Publication of the Employment Law Compliance Bill 2008 - Launch of major new Employment Rights framework

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27 March 2008

On 18 March, the Government published the Employment Rights Compliance Bill 2008. It contains measures to completely overhaul the State's employment rights framework. The measures proposed in the Bill include:

• establishment of the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) on a statutory basis
  
  
• strengthening powers in the area of labour inspection including ensuring labour inspectors have greater access to premises, personnel and data and empowering NERA to prosecute summary offences
  
  
• empowering labour inspectors in NERA to examine employment permits, prosecute offences and conduct investigations jointly with other agencies, including Revenue Commissioners, Social Welfare inspectors and An Garda Síochána (Ireland's police force)
  
  
• provision for greater penalties for offences arising under employment law - in most cases up to €5,000 and/or 12 months' imprisonment for summary offences and €250,000 and/or 3 years' imprisonment for indictable offences
  
  
• protection of whistleblowers in the event of breaches of employment law being reported in good faith
  
  
• specification of a comprehensive list of documents which must be kept by employers in respect of the most recent three-year employment period and retained for a further two years after the employment relationship ends.

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Further information:
Employment Law Compliance Bill 2008
Publication of the Employment Law Compliance Bill 2008

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