consider any such representations made.
(5) The Minister may give a direction to the Commission to amend a draft code of practice submitted to him or her in accordance with this section in such manner as is specified in the direction, and the Commission shall comply with the direction and resubmit to the Minister the draft code of practice as so amended.
(6) The Minister may, by order, declare a draft code of practice submitted or resubmitted to him or her in accordance with this section to be an approved code of practice for the purposes of this Act, and the text of the approved code of practice shall be set out in the order.
(7) The Commission shall publish an approved code of practice on its internet website.
(8) Every order under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next twenty one days on which that House sits after the order has been laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
(9) A code of practice standing approved under this section shall be admissible in evidence in proceedings before a court, the Labour Court or an adjudication officer.
(10) In this section “employment enactment” does not include the Act of 1998.
Strategy statement
21. (1) The Board shall—
(a) not later than 6 months after the commencement of this section, prepare and submit to the Minister a strategy statement in respect of the period of 3 years immediately following the year in which the strategy statement is so submitted, and
(b) not later than 3 months before each third anniversary of the submission to the Minister in accordance with this subsection of the strategy statement for the time being in effect, prepare and submit to the Minister a strategy statement in respect of the period of 3 years immediately following the year in which the second-mentioned strategy statement is so submitted.
(2) The Board shall, before preparing and submitting a strategy statement in accordance with subsection (1), seek and obtain the advice of the Director General in relation thereto.
(3) (a) The Board shall, in the preparation of a strategy statement have regard to the need to ensure the most effective and efficient use of the resources available to the Commission.
(b) A strategy statement shall—
(i) except in the case of the strategy statement first prepared, submitted and approved under this section, contain a review of the implementation of the immediately preceding strategy statement,
(ii) specify the manner in which the Board proposes to assess the effectiveness of the implementation of the strategy statement, and
(iii) include any other matters that the Minister may from time to time direct.
(4) The Minister shall, as soon as practicable after a strategy statement has been submitted to him or her under subsection (1) or pursuant to a direction under paragraph (c)—
(a) approve the strategy statement,
(b) approve the strategy statement subject to such modifications as he or she may specify, or
(c) refuse to approve the strategy statement and require the Board, by direction in writing, to prepare and submit a revised strategy statement to the Minister by such date as may be specified in the direction.
(5) The Board shall comply with a direction under this section by such date as may be specified in the direction.
(6) The Commission shall not implement a strategy statement unless it has been approved by the Minister in accordance with paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (4).
(7) The Minister shall, as soon as practicable after having approved a strategy statement in accordance with paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (4), cause a copy of that statement to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.
(8) The Director General shall, as soon as practicable after the approval of a strategy statement in accordance with paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection (4), cause that statement to be published on the internet and, where he or she considers it appropriate, in such other manner as he or she shall determine.
(9) In this Act “strategy statement” means a statement that—
(a) specifies the key objectives, outputs and related strategies (including use of resources) of the Commission, and
(b) is prepared in a form and manner that is in accordance with any directions issued from time to time by the Minister.
Work programme
22. (1) The Board shall—
(a) after consultation with the Director General, and
(b) not later than one month before the 1st day of January each year,
prepare and submit to the Minister a plan (in this section referred to as a “work programme”) of the work that the Commission intends to carry out in the year to which the plan relates.
(2) The Minister may issue directions to the Board in relation to the preparation of a work programme.
(3) The Minister may—
(a) upon the recommendation of the Director General, or
(b) for the purpose of improving workplace relations generally or in workplaces of a particular class or classes,
direct the Board to prepare and submit to him or her a revised work programme.
(4) The Minister shall, as soon as practicable after a work programme or revised work programme has been submitted to him or her under subsection (1), or pursuant to a direction under subsection (3) or this subsection—
(a) approve the work programme or revised work programme,
(b) approve the work programme or revised work programme subject to such modifications as he or she may specify, or
(c) refuse to approve the work programme or revised work programme and, by direction in writing, require the Board to prepare and submit a revised work programme to the Minister by such date as may be specified in the direction.
(5) The Board shall comply with a direction under this section by such date as may be specified in the direction.
(6) Each work programme (other than the work programme first prepared and submitted after the commencement of this section) shall contain a review of the implementation and effectiveness of the work programme in respect of the year immediately preceding the first-mentioned work programme.
