Working Time Issues
Organisation of Working Time Act
Provision of information in relation to working time.
17.—(1) If neither the contract of employment of the employee concerned nor any
employment regulation order, registered employment agreement or collective
agreement that has effect in relation to the employee specifies the normal or regular
starting and finishing times of work of an employee, the employee’s employer shall
notify the employee, subject to subsection (3), at least 24 hours before the first day
or, as the case may be, the day, in each week that he or she proposes to require the
employee to work, of the times at which the employee will normally be required to
start and finish work on each day, or, as the case may be, the day or days concerned,
of that week.
(2) If the hours for which an employee is required to work for his or her employer
in a week include such hours as the employer may from time to time decide (in this
subsection referred to as “additional hours”), the employer shall notify the employee,
subject to subsection (3), at least 24 hours before the first day or, as the case may
be, the day, in that week on which he or she proposes to require the employee to
work all or, as the case may be, any of the additional hours, of the times at which the
employee will be required to start and finish working the additional hours on each
day, or, as the case may be, the day or days concerned, of that week.
(3) If during the period of 24 hours before the first-mentioned or, as the case may
be, the second-mentioned day in subsection (1) or (2), the employee has not been
required to do work for the employer, the time at which the employee shall be notified
of the matters referred to in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, shall be not
later than before the last period of 24 hours, preceding the said first or secondmentioned
day, in which he or she has been required to do work for the employer.
(4) A notification to an employee, in accordance with this section, of the matters
referred to in subsection (1) or (2), as the case may be, shall not prejudice the right
of the employer concerned, subject to the provisions of this Act, to require the
employee to start or finish work or, as the case may be, to work the additional hours
referred to in subsection (2) at times other than those specified in the notification if
circumstances, which could not reasonably have been foreseen, arise that justify the
employer in requiring the employee to start or finish work or, as the case may be, to
work the said additional hours at those times.
(5) It shall be a sufficient notification to an employee of the matters referred to in
subsection (1) or (2) for the employer concerned to post a notice of the matters in a
conspicuous position in the place of the employee’s employment.
Provision in relation to zero hours working practices.
18.—(1) This section applies to an employee whose contract of employment operates
to require the employee to make himself or herself available to work for the
employer in a week—
(a) a certain number of hours (“the contract hours”), or
(b) as and when the employer requires him or her to do so, or
(c) both a certain number of hours and otherwise as and when the employer
requires him or her to do so,
and the said requirement is not one that is held to arise by virtue only of the fact, if
such be the case, of the employer having engaged the employee to do work of a
casual nature for him or her on occasions prior to the said week (whether or not the
number of those occasions or the circumstances otherwise touching the said
engagement of the employee are such as to give rise to a reasonable expectation on
his or her part that he or she would be required by the employer to do work for the
employer in the said week).
(2) If an employer does not require an employee to whom this section applies to
work for the employer in a week referred to in subsection (1)—
(a) in a case falling within paragraph (a) of that subsection, at least 25 per cent.
of the contract hours, or
(b) in a case falling within paragraph (b) or (c) of that subsection where work of
the type which the employee is required to make himself or herself available
to do has been done for the employer in that week, at least 25 per cent. of
the hours for which such work has been done in that week,
then the employee shall, subject to the provisions of this section, be entitled—
(i) in case the employee has not been required to work for the employer at all in
that week, to be paid by the employer the pay he or she would have received
if he or she had worked for the employer in that week whichever of the
following is less, namely—
(I) the percentage of hours referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), as the case
may be, or
(II) 15 hours,
or
(ii) in case the employee has been required to work for the employer in that week
less than the percentage of hours referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), as the
case may be (and that percentage of hours is less than 15 hours), to have his
or her pay for that week calculated on the basis that he or she worked for
the employer in that week the percentage of hours referred to in paragraph
(a) or (b), as the case may be.
(3) Subsection (2) shall not apply—
(a) if the fact that the employee concerned was not required to work in the week
in question the percentage of hours referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) of
that subsection, as the case may be—
(i) constituted a lay-off or a case of the employee being kept on short-time
for that week, or
(ii) was due to exceptional circumstances or an emergency (including an
accident or the imminent risk of an accident), the consequences of which
could not have been avoided despite the exercise of all due care, or
otherwise to the occurrence of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances
beyond the employer’s control,
or
(b) if the employee concerned would not have been available, due to illness or
for any other reason, to work for the employer in that week the said
percentage of hours.
(4) The reference in subsection (2) (b) to the hours for which work of the type
referred to in that provision has been done in the week concerned shall be construed
as a reference to the number of hours of such work done in that week by another
employee of the employer concerned or, in case that employer has required 2 or more
employees to do such work for him or her in that week and the number of hours of
such work done by each of them in that week is not identical, whichever number of
hours of such work done by one of those employees in that week is the greatest.
(5) References in this section to an employee being required to make himself or
herself available to do work for the employer shall not be construed as including
references to the employee being required to be on call, that is to say to make himself
or herself available to deal with any emergencies or other events or occurrences
which may or may not occur.
(6) Nothing in this section shall affect the operation of a contract of employment
that entitles the employee to be paid wages by the employer by reason, alone, of the
employee making himself or herself available to do, at the times and place concerned,
the work concerned.
Records.
25.—(1) An employer shall keep, at the premises or place where his or her
employee works or, if the employee works at two or more premises or places, the
premises or place from which the activities that the employee is employed to carry
on are principally directed or controlled, such records, in such form, if any, as may
be prescribed, as will show whether the provisions of this F14[Act and, where applicable,
the Activities of Doctors in Training Regulations] are being complied with in
relation to the employee and those records shall be retained by the employer for at
least 3 years from the date of their making.
(2) The Minister may by regulations exempt from the application of subsection (1)
any specified class or classes of employer and regulations under this subsection may
provide that any such exemption shall not have effect save to the extent that specified
conditions are complied with.
(3) An employer who, without reasonable cause, fails to comply with subsection (1)
shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) Without prejudice to subsection (3), where an employer fails to keep records
under subsection (1) in respect of his or her compliance with a particular provision
of this F14[Act or the Activities of Doctors in Training Regulations] in relation to an
employee, the onus of proving, in proceedings before a rights commissioner or the
Labour Court, that the said provision was complied with in relation to the employee
shall lie on the employer.
Refusal by an employee to cooperate with employer in breaching Act.
