IPPN

Published: 07 March 2019

On 4 March 2019, the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 was signed into law.

What does this mean for your school?
The Board of Management (BoM) following the recruitment and appointment process must provide new members of staff with the following information within five days of the commencement of employment (The Day 5 Statement):

• the full names of the employer and the employee
• the address of the employer
• the expected duration of the contract, in the case of a temporary contract, or the end date if the contract is a fixed-term contract
• the rate or method for calculation of the employee’s pay
• the number of hours the employer reasonably expects the employee to work per normal working day and per normal working week

The other terms of employment required to be given to the employee under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 will continue to be required within the existing two-month period.

Two new offences are being introduced as part of the legislation:

• An employer who, without reasonable cause, fails to provide an employee with the Day 5 statement within one month of commencement of employment, will be guilty of an offence.
• An employer who deliberately or recklessly provides false or misleading information as part of the Day 5 statement will be guilty of an offence.

Employees who do not receive statements of their core terms of employment within time, can bring a claim to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and be awarded up to four weeks’ remuneration. An employee must have one month of continuous service with that employer before they are entitled to bring the claim.

It is advisable that this information is brought to the attention of the Board of Management and clarification on its implementation in your school is sought by the Chairperson of the Board of Management by contacting the relevant management body.