(7) The Board shall, in the preparation of a work programme, have regard to—
(a) the strategy statement approved under section 21 of the Commission applicable in respect of the year to which the work programme relates, and
(b) such other matters (if any) as are specified in a direction under subsection (2).
Reports to Minister
23. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the Director General shall, not later than 3 months after the end of each year, prepare, and submit to the Minister, a report (in this section referred to as the “annual report”) in writing on the activities of the Commission during that year.
(2) The Director General shall, in respect of the period commencing on the commencement of this section and ending on 31 December next following such commencement, prepare and submit to the Minister a report (in this section also referred to as the “annual report”) on the activities of the Commission during that period not later than 3 months after the said 31 December.
(3) The annual report shall contain information in relation to—
(a) progress regarding implementation of the strategy statement, and
(b) such other matters as the Minister may specify.
(4) The Director General may, from time to time, prepare and submit to the Minister such other reports in relation to the activities of the Commission as the Director General considers appropriate.
(5) The Minister may require the Director General, by direction in writing, to prepare and submit to him or her a report in relation to any particular matter relating to the activities of the Commission as the Minister considers appropriate.
(6) The Director General shall comply with a direction under subsection (5).
(7) The Minister shall cause a copy of the annual report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas not later than 2 months after it has been submitted to him or her in accordance with this section.
(8) This section shall not operate to require the Director General to include information in the annual report or other report referred to in this section that, in his or her opinion, would prejudice the performance by the Commission of its functions under Part 4.
Staff of Commission
24. (1) The Minister shall appoint such and so many of his or her officers as he or she may determine to be members of staff of the Commission.
(2) The terms and conditions of service of a member of the staff of the Commission shall be such as may be determined from time to time by the Minister with the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
(3) There shall be paid by the Minister to the members of the staff of the Commission such remuneration and allowances as, from time to time, the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determines.
(4) The members of the staff of the Commission shall perform their functions under the direction and control of the Director General.
(5) Appointments under this section shall be subject to the Act of 2004 and the Civil Service Regulation Acts 1956 to 2005.
Registrar of Commission
25. (1) The Minister shall, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, appoint a person to be registrar of the Commission from among persons—
(a) who are practising barristers or practising solicitors, and
(b) in respect of whom a recommendation for the purposes of this section has been made by the Public Appointments Service consequent upon the holding of a competition in accordance with the Act of 2004.
(2) Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) shall not apply in respect of the registrar first appointed after the passing of this Act.
(3) The registrar of the Commission shall hold office on such terms and conditions (including terms and conditions relating to remuneration) as the Minister, with the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determines.
(4) In this section—
“practising barrister” includes a person who is serving in a position (appointment to which was conditional upon the person’s having been called to the Bar of Ireland and standing enrolled as a barrister in the State) in the Civil Service of the Government or the Civil Service of the State;
“practising solicitor” includes a person who is serving in a position (appointment to which was conditional upon the person’s having been admitted to be a solicitor and standing enrolled as a solicitor in the State) in the Civil Service of the Government or the Civil Service of the State.
SCHEDULE 3
Functioning of the Workplace Relations Commission
Section 10
1. (1) The Commission shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and an official seal and shall have power to sue, and may be sued, in its corporate name, and shall, with the consent of the Minister and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform have power to acquire, hold and dispose of land or an interest in land, and shall have power to acquire, hold and dispose of any other property.
(2) The seal of the Commission shall be authenticated by the signatures of both the Director General, and a member of the staff of the Commission authorised by the Board to act in that behalf.
(3) Judicial notice shall be taken of the seal of the Commission and any document purporting to be an instrument made by, and to be sealed with the seal of, the Commission shall, unless the contrary is shown, be received in evidence and be deemed to be such instrument without further proof.
2. (1) The Commission shall have a board (in this Act referred to as the “Board”) consisting of the following members, that is to say—
(a) a chairperson, and
(b) 8 ordinary members.
(2) The chairperson and the ordinary members of the Board shall be appointed by the Minister.
