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).

High Court decision on EROs on 7 July 2011

Following a High Court decision all Employment Regulation Orders ceased to have statutory effect from 7 July 2011. Employees who were covered by an ERO have existing contracts of employment which govern their pay and conditions of work. If an employer reduces an employee’s rate of pay this would be a change in their contract of employment and normally it requires the employee’s consent. The pay and conditions of employees who start work after 7 July 2011 is governed by employment legislation such as the minimum wage.

You can find detailed information on the implications of the High Court decision on EROs (pdf) on the website of the National Employment Rights Authority.

Proposed reform of JLC system

The Industrial Relations (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2011 reforming the Joint Labour Committees and Registered Employment Agreements (REAs) wage-setting mechanisms was published on 22 December 2011.

The Bill's provisions include:

• JLCs will have the power to set a basic adult rate and 2 additional higher rates
• Companies may seek exemption from paying ERO and REA rates due to financial difficulty
• JLC will no longer set Sunday premium rates. A new Code of Practice on Sunday working is to be prepared by the Labour Relations Commission
• When setting rates JLCs will have to take into accounts factors such as competitiveness and rates of employment and unemployment
• The constitutionality of EROs and REAs will be restored through the inclusion of robust principles and policies

Other reforms, which do not need legislative change, include reducing the number of JLCs from 13 to 6 and standardising benefits such as overtime through a nationally agreed protocol or Code of Practice.

JLC Employment Regulation Orders up to 7 July 2011

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

View the last 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
• Contract cleaning (pdf)
• Overhead powerline contractors (pdf)