26.—(1) An employer shall not penalise an employee for having in good faith opposed
by lawful means an act which is unlawful under this F15[Act or the Activities of Doctors
in Training Regulations].
(2) If a penalisation of an employee, in contravention of subsection (1), constitutes
a dismissal of the employee within the meaning of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977
to 1993, relief may not be granted to the employee in respect of that penalisation
both under this Part and under those Acts.
Complaints to WRC.
27.—(1) In this section “relevant provision” means—
(a) any of the following sections, namely, section 6(2), sections 11 to 23, or section
26,
F16[(aa) any of the following regulations of the Activities of Doctors in Training
Regulations, namely, regulations 5 to 10,]
(b) the provision referred to in section 6(1) of regulations, a collective agreement,
registered employment agreement or employment regulation order referred
to in that section, or
(c) paragraph 9 of the Fifth Schedule.
(2) F17[…]
(3) F18[A decision of an adjudication officer under section 41 of the Workplace
Relations Act 2015 in relation to a complaint of a contravention of a relevant provision
shall do one or more of the following, namely:
(a) declare that the complaint was or, as the case may be, was not well founded,
(b) require the employer to comply with the relevant provision,
(c) require the employer to pay to the employee compensation of such amount
(if any) as is just and equitable having regard to all of the circumstances, but
not exceeding 2 years’ remuneration in respect of the employee’s employment.
]
……
[Decision of Labour Court on appeal from decision referred to in section 27(3)].
F19[28. A decision of the Labour Court under section 44 of the Workplace Relations
Act 2015 on appeal from a decision of an adjudication officer referred to in subsection
(3) of section 27 shall affirm, vary or set aside the decision of the adjudication officer.]
Provisions in relation to outworkers who are employees.
32.—(1) An employer who employs any outworkers shall keep, in the prescribed
form, a register in which he or she shall cause to be entered prescribed particulars
in respect of each such worker for the time being employed by him or her.
(2) The Minister may, by regulations, prohibit an employer from employing
outworkers to do a specified class or classes of work unless the employer complies
with specified conditions in respect of the employment of the outworkers to do the
said work.
(3) An employer who—
(a) fails to comply with subsection (1), or
(b) fails to comply with any condition specified in regulations under subsection
(2) in respect of the employment by him or her of an outworker to do work
of a class specified in such regulations, shall be guilty of an offence.
Prohibition on double employment.
33.—(1) An employer shall not employ an employee to do any work in a relevant
period during which the employee has done work for another employer, except where
the aggregate of the periods for which such an employee does work for each of such
employers respectively in that relevant period does not exceed the period for which
that employee could, lawfully under this F23[Act or the Activities of Doctors in
Training Regulations], be employed to do work for one employer in that relevant
period.
(2) In subsection (1) “relevant period” means a period of—
(a) 24 hours,
(b) 7 days, or
(c) 12 months.
(3) Whenever an employer employs an employee in contravention of subsection
(1), the employer and the employee shall each be guilty of an offence.
(4) Where an employer is prosecuted for an offence under this section it shall be a
good defence for him or her to prove—
(a) that he or she neither knew nor could by reasonable enquiry have known that
the employee concerned had done work for any other employer in the period
of 24 hours, 7 days or 12 months, as the case may be, in respect of which
the prosecution is brought, or
(b) that he or she neither knew nor could by reasonable enquiry have known that
the aggregate of the periods for which the employee concerned did work in
the said period of 24 hours, 7 days or 12 months, as the case may be,
exceeded the period for which he or she could lawfully be employed to do
work for one employer in the said period of 24 hours, 7 days or 12 months,
as the case may be.
Penalties, proceedings, etc.
34.—(1) A person guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500.
(2) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate and is proved
to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to
any neglect on the part of, a person being a director, manager, secretary or other
officer of that body corporate, or a person who was purporting to act in that capacity,
that person shall also be guilty of an offence and be liable to be proceeded against
and punished as if he or she were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.
(3) If the contravention in respect of which a person is convicted of an offence under
this Act is continued after the conviction, the person shall be guilty of a further offence
on every day on which the contravention continues and for each such offence the
person shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £500.
(4) Proceedings for an offence under section 8 or a further offence, in relation to
such an offence, under subsection (3) may be brought and prosecuted by the Minister.
(5) Notwithstanding section 10 (4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851,
proceedings for an offence under this Act may be instituted within 12 months from
the date of the offence.
Codes of practice.
35.—(1) In this section
“code of practice” means, in relation to a section of this Act, a code that provides
practical guidance as to the steps that may be taken for the purposes of complying
with the section;
“the Commission” means the Labour Relations Commission.
(2) The Commission may and, at the request of the Minister, shall, prepare a code
of practice for the purposes of any section of this Act (other than section 6 (2)) or, in
the case of a request by the Minister, a section of this Act (other than section 6 (2))
specified in the request.
(3) The Commission, after consultation with the National Authority for Occupational
Safety and Health, shall prepare a code of practice for the purposes of section 6 (2).
(4) In preparing a code of practice referred to in subsection (2) or (3), the Commission
shall invite such organisations representative of employers, such organisations
representative of employees, and such other bodies, as the Commission considers
appropriate to make submissions, whether orally or in writing, to it in relation to the
proposed code of practice and shall have regard to any such submissions made to it,
in response to the invitation, by such organisations or bodies.
(5) The Commission shall submit a copy of a code of practice prepared by it under
this section to the Minister who may—
(a) by order declare the code (which shall be scheduled to the order) to be a code
of practice, or
(b) make such modifications to the code as he or she considers appropriate and
declare the code as so modified (which shall be scheduled to the order) to
be a code of practice,
for the purposes of the section or sections concerned of this Act.
(6) The Minister may, at the request of the Commission or of his or her own volition
after consultation with the Commission, by order—
(a) amend or revoke a code of practice, the subject of an order under subsection
(5) or this subsection (and the code of practice shall, in case it is amended
by the order, be scheduled, in its amended form, to the order),
and
(b) declare, accordingly, the code of practice, as appropriate—
(i) to be no longer a code of practice,
or
(ii) in its form as amended by the order, to be a code of practice,
for the purposes of the section or sections concerned of this Act,
and
(c) revoke, as the case may be, the order concerned under subsection (5) or the
previous order concerned under this subsection.
(7) A failure by a person to observe a code of practice under this section shall not
of itself render that person liable to any civil or criminal proceedings.
