Address by Mr Tom Kitt, T.D., Minister for Labour Affairs at the launch of the Small Firms Association’s “Employment Law Guidelines for Small Businesses” at the Bank of Ireland HQ, Dublin on 1st November, 1999 at 11:30a.m.

I am very pleased to be associated with the launch of these very comprehensive Employment Law Guidelines for Small Businesses. The Guidelines cover a wide range of labour legislation and I compliment the Small Firms Association and Bank of Ireland Business Banking on the production of a very readable guide to what are, in many cases, very detailed legislative instruments.

The degree of statutory regulation of the Irish labour market is relatively low by international standards. The role of statute law has generally been limited to that of setting a minimum level of protection.

In recent years much of our legislation has been driven by our membership of the European Union as well as commitments given in successive National Programmes. Legislation currently being prepared in my Department include a Bill to implement an EU Directive on Part-time Work. The purpose of the Part-time Work Directive is to prevent part-time workers from being treated less favourably than full-time workers. It aims to provide for the removal of discrimination against part-time workers and to improve the quality of part-time work. The Directive also is intended to facilitate the development of part-time work on a voluntary basis and to contribute to the flexible organisation of working time in a manner which takes into account the needs of both employees and employers. A Tripartite Working Group, representative of the social partners and Government, has been set up to discuss the measures necessary for the transposition of the Directive. A Directive concerning a similar Agreement on Fixed-term Work has recently been adopted and must be implemented by July, 2001.

You will also be aware that legislation is being prepared to give effect to the introduction of a statutory national minimum hourly wage from the start of April next. The final report of the Inter-Departmental Group on Implementation of a National Minimum Wage contains research on the economic impact of the introduction of the national minimum wage and recommendations in relation to the drafting of the legislation. It is estimated that:

• 163,000 employees will see an improvement in their pay when the national minimum wage is introduced;
• Some 80,000 employees will receive an increase of at least £1.00 per hour.

There will obviously be some limited exceptions to the national minimum wage - for example, employees who are close relatives of an employer. Also, there will be a separate rate for employees under the age of 18 - likely to be 70% of the adult rate.

It is important that employers who currently pay less than the proposed national minimum wage commence preparations to ensure that they can comply with the legislation when it is enacted.

I am particularly interested in your Guidelines on Harassment and Bullying in the Workplace and on Dealing with Stress in the Workplace. In the last ten years the definition and perception of workplace health and safety has broadened considerably, and work practices and expectations have also changed enormously. Health and safety has become a legitimate business issue and a fuller picture of the most pertinent physical, medical and psychological workplace health and safety issues is now available. Stress, violence and bullying in the workplace are as detrimental to the safety, health and welfare of a worker as any physical hazard and must be tackled.

Some weeks ago now, I announced the establishment of a Task Force on the Prevention of Workplace Bullying, which is chaired by Dr. Eileen Doyle and operates under the auspices of the Health and Safety Authority. The Task Force will focus on identifying the size of the problem and the employment sectors most at risk, in addition to developing proposals for practical programmes and strategies both to prevent workplace bullying and to provide appropriate responses from the State Agencies. The Health and Safety Authority will undertake a countrywide publicity and awareness-raising campaign in conjunction with the deliberations of the Task Force. In addition, the Task Force itself will accept submissions and presentations from any interested group or individual to help it gain as broad a picture as possible of the situation.

As I have highlighted before, bullying can have devastating long-term consequences for an individual which can adversely affect both his or her working and personal life. Indeed, any attempt to complain often exacerbates the situation for the victims. Every worker has a right to a safe and healthy work environment in both physical and psychological terms. Where this is absent the quality of their work would inevitably suffer. Employers have good economic reasons for opposing bullying, in addition to their moral and legal obligations in this area.

However, the Task Force alone will not solve the problem of workplace bullying. Ultimately the solution, as with so many other health and safety issues, lies in the workplace itself. Workplace bullying will be overcome when employers and employees acknowledge that certain forms of behaviour are completely unacceptable, are detrimental to the safety, health and welfare of an individual and are damaging to the smooth and effective running of a business.

Prevention is the first step in tackling any safety issue and the second step is to always have an appropriate “in-house” response ready which can be triggered when a safety issue does arise. I would like to again call on all employers to take the initiative in this regard, and to draw-up appropriate anti-bullying strategies in your employment. Your Guideline outlining the setting up of a company policy on these issues is particularly relevant and I welcome this initiative very much.

While I’m on the subject of safety, may I also mention the Health and Safety Authority’s Good Neighbour Scheme which has proved to be very successful. The aim of the Scheme is to get large well-organised participant companies to positively support and promote workplace health and safety among the smaller companies with whom they may have a business relationship or who may be located in the same area.

The smaller beneficiary companies have indicated that they found the information, training, advice and assistance provided to them invaluable in coming to grips with workplace health and safety issues.

"Safety is everybody's business" is a phrase regularly used by the Authority to highlight the inclusive nature of the safety management process. The Good Neighbour Scheme is an excellent example of how this teamwork can be applied in practice.

I believe that the consensus and partnership approach of consultation and dialogue with the social partners and other interested parties has enabled us to provide a modern and relevant body of labour legislation. This, together with the promise of overall flexibility, will assist us in facing the challenges ahead including global competition, social inclusion and modernisation of the economy. The consensus on economic and social policy issues which we have in Ireland could not have been achieved without the existence of basic social standards. This consensus approach has been a major contributor to Ireland’s economic success. And where new initiatives are being considered, careful consideration will always be given to the possible employment impact of the proposed measures.

The provision of clear and comprehensive information on rights and obligations of both employers and employees is also of the utmost importance. These Guidelines we are formally launching today fulfil that objective more than adequately and will prove to be a valuable tool to all employers and human resource practitioners.

Small businesses are the backbone of the Irish economy accounting for virtually all enterprises and providing employment for over 50% of the workforce. However, due to their size, there is rarely any room for the specialist functions, such as the human resources function, familiar in larger enterprises. Often, it is the owner who performs these key tasks. To minimise the effects of red tape on small businesses the Government is committed to a programme of administrative simplification. The issuing of these Guidelines is in keeping with the Government’s commitments - they will be invaluable to small businesses - and again I congratulate the authors on their production.

Thank you.