National Recruitment Federation’s Annual Conference

at the National Recruitment Federation’s Annual Conference

Opening Remarks

Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen

I am delighted to be here at the National Recruitment Federations’ Annual Conference here in City West Hotel. I am deputising for my colleague Tony Killeen T.D., who was unable to attend today, because of his commitment in attending the Employment and Social Affairs Council in Luxembourg. He has asked me to extend his apologies to the Federation in this regard. I would like to thank Frank Collins, President of the NRF for the kind invitation to the Government to attend the Conference.

Role of National Recruitment Federation/Regulation of Employment Agency Sector

The Federation has over 100 employment agencies in its membership around the country from a total of some 450 licensed agencies countrywide. The Federation therefore represents about 25% of all employment agencies. The Federation is a voluntary organisation set up to establish and maintain standards and codes of practice for the Recruitment Industry in Ireland. Membership of the NRF is granted only to organisations that meet criteria of excellence - including adherence to the provisions of the Employment Agency Act 1971- and all other relevant Government legislation. Members must also agree to abide by the NRF Code of Conduct.

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all the Speakers to the Conference and to thank them and Chairperson Lucy Fallon-Byrne for giving of their valuable time in order to be here today. The speakers come from a broad spectrum of areas of the Irish economy which impact on the day-to-day activities of the recruitment sector. I have no doubt, but that the seven speakers here this morning will raise many issues of relevance to the audience - some perhaps controversial. This should ensure interactive and lively panel discussions - of which there are two over the course of this morning.

I would encourage the audience to use the opportunity during these panel discussions to raise issues of concern to them so that everyone here comes away from today’s Conference having picked up a new – and perhaps different - perspective on issues facing the sector going forward and how these will impact on all the various players involved in the sector namely: employment agencies, employers – or as they are sometimes called “end-user companies” and agency workers.

Theme of the Conference

The theme of the Conference today is - “Who is the Boss?”

As Frank Collins puts it in your Information Brochure for the Conference:

“ With more Employment legislation enacted in the past decade than in any other ten-year period, the Conference will take an in-depth look at who is driving this legislation and what are the implications for your industry. Indeed, the Conference will also address the contentious question of “Who is the Employer?” and the associated implications for the recruitment industry. In addition, it is proposed to look at the trend for regulation on a macro level. Who is driving it? Is it the Unions? Is it coming from Europe? In short – Who’s The Boss?"

These are fair and valid questions. However, before we begin the Conference, I think it would be important that I outline in a broad manner, the Government’s approach to employment legislation and how it impacts in a positive way on the Irish economy.

Social Partnership/Employment Rights

The primary objective of Employment Rights legislation is to protect employees against arbitrary or capricious behaviour by employers; to protect the safety and health of workers and to foster labour market harmony by promoting policies that minimize conflict and maximise fairness.

The consensus on economic and social policy issues that we have had in Ireland through successive National Programmes could not have been achieved without the existence of basic social standards. This consensus approach involving employers, employees and Government has been a major contributor to Ireland’s recent economic success and has been backed up by a well-balanced suite of employment rights legislation, which together with measures designed to stimulate employment, provide an appropriate framework for the purpose of achieving an efficient and competitive business environment.

Employment Rights legislation has an important role to play in promoting labour market stability. The economic benefits of employment security and agreed employment relationships in terms of co-operative work place relations; greater internal flexibility; acceptance of technological change; cumulative skills acquisition and greater incentive for investment in human resources are widely recognised and accepted. Employment Rights legislation has an input in respect of each of these factors - as employees who enjoy good working conditions - are more likely to be productive and to be willing to embrace change.

In keeping with the voluntarist tradition of Irish Industrial Relations, collective agreements are the primary method of determining conditions of employment. The role of Statute Law has, traditionally, been limited to that of setting minimum levels of protection or entitlement. However, from such a base we have risen to a level where we now have a greater proportion of good quality, well paid, secure jobs than ever before.