(8) In any proceedings under this Act before a court, the Labour Court or a rights
commissioner, a code of practice for the time being declared under subsection (5) or
(6) to be a code of practice for the purposes of one or more sections of this Act shall
be admissible in evidence and any provision of the code which appears to the court,
the Labour Court or rights commissioner, as the case may be, to be relevant to any
question arising in the proceedings shall be taken into account by it, him or her in
determining that question.
Provisions in relation to Protection of Young Persons (Employment)
Act, 1996.
36.—(1) In this section “the Act of 1996” means the Protection of Young Persons
(Employment) Act, 1996.
(2) Nothing in the preceding sections of this Act shall prejudice the provisions of
the Act of 1996.
(3) The obligation of an employer under section 15 of the Act of 1996 to keep the
records referred to in that section at the place where the young person or child
concerned is employed shall, if the young person or child is employed by the
employer at 2 or more places, be construed as an obligation to keep the said records
at the place from which the activities that the young person or child is employed to
carry on are principally directed or controlled.
(4) Subsection (2) of section 22 of the Act of 1996 is hereby amended by—
(a) the insertion in paragraph (a) after “work” of “or from which he or she has
reasonable grounds for supposing the activities that an employee is employed
to carry on are directed or controlled (whether generally or as respects
particular matters)”, and
(b) the insertion in paragraph (b) after “place” of “or any employee the activities
aforesaid of whom are directed or controlled from any such premises or
place”.
Voidance of certain provisions.
37.—Save as expressly provided otherwise in this F24[Act or the Activities of Doctors
in Training Regulations], a provision in an agreement (whether a contract of employment
or not and whether made before or after the commencement F25[or coming
into operation] of the provision concerned of this F24[Act or the Activities of Doctors
in Training Regulations]) shall be void in so far as it purports to exclude or limit the
application of, or is inconsistent with, any provision of this F24[Act or the Activities
of Doctors in Training Regulations].
Amendment of section 51 of Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989.
Powers on Adjudication.
39.—(1) In this section “relevant authority” means a rights commissioner, the
Employment Appeals Tribunal or the Labour Court.
(2) A decision (by whatever name called) of a relevant authority under this Act or
an enactment F27[or statutory instrument] referred to in the Table to this subsection
that does not state correctly the name of the employer concerned or any other
material particular may, on application being made in that behalf to the authority by
any party concerned, be amended by the authority so as to state correctly the name
of the employer concerned or the other material particular.
TABLE
Adoptive Leave Act, 1995
Maternity Protection Act, 1994
Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973 to 1991
F28[National Minimum Wage Act, 2000
Parental Leave Act, 1998]
Payment of Wages Act, 1991
Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Acts, 1984 to 1991
Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1996
Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1991
Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994
Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 1993
F29[Parental Leave Act 1998
Protection of Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998
European Communities (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2000 (S.I. No. 488 of
2000)
Carer’s Leave Act 2001
Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001
European Communities (Protection of Employees on the Transfer of Undertakings)
Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 131 of 2003)
Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003]
(3) The power of a relevant authority under subsection (2) shall not be exercised if
it would result in a person who was not given an opportunity to be heard in the
proceedings on foot of which the decision concerned was given becoming the subject
of any requirement or direction contained in the decision.
(4) If an employee wishes to pursue against a person a claim for relief in respect of
any matter under an enactment F30[or statutory instrument] referred to in subsection
(2), or the Table thereto, and has already instituted proceedings under that enactment
F31[or statutory instrument] in respect of that matter, being proceedings in which
the said person has not been given an opportunity to be heard and—
(a) the fact of the said person not having been given an opportunity to be heard
in those proceedings was due to the respondent’s name in those proceedings
or any other particular necessary to identify the respondent having been
incorrectly stated in the notice or other process by which the proceedings
were instituted, and
(b) the said misstatement was due to inadvertence,
then the employee may apply to whichever relevant authority would hear such
proceedings in the first instance for leave to institute proceedings against the said
person (“the proposed respondent”) in respect of the matter concerned under the
said enactment F32[or statutory instrument] and that relevant authority may grant
such leave to the employee notwithstanding that the time specified under the said
enactment F33[or statutory instrument] within which such proceedings may be
instituted has expired:
Provided that that relevant authority shall not grant such leave to that
employee if it is of opinion that to do so would result in an injustice being
done to the proposed respondent.
(5) References in subsection (4) to the institution of proceedings in respect of any
matter under an enactment F34[or statutory instrument] referred to in subsection
(2), or the Table thereto, shall be construed as including references to the presentation
of a complaint, or the referral of a dispute, in respect of the said matter, to the relevant
authority concerned.
Alternative means of claiming relief
40.—(1) As respects a failure to comply with any provision of Part III in relation to
an employee, the employee or, with the consent of the employee, any trade union
of which the employee is a member may, in lieu of presenting a complaint in respect
of such a failure under section 27, include in proceedings to be instituted by him or
her or it in respect of any matter under an enactment referred to in the Table to
section 39 (2) a claim for relief in respect of such a failure and where such a claim is
included the following provisions shall have effect:
(a) subject to the provisions of this section, the provisions of the said enactment
(hereafter in this section referred to as “the relevant enactment”) shall, with
any necessary modifications, apply in like respects to the said claim (hereafter
in this section referred to as “the holidays claim”) and the procedures to be
followed in respect of it (including procedures in respect of appeals) as they
apply to the proceedings otherwise under the enactment,
(b) the relevant authority that hears the said proceedings may grant the same
relief in respect of the holidays claim as a rights commissioner may grant
under section 27 (3) in respect of such a claim and in so far as the grant of
such relief consists of or includes the making of a requirement on the
employer concerned to pay compensation to the employee the limit specified
in section 27 (3) in relation to compensation under that provision shall, in
lieu of any limit specified in the relevant enactment in relation to compensation
that may be required to be paid under that enactment, apply in relation
to such compensation.
(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) (a)—
(a) any provision of the relevant enactment requiring proceedings under that
enactment to be instituted within a specified period shall not apply to such
proceedings in so far, but only in so far, as they relate to the holidays claim,
(b) subsections (4) and (5) of section 27 shall apply to the hearing of the holidays
claim by the relevant authority concerned as they apply to the hearing of a
complaint under section 27 by a rights commissioner.
(3) In this section “relevant authority” has the same meaning as it has in section
39.
(4) References in this section to the institution of proceedings in respect of any
matter under an enactment referred to in the Table to section 39 (2) shall be construed
in accordance with subsection (5) of section 39.
