Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreements

Information

In addition to agreements such as the national minimum wage, some employees in Ireland are covered by other agreements regarding their employment. These agreements deal with the pay and working conditions of the employees concerned and may be included in an employee’s contract of employment.

• The various agreements on pay and conditions made by Joint Labour Committees (JLCs) are known as Employment Regulation Orders (EROs).
• Agreements which result from negotiations between trade unions and employers are called Collective Agreements.
• If a Collective Agreement has been registered with the Labour Court it is known as a Registered Employment Agreement (REA).

JLC Employment Regulation Orders

The Labour Court makes an Employment Regulation Order (ERO) confirming proposals submitted by a Joint Labour Committee (JLC). This Order is legally binding - that is, it is set down in law. It is the JLC that agrees the rates of pay and working for the workers in the JLC’s sector of employment, for example, catering. The Employment Regulation Order made by the Labour Court therefore makes the JLC agreement enforceable by law.

View the current JLC rates of pay and conditions of employment which are contained in the Employment Regulation Orders as follows:

• Aerated waters and wholesale bottling
• Agricultural workers
• Brush and broom
• Catering (Dublin and Dun Laoghaire)
• Catering (Other)
• Contract cleaning (Dublin)
• Contract cleaning (other)
• Hairdressing (Cork)
• Hairdressing (Dublin, Dun Laoghaire and Bray)
• Handkerchief and household piece goods
• Hotels (Dublin and Dun Laoghaire)
• Hotels (Other excluding Cork)
• Law clerks
• Provender milling
• Retail, grocery, and allied trades
• Security industry
• Shirtmaking
• Tailoring
• Women’s clothing and millinery
  

Collective Agreements and REAs

Collective Agreements are agreements concluded between an employer and worker representatives. Employers and workers in any sector or enterprise can agree minimum rates of pay and conditions of employment and can than have that agreement registered with the Labour Court as a Registered Employment Agreement (REA).

REAs are legally binding to the employers and employees in the sector of employment to which the agreement applies.
You can view the current rates of pay and employment conditions contained in the REAs for the following sectors:

• Drapery, footwear and allied trades (Dublin and Dun Laoghaire) 
• Construction industry 
• Printing (Dublin)
• Electrical contracting

Rules

Employers of workers covered by a JLC or a Collective Agreement are obliged to pay the wage rates and provide the conditions of employment prescribed by the ERO or REA. They must also display details of the current agreement in the workplace and keep records of wages.

Under the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 – 2001 the National Employment Rights Authority is responsible for enforcing EROs and REAs and, if necessary, will take proceedings against an employer who is in breach of an Employment Regulation Order or a Registered Employment Agreement.

How to apply

If you want to find out whether your job is covered by an Employment Regulation Order or a Registered Employment Agreement you should contact the Information Services of the National Employment Rights Authority.

If your job is covered by an ERO or a REA and your employer is not complying with it, you can contact the Information Services of the National Employment Rights Authority. 

Where to apply