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GAZETTE
OCTOBER- 1977
SOCIETY OF YOUNG SOLICITORS
SUMMARY OF RECENTLY
INTRODUCED LABOUR
LEGISLATION
The following is a very brief summary of the more
relevant of the recent Labour Legislation with details of
the date on which the Acts came into force.
1. Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act
1973
This Act came into force on 1st September 1973. It
lays down minimum periods of notice to be given by
employers and by employees when terminating a
Contract of employment. In addition it gives employees
the right to have information about the terms of their
employment set out in writing.
2. Holidays (Employees) Act 1973
The Act came into force on 1st April 1974 replacing
the Holidays (Employees) Act 1961. It provides that
most non-agricultural employees are entitled to three
weeks annual holidays for each "leave year" with pro
rata entitlements for periods of employment of less than a
year. It also provides for entitlements in respect of public
holidays.
For the purposes of the Act a "leave year" means the
year beginning on 1st April.
3. Anti- Discrimination (Pay) Act 1974.
This Act came into force on 31st December 1975.
It aims to ensure equal treatment between men and
women in regard to pay firstly by establishing the
right to equal pay for like work and secondly by
providing the means by which this right can be
enforced.
The Act provides that the right to equal pay will
apply retrospectively to 31st December 1975 and so
employers who delay implementation may find
themselves faced with claims for substantial arrears of
pay.
4. Unfair Dismissals Act 1977
The Act came into operation on 9th May 1977.
The purpose of the Act is to protect employees from
being unfairly dismissed from their jobs by laying
down criteria by which dismissals are to be judged
unfair and by providing an adjudication system and
redress for an employee whose dismissal has been
found to be unjustified.
Effectively it protects employees who have been in
the same job for more than one year from being
unfairly dismissed.
It does not apply to those of retiring age, to the
Defence Forces or Gardai or to State or other similar
employments. To justify dismissal the employer must
show substantial grounds, for example, employee's
misconduct, redundancy or the employee's
incompetence.
Dismissals will be unfair under the Act where it is
shown that they resulted wholly or mainly from any of
the toilowing:
(a) The employees trade union membership or
activities, either outside working hours or at those
times during working hours when permitted by the
employer.
(b) Religious or political opinions.
(c) Race or colour.
(d) Legal proceedings against the employer where the
employee is a party or a witness.
(e) Unfair selection for redundancy.
(0 Pregnancy, unless the employee was unable to do
her work adequately or her continued employment
would involve contravention of a Statutory
requirement.
A woman employee who claims she was dismissed due
to pregnancy may bring her unfair dismissal claim even
though she does not have a years continuous service with
her employer.
Claims by employees under the Act are heard before
the Rights Commissioner and there is a right of appeal to
the Circuit Court.
5. Protection of Empl oymt Act 1977
This Act came into force on 10th May 1977. The
purpose of the Act is to give greater protection to groups
of workers faced by redundancy. It ensures that their
representatives receive prior notification and are
consulted beforehand by their employer. The Act also
provides that an employer must notify the Minister for
Labour of the proposed redundancies and then delay their
implementation until thirty days have elapsed.
6. Employment Equality Act 1977
This Act came into force on 1st July 1977. It outlaws
discrimination on the grounds of sex or marital status:
(a) In recruitment for employment.
(b) In conditions of employment (other than
remuneration or a term relating to an occupational
pension scheme).
(c) In training or in work experience or
(d) In opportunities for promotion.
Under the Act it is unlawful for an employer to have
rules or instructions which discriminate on grounds of sex
or marital status. While the Act is aimed primarily at
eliminating discrimination by employers it also makes
unlawful, discrimination by employers in activities which
are related to employment. The Act does not apply to
specified employments for example the Defence Forces or
the Gárda Siochána, family employments or by the sex of
the employee as an occupational qualification for the job.
The Statutory bar on male midwives is also removed.
Any individual who feels he is suffering from
discrimination of a nature outlawed by the Act may apply
directly to the Labour Court under the procedures
specified in the Act.
7. The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act
1977
This Act came into operation on 5th July 1977. The
main purpose of the Act is to extend the scope of the
legislative protection given to young workers under the
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