S.I. No. 44/1998 –
Organisation of Working Time (Code of Practice on Compensatory Rest and Related Matters) (Declaration) Order, 1998
ORGANISATION OF WORKING TIME (CODE OF PRACTICE ON COMPENSATORY REST AND RELATED MATTERS) (DECLARATION) ORDER, 1998
WHEREAS the Labour Relations Commission may, by virtue of section 35 (2) of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 (No. 20 of 1997), prepare a code of practice for the purposes of one or more sections of that Act (other than section 6(2)),
AND WHEREAS the Labour Relations Commission is required, by virtue of section 35(3) of the said Act, after consultation with the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health, to prepare a code of practice for the purposes of section 6(2) of that Act,
AND WHEREAS the Labour Relations Commission, having consulted with the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health and having complied with section 35(4) of the said Act, has prepared a code of practice for the purposes aforesaid and submitted a copy of it to the Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs (being the Minister of State to whom functions in this matter have been delegated by the Order hereafter recited),
AND WHEREAS the Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs may, by virtue of section 35(5)(b) of the said Act, make such modifications to a code of practice so submitted to him and declare, by order, the code as so modified to be a code of practice for the purposes of the section or sections concerned of that Act,
AND WHEREAS the Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs has, by virtue of the said provision, made modifications that he considers appropriate to the code of practice so submitted to him for the purposes of declaring, pursuant to that provision, the code to be a code of practice for the purposes of the sections concerned of the said Act,
NOW, I Tom Kitt, Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 35(5)(b) of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 (No. 20 of 1997), as adapted by the Enterprise and Employment (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 305 of 1997 ), and the Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 330 of 1997 ), hereby order as follows:
1 Citation
1. This Order may be cited as the Organisation of Working Time (Code of Practice on Compensatory Rest and Related Matters) (Declaration) Order, 1998.
2 Code of Practice
2. The code of practice set out in the Schedule to this Order is hereby declared to be a code of practice for the purposes of section 6 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 (No. 20 of 1997), so much of the other provisions of Part I of that Act as relate to that section and so much of Parts II and IV of that Act as relate to that section.
SCHEDULE
ORGANISATION OF WORKING TIME ACT, 1997
CODE OF PRACTICE ON COMPENSATORY REST PERIODS AND RELATED MATTERS
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Dublin 2.
An Order ( S.I. No. 44 of 1998 ) declaring this code to be a Code of Practice for the purposes of section 6 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 was made by Tom Kitt, Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs on 24/2/1998.
NOTE:— This Code of Practice is not a legal interpretation of the Act
CONTENTS
PAGE NO.
1. Labour Relations Commission
4
2. Introduction
5
3. General Principles of and Arrangements for Equivalent Compensatory Rest and Appropriate Protection
8
4. Complaints Procedure
12
5. Appeals
14
6. Enforcement of Decisions of the Rights Commissioner/Determinations of the Labour Court
15
7. Annex — Exempted Activities
16
1. LABOUR RELATIONS COMMISSION
1. The Labour Relations Commission has prepared this Code of Practice oil Compensatory Rest in accordance with the provisions of section 35 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 . When preparing the Code of Practice the Commission held meetings and consultations with the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the Labour Court, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Irish Co-Operative Organisation Society.
2. In accordance with section 35(3) of the Act the Commission has also consulted the National Authority of Occupational Safety and Health in the preparation of this Code.
3. The Commission has taken account of the views expressed by these organisations to the fullest extent possible in preparing this Code.
4. The Code is designed to assist employers, employees and their representatives in observing the 1997 Act generally as regards compensatory rest. It gives guidance, in particular, on arrangements that may be put in place to comply with the compensatory rest provisions which apply where, because of exemptions or collective agreements or emergencies or unforeseeable circumstances, employees cannot avail themselves of the rest or break periods provided for in sections 11, 12 or 13 of the Act.
5. While failure on the part of any person to observe the Code will not, in itself, render that person liable to civil or criminal proceedings, the Code shall be admissible in evidence before a Court, the Labour Court or a Rights Commissioner in proceedings under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 .
2. INTRODUCTION
NOTE
This section of the Code gives a general description of some of the provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 and is not a legal interpretation.
The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997
1. The terms of the EU Directive on Working Time, (Council Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November, 1993), have been transposed into Irish law by means of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 and Regulations made under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 1989 .
2. The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 became law on 7 May, 1997. Section 35 of that Act provides for a Code of Practice that provides practical guidance as to the steps that may be taken for the purposes of complying with any section of the Act. The Commencement Order bringing the Act into operation, on a phased basis, was signed on 24 September, 1997. Under the Commencement Order, section 35 of the Act, inter alia, came into operation on 30 September, 1997. The provisions on rest and working hours are effective from 1 March, 1998.
3. The Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs, under section 35 of the 1997 Act, asked the Labour Relations Commission to prepare a Code of Practice for the purposes of section 6 of the Act. As section 35(3) of the Act provides that the Commission, after consultation with the National Authority for Occupational Safety and Health, shall prepare a Code of Practice for the purposes of section 6(2), this Code is prepared under section 35(2) for the purposes of section 6(1) and under section 35(3) for the purposes of section 6(2). Under the Commencement Order section 6 of the Act came into operation on 30 September, 1997.
4. The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 , sets out statutory rights for employees in respect of rest, maximum working time and holidays. In summary, the key provisions of the Act on minimum rest and maximum working time are as follows:
• maximum average net weekly working time of 48 hours;
• a daily rest break of 11 consecutive hours;
• rest breaks while at work;
• a weekly rest break of 24 consecutive hours;
• maximum average night working of 8 hours;
• maximum hours of work for night workers engaged in work involving special hazards or a heavy physical or mental strain — an absolute limit of 8 hours in a 24 hour period.
5. The 48 hour working week comes into effect, generally, on 1 March, 1998. However, the Act contains transitional provisions. These provide that employees may work up to 60 hours per week from 1 March, 1998 to 28 February, 1999 and up to 55 hours per week from 1 March, 1999 to 29 February, 2000. The 48 hour week comes into effect in respect of all employees covered by the Act on 1 March, 2000. To work the maximum permitted hours during 1998 and 1999 an agreement must be reached between the parties which is approved of by the Labour Court. The Fifth Schedule to the Act details the procedures to be observed in implementing the transitional provisions (see also Guide to the Labour Court’s Functions and Procedures for the purposes of the Act).