(3) Of the ordinary members of the Board—
(a) 2 shall be appointed by the Minister from among persons who, in the opinion of the Minister, represent the interests of employees,
(b) 2 shall be appointed by the Minister from among persons who, in the opinion of the Minister, represent the interests of employers,
(c) one shall be appointed by the Minister from among persons who, in the opinion of the Minister, represent the interests of bodies who seek to promote equality in the workplace, and
(d) 3 shall be appointed by the Minister from among persons who, in the opinion of the Minister, have experience and expertise in relation to workplace relations, resolution of disputes in the workplace, employment law or equality law.
(4) The Minister shall, in so far as is practicable, endeavour to ensure that among the members of the Board there is an equitable balance between men and women.
(5) (a) The chairperson of the Board shall hold office for the period of 5 years from the date of his or her appointment.
(b) A member of the Board appointed under clause (a), (b) or (c) of subparagraph (3) shall hold office for the period of 2 years from the date of his or her appointment.
(c) A member of the Board appointed under clause (d) of subparagraph (3) shall hold office for the period of 3 years from the date of his or her appointment.
(6) Subject to subparagraph (7), a member (other than the chairperson) of the Board whose term of office expires by the efflux of time shall be eligible for reappointment to the Board.
(7) A person who is reappointed to the Board in accordance with subparagraph (5) shall not hold office for periods the aggregate of which exceeds 6 years.
3. (1) A member of the Board may resign from office by giving notice in writing to the Minister of his or her resignation and the resignation shall take effect on the day on which the Minister receives the notice.
(2) The Minister may at any time remove from office a member of the Board if, in the Minister’s opinion—
(a) the member has become incapable through ill-health of performing his or her functions,
(b) the member has committed stated misbehaviour, or
(c) the member’s removal appears to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance by the Board of its functions.
(3) A member of the Board shall cease to be qualified for office and shall cease to hold office if he or she—
(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,
(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,
(c) is sentenced by a court of competent jurisdiction to a term of imprisonment,
(d) is convicted of any indictable offence in relation to a company,
(e) is convicted of any indictable offence in relation to a company or any other body corporate,
(f) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty, whether in connection with a company or not, or
F29[(g) is, or is deemed to be, the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act 1990 or a disqualification order within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 14 of the Companies Act 2014.]
(4) A member of the Board shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, hold office upon such terms and conditions as may be determined by the Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.
(5) There may be paid by the Minister to members of the Board such allowances in respect of expenses (if any) incurred by them as the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determine.
4. (1) If a member of the Board dies, resigns, ceases to be qualified for office and ceases to hold office or is removed from office, the Minister may appoint a person to be a member of the Board to fill the casual vacancy so occasioned in the same manner as the member of the Board who occasioned the casual vacancy was appointed.
(2) A person appointed to be a member of the Board pursuant to subparagraph (1) shall hold office for that period of the term of office of the member who occasioned the casual vacancy concerned that remains unexpired at the date of his or her appointment and shall, subject to subparagraph (7) of paragraph 2, be eligible for reappointment as a member of the Board on the expiry of the said period.
5. (1) The Board shall hold such and so many meetings as may be necessary for the due fulfilment of its functions.
(2) The Minister shall fix the date, time and place of the first meeting of the Board.
(3) At a meeting of the Board—
(a) the chairperson of the Board shall, if present, be the chairperson of the meeting, or
(b) if and so long as the chairperson of the Board is not present or if that office is vacant, the other members of the Board who are present shall choose one of their number to be chairperson of the meeting.
(4) Every question at a meeting of the Board shall be determined by a majority of the votes of the members of the Board present and voting on the question, and, in the case of an equal division of votes, the chairperson shall have a second or casting vote.
(5) Subject to subparagraph (7), the Board may act notwithstanding one or more vacancies among its members.
(6) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Board shall regulate its procedure by rules or otherwise.
(7) The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall, unless the Minister otherwise directs, be 5.
Annotations:
Amendments:
F29
Substituted (1.10.2015) by National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015 (22/2015), s. 20(1)(p), S.I. No. 411 of 2015.
The text in italics on this page is sourced from lawreform.ie and is re-published under the Licence for Re-Use of Public Sector Information made pursuant to Directive 2003/98/EC Directive 2013/37/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the re-use of public sector information transposed into Irish law by the European Communities (Re-Use of Public Sector Information) Regulations 2005 to 2015.