The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Richard Bruton TD, today (Tuesday) announced a number of further initiatives as part of the continued implementation of his overall plans to reform the workplace relations institutions and structures and the merger of 5 bodies into 2:
· A new Website (www.workplacerelations.ie), which replaces the interim website and the websites of the five Workplace Relations Bodies, will provide a single source of information on employment, equality and industrial relations legislation and associated public services.
· The Single Complaint E-Form will now be valid for 130 complaint types. This form is being made available as an e-form, thus allowing electronic submission and receipt. All first instance complaints to the Rights Commissioner Service, the Employment Appeals Tribunal, National Employment Rights Authority, the Equality Tribunal and the Labour Court can be made using this form.
· The Determinations Database will provide a single, website-hosted and fully-searchable resource for users, practitioners and stakeholders for over 30,000 determinations/decisions issued to date by the Labour Court, Equality Tribunal and EAT and will replace three separate databases currently in use.
· The evaluation of the Pilot Early Resolution Service (ERS) for workplace relations complaints, which service commenced operations in May 2012, has been completed. The evaluation concludes that the ERS has demonstrated the potential for a speedy and cost effective alternative to formal adjudication insofar as complaints resolution is concerned. The Minister now proposes to proceed with the full establishment of the service underpinned by the enabling legislation.
Among the measures already delivered by the Minister under the Reform Programme are:
· A single contact portal for workplace relations referrals and information has replaced the five separate entry points,
· Complaints are now acknowledged, on average, within 10 working days of receipt. This was previously taking up to eight months in some cases,
· The employer is notified, on average, within 10 working days of the complaint being lodged thus increasing the possibility of a resolution being reached without the need for a hearing,
· There are now no backlogs for Rights Commissioner hearings. The backlog in 2010 was 142 days,
· A workplace relations interim website www.workplacerelations.ie was launched,
· A pilot Early Resolution Service was delivered.
Minister Bruton said:
“Reform of the State’s employment rights and industrial relations bodies has two principal goals: to deliver a better service for employers and employees, and to deliver savings for the taxpayer, businesses and workers. To date, we have made substantial progress and have delivered real improvements for users of the service.
“Reform is never easy, there will always be opposition from groups whose interests are challenged by the changes. However I am satisfied that this process will continue to bring major improvements to the service for employers, employees and taxpayers.
“The initiatives we are announcing today complement and underpin the reforms which have already been implemented or are underway to deliver a world-class workplace relations service that is simpler, faster and cheaper. I am particularly pleased that the momentum is continuing, in advance of the enabling legislation, on the rationalisation of services and the introduction of new technology.
“I am heartened by the commitment and support that is evident in the delivery of this substantial piece of public sector reform. I would like to recognise the leadership and commitment of the current Boards heads of the institutions who are working closely with me and my Department to deliver reform in this area”.
For further information contact:
Press Office, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Tel: 01 631 2200, press.office@djei.ie
NOTES FOR EDITORS
Minister Bruton commissioned the evaluation of the Pilot Early Resolution Service in order to independently establish if this primarily telephoned-based service could provide a cost-effective alternative for complaints resolution without recourse to a formal adjudication hearing or an inspection. With the potential of the service now established, it is now proposed to provide a statutory underpinning for the delivery of an early resolution service in the Workplace Relations Reform legislation.
Detailed planning and design is continuing within the Department of Enterprise, and in conjunction with the five Bodies, in relation to the technological, business process, structural and staffing changes required to deliver the reforms. The overall objective is to encourage early resolution of disputes, the vindication of employee rights, the minimisation of the costs for employees, employers and service users and the delivery of value for money for the State.
Work is on-going on the legislative programme to deliver the structures and processes necessary to achieve the reform programme. The Minister is committed to the publication and enactment of the legislation at the earliest possible date with a view to having the proposed new Workplace Relations structures fully in place on a legislative basis during 2014. Parliamentary Counsel has been appointed and DJEI is working with the Attorney General’s Office to deliver the legislation at the earliest date.
Among the achievements delivered by the process so far are:
a) A dedicated Programme Office, staffed by personnel of the Department, was put in place to drive delivery of the reforms,
b) A single contact portal (Workplace Relations Customer Services) was established to provide information and receive and register first instance complaints,
c) An interim workplace relations website was launched,
d) An interactive single complaint form was introduced,
e) Two public consultations on the scope of, and framework for, the Reform Programme were completed by April, 2012 and the outcomes in this regard have informed programme design and implementation and the drafting of the enabling legislation,
f) A Pilot Early Resolution Service commenced operations,
g) Business Process Reviews of the operations and activities of the Workplace Relations Bodies at an advanced stage,
h) Planning for the proposed CRMS (Customer Relationship Management Solution) for workplace relations has been completed and procurement will commence shortly,
i) The Equality Tribunal was transferred to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation from 1st January, 2013,
j) A Staffing and Structures Plan for the Workplace Relations Commission and Labour Court has been drawn up and is being implemented on a phased basis,
k) Complaint Management Systems are being rationalised,
l) Proposals on the training, accreditation and appointment of adjudicators are being finalised,
m) Proposals to rationalise the locations of workplace relations services are being finalised.
Website
An interim Workplace Relations Website was launched during 2012 to provide information on employment, equality and industrial relations legislation and associated public services. With the launch of the new final website, the websites of the five existing workplace relations bodies and the interim website will progress to closure.