6. The specific provisions of the Act relating to rest times may be varied in certain circumstances —
• by Regulations,
• through legally binding collective agreements made under the Act and approved by the Labour Court,
• through registered employment agreements,
• through employment regulation orders, or
• as otherwise provided under the Act (e.g. emergencies, unforeseeable circumstances, certain shift changes, split shifts).
7. The circumstances in which the rest times and averaging periods for weekly working hours may be varied are as follows:—
(I) SECTION 6(1) OF THE ACT PROVIDES FOR CIRCUMSTANCES:
• Where Regulations* exempt certain activities from the rest breaks, daily and weekly rest periods set out in sections 11, 12 and 13 of the 1997 Act.
* See Annex to this Code — General Excemption Regulations ( S.I. No. 21 of 1998 )
• Where collective agreements providing for a similar exemption have been concluded by the parties and approved by the Labour Court. (Registered Employment Agreements and Employment Regulation Orders may also provide for the variation of rest periods, but not of working time provisions.)
In every case at (I) above where statutory rest times are varied the employer concerned must ensure that equivalent compensatory rest is made available to the employee.
(II) SECTION 6(2) OF THE ACT PROVIDES FOR CIRCUMSTANCES:
• Where shift workers who change shift and cannot avail themselves of the rest period are exempted (in respect of the daily and weekly rest periods).
• Where persons employed in activities consisting of periods of work spread out over the day are exempted (in respect of the daily and weekly rest periods).
• Where employers are exempted from the obligation to provide daily and weekly rest periods and rest breaks as provided for in sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Act due to exceptional circumstances or an emergency, including an accident or the imminent risk of an accident, or otherwise the occurrence of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond the employer’s control.
Where statutory rest times are varied in any of the circumstances mentioned at (II) above the employer must ensure that the employee has available to himself or herself
i) equivalent compensatory rest or
ii) where this is not possible for objective reasons, appropriate protection.
NOTE
While circumstances relating to shift changeover come within the scope of the exemption included in the legislation, shift working is subject to the provisions in the Act providing for rest and maximum working time.
3. GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF AND ARRANGEMENTS FOR EQUIVALENT COMPENSATORY REST AND APPROPRIATE PROTECTION
General
1. Appropriate rest breaks from work are vital to the health and safety of workers and are of importance in the efficient and effective operation of the workplace. While the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 specifies minimum rest breaks employers may provide longer breaks.
Compensatory Rest Timescale (Section 6(1) and 6(2) of the Act)
2. Exempted employees who miss out on their statutory rest entitlements should receive equivalent compensatory rest as soon as possible after the statutory rest has been missed out on. It is most important for employers to make rest time available to employees to allow them to recuperate from long periods of work without adequate rest. The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 and the EU Directive on Working Time do not specify any timeframes within which compensatory rest must be made available. However, when determining when compensatory rest is to be given, an employer should always have regard to the circumstances pertaining in the individual place of employment and to the health and safety requirements for adequate rest. In this context, it is important that the compensatory rest for rest breaks at work and for daily rest breaks, in particular, be provided as soon as possible and, generally, in an adjacent time frame.
3. While it is not possible to provide extensive examples of the various situations that may arise in the many diverse employments, the following four examples may typify some work situations which may give rise to a need to grant compensatory rest.
Example 1
An exempted employee works Monday to Friday 9a.m. to 5.30p.m. He/she works in an industry which cannot be interrupted on technical grounds (an exempted activity). For 2 weeks per month that employee is “on call” for maintenance work. On Wednesday night he/she is called out to perform emergency repair work. The call out commences at 8.30p.m. and finishes at 11.30p.m. The employee’s entitlement to 11 hours consecutive rest is interrupted. Prior to the call out the employee had received 3 hours rest and after the call out he/she received 9.5 hours rest. In total the employee received 12.5 hours rest, therefore no further entitlement to rest arises as an exemption applies (see sections 2(7)(I) and 2(7)(II) of this Code).
If no exemption applied then the employee is entitled to the full 11 consecutive hours rest from the end of the call out.
*See Annex to this Code — General Exemptions Regulations ( S.I. No. 21 of 1998 )
Example 2
Under an exemption provided for in a collective agreement approved of by the Labour Court an employee is permitted to work 14 consecutive 8 hour days. In those circumstances the employee, in respect of that period, has a minimum entitlement of 2 periods of 24 hours compensatory rest plus 2 periods of 11 consecutive hours daily rest. The employee is given 3 consecutive periods of 24 hours off immediately after the 14 consecutive working days. This goes beyond the requirement to give 2 periods of 24 hours compensatory rest preceded by the relevant daily rest requirement and is, therefore, acceptable.
Example 3
An employee is entitled to a break of at least 15 minutes after working for 4½ hours. If an exemption applies the taking of the break may be delayed but compensatory rest should be provided. In this circumstance the employee is given a later break of 15 minutes or breaks totalling 15 minutes by way of compensatory rest before the end of the day. No further compensatory rest is required.
Example 4
An exempted employee works a three cycle rotating shift pattern:
Week 1
8a.m. – 4p.m.
Week 2
4p.m. – 12a.m.
Week 3
12a.m. – 8a.m.
In a 5 over 7 day roster no changeover provides for less than 48 hours rest. Therefore, no entitlement to compensatory rest arises. In a 6 over 7 day roster, however, the changeover between week 2 and week 3 provides only for 24 hours rest. In this circumstance, the exempted employee is entitled to compensatory rest of 11 Consecutive hours.
GENERAL COMMENTS ON COMPENSATORY REST
The 11 consecutive hour interval between shifts is required for reasons of health and safety to ensure that employees have a minimum period of sleep. From a health and safety point of view, it is dangerous for employees to miss out on a minimum number of hours sleep and then report for work. Therefore, when any variation of the 11 consecutive hours statutory rest is permitted under the Act. the employer should ensure that the health and safely requirements for adequate compensatory rest are sufficient in the circumstances pertaining in that employment. This is equally applicable to the weekly rest provision. Consideration should also be given to such issues as distance from home and employment in order to ensure that adequate rest is obtained.
NOTE
Typically in industry call-out arrangements provide for 8 hours consecutive rest before returning to work. Such arrangements will, where an exemption is applicable, continue to be acceptable provided that the compensatory rest requirements are fulfilled.
Where variation of the weekly statutory rest periods is permitted under the 1997 Act the employer concerned should have regard to the circumstances pertaining in that employment and to the health and safety requirements for adequate rest for his/her employees.
Appropriate Protection
4. If for reasons that can be objectively justified, it is not possible for all employer to ensure that an employee has available to himself or herself the equivalent rest period or break set out in section 6(2) of the 1997 Act, the employer must make such arrangements as respects the employee’s conditions of employment as will compensate the employee.
While neither “arrangements as respects the employee’s conditions of employment as will compensate the employee” nor “appropriate protection” are defined in, respectively, the Act and the Directive the Act specifies that these concepts do not include:
i) the granting of monetary compensation to the employee or
ii) the provision of any other material benefit to the employee, other than the provision of such a benefit as will improve the physical conditions under which the employee works or the amenities or services available to the employee while he or she is at work.
A common sense approach should be adopted by employers and employees in such situations which takes account of the circumstances existing in the employment and has regard to the safety, health and well being of employees. It would be desirable that employers and employees and/or their representatives agree appropriate protection measures as respects an employee’s conditions of employment.
While it is not feasible to define such appropriate protection/conditions of employment measures, the concept might include measures which provide for, in addition to normal health and safety requirements:
i) enhanced environmental conditions to accommodate regular long periods of attendance at work;
ii) refreshment facilities, recreational and reading material;
iii) appropriate facilities/amenities such as television, radio and music;
iv) alleviating monotonous work or isolation;
v) transport to and from work where appropriate.
NOTE
The measures listed are not exhaustive and are for illustrative purposes only. Employers should consider other measures which might be more relevant to their circumstances.
4. COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
1. The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 sets out a complaints procedure for dealing with the various complaints that may arise under the Act. While the procedure deals with general complaints concerning various entitlements, for the purposes of this Code the procedure concerns itself with complaints about the working hours, rest periods, compensatory rest and appropriate protection issues. For example, an employee may complain that he or she had not received an equivalent rest period or that he or she is not satisfied with the compensatory (or appropriate protection) arrangements provided.
WHO CAN MAKE A COMPLAINT?
2. An employee or any trade union of which the employee is a member, with the consent of the employee, may present a complaint. The Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs may also present a complaint if it is apparent that an employer is not complying with a provision and where the employee/trade union has not done so and the Minister is of the opinion that the circumstances are such as to make it unreasonable to expect the employee/trade union to present such a complaint.
HOW IS A COMPLAINT PRESENTED AND PROCESSED?
3. Complaints arising under section 6 of the 1997 Act should be presented in the first instance to a Rights Commissioner. A complaint must be made within six months of the date of the alleged contravention by the employer. However, a complaint which is presented not later than twelve months after the six months time limit may be investigated if the Rights Commissioner is satisfied that the delay was due to reasonable cause. A complaint should be in writing and should contain the requisite particulars.
4. The Rights Commissioner must give the employer a copy of the complaint. The Rights Commissioner must hear the parties and allow relevant evidence to be presented. The investigation of a complaint will be held in private. The Rights Commissioner must furnish the Labour Court with a copy of each decision given under the 1997 Act.
5. The Rights Commissioner in making a decision shall do one or more of the following:
a) declare that the complaint was, or, as the case may be, was not well founded,
b) require the employer to comply with the relevant provisions,
c) require the employer to pay compensation of such amount (if any) as is just and equitable having regard to all the circumstances, up to a maximum of two years’ remuneration.
NOTE
Queries relating to complaints and procedures should be forwarded in writing to the Rights Commissioner Service, Labour Relations Commission, Tom Johnson House, Haddington Road, Dublin 4 – telephone (01) 6609662.
5. APPEALS
1. Either party may appeal a decision of a Rights Commissioner to the Labour Court. The appeal must be made within 6 weeks of the date on which the decision was communicated to the party. The notice of appeal should be submitted to the Labour Court on the relevant form, which is available from the Court.
2. The Labour Court must give a copy of the notice of appeal to the other party. The Labour Court shall give the parties an opportunity to be heard and to present relevant evidence to it. It will make a determination in writing affirming, varying or setting aside the decision. The Court must communicate that determination to the parties.
NOTE
The procedure on appeals is laid down by the Labour Court. Details of these procedures can be obtained from the Labour Court, Tom Johnson House, Haddington Road, Dublin 4 – (01) 6608444.
6. ENFORCEMENT OF DECISIONS OF THE RIGHTS COMMISSIONER/DETERMINATIONS OF THE LABOUR COURT
1. An employee may bring a complaint to the Labour Court where an employer has not implemented a decision of the Rights Commissioner under the Act or has not appealed a decision within the requisite time. The Labour Court shall make a determination to the like effect as the original decision without hearing the employer concerned. The complaint must be brought by the employee not later than six weeks after the time limit for making an appeal has expired. Complaints of the non-implementation of Rights Commissioners’ decisions under the Act should be submitted to the Labour Court on the relevant form, which is available from the Court. The Labour Court shall publish particulars of its determinations in such manner as it thinks fit.
2. The Minister, at the request of the Labour Court, may refer a question of law arising in proceedings before it, concerning appeals from the enforcement of recommendations of a Rights Commissioner, for determination by the High Court. The determination of the High Court shall be final and conclusive.
3. A party to proceedings may appeal to the High Court from a determination of the Labour Court on a point of law. The determination of the High Court shall be final and conclusive.
4. Where a determination of the Labour Court has not been implemented, within six weeks from the date on which the determination is communicated to the parties, the Circuit Court, on application to it by an employee, trade union or the Minister, shall, without hearing the employer or any evidence, make an order directing the employer to carry out the determination in accordance with its terms.
5. The Circuit Court, if it deems it appropriate to do so, may direct the employer to pay interest on the compensation in respect of any period commencing 6 weeks following the communication of the Labour Court’s determination to the parties and ending on the date of the order.
6. The application to the Circuit Court will be in the Circuit where the employer usually resides or carries out the business.
ANNEX
EXEMPTED ACTIVITIES
GENERAL EXEMPTIONS
The Organisation of Working Time (General Exemptions) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 21 of 1998 ) prescribe, in accordance with Section 4 (3) of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 , that persons employed in the following activities shall be exempt from the application of sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Act which deal respectively with daily rest, rests and intervals at work and weekly rest:
1. An activity in which the employee is regularly required by the employer to travel distances of significant length, either from his or her home to the workplace or from one workplace to another workplace.