The new website (www.workplacerelations.ie) brings together, in a single source, comprehensive information on rights and obligations and good workplace relations and on the services and resources available to employers and employees insofar as best practices and dispute resolution are concerned. There are currently six websites through which information and services are delivered. The new website will, following the enactment of the Workplace Relations Reform legislation, become the joint website of the proposed Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court.
e-Complaint Facility
A key commitment in the Governments Public Service Reform Plan is to place the needs of citizens and business customers at the very core of public service delivery and to reduce the administrative burden involved in customer interaction with the State. The Programme for Government and the Public Service Reform Plan highlight Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) as key enablers to delivering improved public services. Implementation of the ICT elements of the Programme and the Reform Plan will ensure a strong focus on the customer and that better and more innovative use is made of technology to improve the customer experience.
The design and launch of a Single Complaint Form to accommodate some 130 complaints which may be referred across the five Workplace Relations Bodies was identified as a priority initiative under the Departments Reform Programme. The Online Single Complaint form was launched on 4th January, 2012; subsequently there have been two further updated versions of the form released taking account of the feedback received from users and stakeholders and to provide for changes to legislation. Some 85% of complaints submitted in 2012 used the new complaint form.
To date the complaint form, while available online, has been required to be printed and submitted by post. The e-form will allow complaints to be submitted and captured electronically.
The main benefits arising from the use of the e-Form include:
· Receipt of the form will be acknowledged immediately by display and by return e-mail notification, which will provide the reference number assigned to the complaint,
· It will eliminate the requirements to print and post, which eliminate postage costs for the complainant,
· It will facilitate improved case processing times and eliminate the necessity to return incomplete forms,
· Improved Customer Experience,
· Greater use of electronic services will reduce the costs of providing services and reduce delivery timelines.
The Form is available on the new Workplace Relations Website.
Determinations/Decisions Database
The Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT), the Equality Tribunal and the Labour Court publish decisions/determinations in relation to complaints brought before them. Some 30,000 decisions are currently hosted on three separate databases and websites.
As part of the Workplace Relations Reform Programme, it was decided that these decisions should be migrated to a single database and hosted on the new website.
The Department consulted with the Workplace Relations Bodies and with external stakeholders on the design of the database. A number of stakeholders made some useful suggestions in this regard. The final design incorporates search fields for Body, legislation, topic, date, county, etc.
The database will, it is hoped, be of significant interest to practitioners, users, academics and stakeholders.
Early Resolution Service
The Pilot Early Resolution Service (PERS) commenced in May 2012. The objective of the Pilot was to evaluate the success of ERS in resolving complaints to the Rights Commissioner Service, EAT, Labour Court and NERA prior to formal adjudication or an inspection/investigation.
PERS aimed to provide prompt intervention in a dispute through directly contacting the parties, or party representatives, to attempt to secure their voluntary participation. The service was provided by Case Resolution Officers (CROs) who explored various possible avenues of settlement with the parties in dispute, primarily through the use of telephone with scope to utilise e-mail if required. Where the service was declined by either of the parties or if resolution was not achieved within the set time period of six weeks, the case was referred on to the relevant service for a formal hearing.
PERS operated until the 16/11/2012 during which time it selected 1,205 cases for ERS intervention.
RSM McClure Watters (RSMMW) were appointed by the Department, following an open competition, to conduct the PERS evaluation.
The Evaluation incorporated, among other matters, interviews and consultation with the Workplace Relations Bodies and stakeholders (including employer and employee bodies) and a survey of users of the service.
During the pilot, 1,205 employment disputes were selected for ERS intervention.
The Evaluation found that, when one excludes cases in which the parties were not willing to engage or where one or both parties could not be contacted, the ERS achieved a success rate of 33% (24% withdrawn, 7% where agreement reached and 2% withdrawn with no ERS intervention).
The Report concludes that there is a need for public funding of a cost effective Early Resolution Service as it supports the high level objective of resolving complaints/ disputes at an early stage prior to costly intervention. The results from the Pilot are encouraging and the Report makes a number of recommendations which are made with a view to enhancing service effectiveness.
Legislation
A significant amount of work has been completed on the legislative programme and a draft Scheme of Bill and Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) were submitted to the Cabinet for its meeting on 24 July, 2012. The Scheme of the Workplace Relations Bill has been approved for priority drafting by the Cabinet. Enactment of the Bill will necessitate amendments to approx. 22 primary acts, 12 specified parts or sections of acts and 71 statutory instruments.
The Bill will provide, along the lines set out in the Policy Document, Legislating for a World-Class Workplace Relations Service , for the establishment of a statutory Workplace Relations Commission with a full range of functions formerly carried out by NERA, the Equality Tribunal, the LRC and the EAT (first instance functions). It will also provide for the Labour Court to be the appellate body to determine appeals against decisions of Workplace Relations Commission Adjudicators.
In addition, the Bill will provide for the orderly winding down of NERA, the Equality Tribunal, the EAT, the LRC; the standardisation of certain procedural matters (limitation periods; the length of the period within which a first instance adjudicator’s decision may be appealed, etc.) across the full range of employment rights legislation; a new more effective and efficient process for the judicial enforcement of awards made under employment rights legislation; the transfer of the information, inspection, enforcement and licensing functions currently performed by NERA to the WRC and enhanced measures for the enforcement of employment rights legislation.