2. An activity of a security or surveillance nature the purpose of which is to protect persons or property and which requires the continuous presence of the employee at a particular place or places, and, in particular, the activities of a security guard, caretaker or security firm.
3. An activity falling within a sector of the economy or in the public service—
(a) in which it is foreseeable that the rate at which production or the provision of services, as the case may be, takes place will vary significantly from time to time,
or
(b) the nature of which is such that employees are directly involved in ensuring the continuity of production or the provision of services, as the case may be,
and, in particular, any of the following activities —
(i) the provision of services relating to the reception, treatment or care of persons in a residential institution, hospital or similar establishment,
(ii) the provision of services at a harbour or airport,
(iii) production in the press, radio, television, cinematographic, postal or telecommunications industries,
(iv) the provision of ambulance, fire and civil protection services,
(v) the production, transmission or distribution of gas, water or electricity,
(vi) the collection of household refuse or the operation of an incineration plant,
(vii) any industrial activity in which work cannot, by reason of considerations of a technical nature, be interrupted,
(viii) research and development,
(ix) agriculture,
(x) tourism.
NOTES —
EXCEPTIONS
Regulation 3 of the Regulations provides that the exemption shall not, as respects a particular employee, apply
(a) in relation to sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Act if the employee —
(i) is not engaged wholly or mainly in carrying on or performing the duties of the activity concerned,
(ii) is exempted from the application of that section by virtue of regulations under section 3(3) of the Act,
or
(iii) falls within a class of employee in relation to which a joint labour committee (within the meaning of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1946 to 1990) may perform functions under those Acts,
or
(b) if and for so long as the employer does not comply with Regulation 5 of the Regulations in relation to him or her.
Compensatory rest periods
Regulation 4 of these Regulations provides that if an employee is not entitled, by reason of this exemption, to the rest period and break referred to in sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Act, the employer shall ensure that the employee has available to himself or herself a rest period and break that, in all the circumstances, can reasonably be regarded as equivalent to the first-mentioned rest period and break.
Duty of employer with respect to the health and safety of employee
Regulation 5 of the Regulations provides that:—
(1) an employer shall not require an employee to whom the exemption applies to work during a shift or other period of work (being a shift or other such period that is of more than 6 hours duration) without allowing him or her a break of such duration as the employer determines.
(2) in determining the duration of such a break, the employer shall have due regard to the need to protect and secure the health, safety and comfort of the employee and the general principle concerning the prevention and avoidance of risk in the workplace.
MORE BENEFICIAL ARRANGEMENTS
Regulation 6 of the Regulations provides that nothing in the Regulations shall prejudice a provision or provisions of a more beneficial kind to the employee concerned which is or are contained in —
(a) a collective agreement referred to in section 4(5) of the Act,
(b) a registered employment agreement,
or
(c) an employment regulation order.
EXEMPTION OF TRANSPORT ACTIVITIES
The Organisation of Working Time (Exemption of Transport Activities) Regulations, 1998 ( S.I. No. 20 of 1998 ) prescribe, in accordance with Section 3 (3) of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 , that persons employed in a transport activity as follows shall be exempt from the application, inter alia, of sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Act dealing respectively with daily rest, rests and intervals at work and weekly rest:
1. An activity consisting of, or connected with, the operation of any vehicle, train, vessel, aircraft or other means of transport (whether of goods or persons) other than any activity of a person holding a position of an administrative, managerial or clerical nature that is not directly related to the operation of such a means of transport.
2. An activity that is carried on —
(a) for the purpose of the transport timetable, that is to say an activity that is carried on for the purpose of ensuring the continuity or regularity of any service which provides a means of transport referred to in paragraph 1 above, or
(b) for the purpose of ensuring the safety of such a means of transport,
other than any activity of a person holding a position of an administrative, managerial or clerical nature that is not directly related to the doing of the things required to be done for either such purpose.
3. In paragraph 1 “vessel” includes any vessel used to navigate inland waters (including any lake).
NOTE — Compensatory rest periods
It should be noted that an employer is not obliged to ensure that an employee engaged in these activities has available to himself or herself equivalent compensatory rest. However, Regulation 3 of these Regulations provides that the exemption shall not apply as respects a particular employee if he or she is not engaged wholly or mainly in carrying on or performing the duties of the activity concerned.
GIVEN under my hand this 24th day of February, 1998.
TOM KITT, T.D.
Minister for Labour, Trade and Consumer Affairs.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Order declares the code of practice set out in the Schedule to the Order to be a code of practice on compensatory rest periods for the purposes of section 6 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 (No. 20 of 1997).
S.I. No. 473/2001 –
Organisation of Working Time (Records) (Prescribed Form and Exemptions) Regulations, 2001
I, Tom Kitt, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 7 and 25 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 (No. 20 of 1997), as adapted by the Enterprise and Employment (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 305 of 1997 ), and the Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) (No. 2) Order, 1997 ( S.I. No. 330 of 1997 ), hereby make the following regulations:
Citation and commencement.
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Organisation of Working Time (Records) (Prescribed Form and Exemptions) Regulations, 2001, and shall come into operation on the 1st day of November 2001.
Interpretation.
2. (1) In these Regulations —
“the Act” means the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 (No. 20 of 1997), and “inspector” means an inspector within the meaning of section 8 of the Act.
(2) A reference in these Regulations to a section is a reference to a section of the Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.
(3) A reference in these Regulations to a Regulation or the Schedule is to a Regulation of, or the Schedule to, these Regulations unless it is indicated that a reference to some other enactment is intended.
(4) A reference in these Regulations to a paragraph or subparagraph is to a paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended.
Form of records under section 25(1).
3. The records required to be kept under section 25(1) shall contain the following particulars and documents —
(a) the name and address of each employee concerned, the number known as the Revenue and Social Insurance number that has been assigned to him or her and a brief statement (which may be by reference to any form of job description or classification used by the employer concerned) of his or her duties as an employee,
(b) a copy, as appropriate, of the statement provided to each employee concerned in accordance with the provisions of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 (No. 5 of 1994), or any order or regulation made under that Act, that relates to him or her,
(c) (i) the days and total hours worked in each week by each employee concerned,
(ii) any days and hours of leave in each week granted by way of annual leave or in respect of a public holiday to each employee concerned and the payment made to each employee in respect of that leave,
(iii) any additional day’s pay referred to in section 21(1)(d) provided in each week to each employee concerned, and
(d) a copy of a written record of a notification issued to an employee concerned in relation to any of the matters provided for in section 17 (including a copy of a notice posted in the manner referred to in subsection 5 of that section),
and shall generally be in such form as will enable an inspector to understand the particulars contained in them without difficulty.
4. (1) Where no clocking in facilities are in place in a work place a form to record the days and hours worked in each week by each employee shall be kept by the employer in the form set out in the Schedule entitled Form OWT 1 or in a form substantially to like effect.
(2) Notwithstanding the obligation to keep records imposed on the employer by paragraph (1), where the employer and employee agree, an employee may —
(a) complete the Form OWT 1, as set out in the Schedule or a form substantially to like effect, and
(b) present the completed form to his or her employer for counter-signature and retention by the employer in accordance with paragraph (1).
(3) The Form OWT 1 should be made available at all reasonable times for inspection by an inspector.
Exemption from section 25(1).
5. (1) For the purposes of these Regulations and subject to paragraph (2), the following classes of employer are exempt, by virtue of section 25(2), from the obligation to keep records of rest breaks —
(a) employers who have electronic record-keeping facilities such as flexi-time or clocking-in facilities, and
(b) employers who have manual as opposed to electronic record-keeping facilities and who are required to keep records in accordance with Regulation 4.
(2) The exemption under paragraph (1) shall only apply to an employer if he or she complies with the following conditions —
(a) the employer notifies in writing each employee of the rest periods and breaks referred to in sections 11, 12 and 13 or, in case of the non-application of one or more of those sections (by virtue of regulations referred to in section 4(3), a collective agreement or a registered employment agreement referred to in section 4(5), or an employment regulation order referred to in section 4(6)) of the terms of such regulations, collective agreement, registered employment agreement or employment regulation order and, in particular, of the requirement contained in section 6(1),
(b) the employer puts in place, and notifies in writing each employee of procedures whereby an employee may notify in writing the employer of any rest period or break referred to in sections 11, 12 and 13 of the Act to which such employee is entitled and was not able to avail himself or herself of on a particular occasion and the reason for not availing of such rest period or break,
and
(c) the employer keeps —
(i) a record of having notified each employee of the matters provided for in paragraph (a),
(ii) a record of having notified each employee of the procedures provided for in paragraph (b), and
(iii) records of all notifications made to him or her by each employee in accordance with those procedures.
(3) A notification made to an employer by an employee under paragraph 2(b) shall be made within 1 week of the day on which the rest period referred to in that paragraph became due to, but was not availed of by, the employee. Where such notification is duly made the employer, having regard to the circumstances pertaining to the work of the employee and to the employee’s health and safety interests, shall, as soon as possible, make available to the employee such rest period or break as is equivalent to the rest period or break which had been due to, but had not been availed of by, the employee. Failure by an employee to avail of such equivalent rest period or break offered by an employer shall not constitute a breach on the part of the employer under the Act or these Regulations.
Form of records under Regulation 5.
6. Any record that an employer is required to keep under Regulation 5 shall contain like particulars to those specified in Regulation 3(a) and shall generally be in such form as will enable an inspector to understand the particulars contained in it without difficulty.
7. An employer who fails to keep records under these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €1,900 (£1,496.37).
SCHEDULE
FORM OWTI
ORGANISATION OF WORKING TIME ACT, 1997
AN ROINN FIONTAR TRAD�?LA AGUS FOSTA�?OCHTA-DEPARTMENT OF ENTERPRISE, TRADE AND EMPLOYMENT PLEASE COMPLETE THIS FORM IN BLOCK CAPITALS
FIGURES
LETTER
EMPLOYER’S PAYE REGISTERED NUMBER
BUSINESS NAME OF EMPLOYER
_____________________________________________________
BUSINESS ADDRESS
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
FIGURES
LETTER
EMPLOYEE’S REVENUE AND SOCIAL
INSURANCE (RSI) NUMBER
SURNAME____________________________
FIRST NAME_____________________________
* NUMBER OF HOURS WORKED BY EMPLOYEE PER DAY AND PER WEEK
WEEK COMMENCING :
WEEK COMMENCING:
WEEK COMMENCING:
WEEK COMMENCING:
AND ENDING:
AND ENDING:
AND ENDING:
AND ENDING:
MONDAY
:
MONDAY
:
MONDAY
:
MONDAY
:
TUESDAY
:
TUESDAY
:
TUESDAY
:
TUESDAY
:
WEDNESDAY
:
WEDNESDAY
:
WEDNESDAY
:
WEDNESDAY
:
THURSDAY
:
THURSDAY
:
THURSDAY
:
THURSDAY
:
FRIDAY
:
FRIDAY
:
FRIDAY
:
FRIDAY
:
SATURDAY
:
SATURDAY
:
SATURDAY
:
SATURDAY
:
SUNDAY
:
SUNDAY
:
SUNDAY
:
SUNDAY
:
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
WEEKLY TOTAL
:
WEEKLY TOTAL
:
WEEKLY TOTAL
:
WEEKLY TOTAL
:
I DECLARE THAT THE ABOVE INFORMATION IN RELATION TO DAILY AND WEEKLY HOURS WORKED IS CORRECT
SIGNATURE OF EMPLOYER:______________________________________________________________
SIGNATURE OF EMPLOYEE:______________________________________________________________
* NO. OF HOURS WORKED EXCLUDES MEAL BREAKS AND REST BREAKS
GIVEN under my hand,
this 24th day of October 2001.
Tom Kitt, T.D.,
_________________________
Minister of State at the
Department of Enterprise, Trade and
Employment
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).
The main purpose of these Regulations is to require employers, pursuant to the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 , to keep:
(a) a record of the number of hours worked by employees (excluding meals and rest breaks) on a daily and weekly basis;
(b) a record of leave granted to employees in each week by way of annual leave or in respect of a public holiday and payment made in respect of that leave;
(c) a weekly record of the notification of the starting and finishing times of employees.
The Regulations also require that an employer keep a copy of the statement provided to each employee under the provisions of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 .
The Regulations also provide for exemptions, subject to certain conditions, in relation to the keeping by employers of records of rest breaks and rest periods of employees under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 .
The text in italics on this page is sourced from lawreform.ie and is re-published under the Licence for Re-Use of Public Sector Information made pursuant to Directive 2003/98/EC Directive 2013/37/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the re-use of public sector information transposed into Irish law by the European Communities (Re-Use of Public Sector Information) Regulations 2005 to 2015.