Ireland has been to the forefront in ensuring that reasonable conditions of employment exist which set out clearly - for both employers and employees - their respective obligations and entitlements. Successive Governments have enacted legislation in the area of employment rights reflecting changes in society and the workplace - at both national and international levels - e.g. through (a) national initiatives (b) the transposition of EU Directives and (c) the ratification of International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Council of Europe Conventions and Recommendations.

Such legislation has covered a wide range of areas including:

• Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment
• Protection Against Unfair Dismissal
• Organisation of Working Time, (covering areas such as holiday entitlements, rest periods, maximum working time and night work)
• Protection of Young Persons at Work
• Safety, Health and Welfare at Work
• Redundancy Entitlement
• Minimum Wage Entitlement
• Carer’s Leave Entitlement
• Protection of Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employees
• Safeguarding of Employees Rights on the Transfer of Undertakings

Challenges Facing Ireland

We live in a period of change and nowhere more so, than in the workplace. Our economy and our society are transforming at speed. We are functioning now in a globalised economy which itself is undergoing profound change. We are now a learning, knowledge-based society with a capacity to embrace the challenges and opportunities offered by increased prosperity, information society, globalisation and social change.

In order to embrace these challenges, all organisations systems of policy formulation and service delivery - including, trade unions, employers, Government Departments and Agencies - will need to continue to be more flexible, adaptable and innovative.

In particular, the Government is already equipping itself to further develop coherent and comprehensive policy approaches to these changes in order to reinforce employment rights and to promote quality in industrial relations.

Regulatory Reform

One area where the Government is taking a different approach is in the area of Regulatory Reform through Better Regulation.

The Federation through the theme of today’s Conference is essentially asking Government whether we now have too much Employment Rights legislation which perhaps unintentionally, affects our competitiveness by introducing a lot of procedures and red tape on the employment agency sector.

In response, I would wish to say that the Government is firmly of the view that if we can maintain an appropriate, flexible  and responsive, regulatory environment, we can gain competitive advantage as a nation both within the EU and  relative to other trading blocs. 

In making its decisions to legislate, the Government needs a greater understanding of the burden of compliance and enforcement which any proposed regulation would entail.  We must be able to screen out unintended impacts on markets and society; and we must give a clear account as to who was consulted and what they said as part of this process. 

The Government’s White Paper on Regulatory Reform sets out six Principles and Actions which must be considered when preparing new legislation. These are:

• Necessity – this principle includes strengthening policy-making and the quality of regulations through impact analysis; reduction of red tape particularly for SME’s and regular sectoral reviews of legislation (known as “sun-setting”) in the light of sectoral dynamics, competition, convergence and market change.
• Effectiveness – this principle requires that the objectives of any new legislation must be made clear, while leaving maximum flexibility as to the means to achieve them; adequate enforcement and compliance and systematic reviews of existing legislation to ensure that it is still valid and relevant.
• Proportionality - this principle requires that regulation should be as light as possible; penalties should be more proportionate and fair; Regulatory Impact Assessments will be used when making new regulations to measure the cost impacts of new legislation on business and SME’s.
• Transparency – this principle requires more consultation before making regulations; such regulations should be straightforward and as clear as possible and should also be accessible to the public.
• Accountability - this principle requires that regulators and enforcement agencies are more accountable to citizens through the Houses of the Oireachtas, coupled with accessible and equitable appeals procedures.
• Consistency - this principle requires that as far as possible there should be greater similarity in the remit, responsibility, structure and approaches of regulatory institutions, as well as the actual legislation involved being kept up to date and accessible through processes of simplification, consolidation and re-statement.

In the Employment Rights area much work is already underway, having regard to the above principles. For example, the Unfair Dismissals Acts are being re-stated in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. This work is almost complete and a new consolidated text should be published shortly.

Ministers Killeen and Martin have sent their recommendations to Government arising from the Review of the Employment Rights Bodies (namely, the Labour Court, the Employment Appeals Tribunal and the Rights Commissioner Service). The objective is to bring to all, a new agenda for the future functioning and operation of the Employment Rights Bodies, including, a consolidation of existing legislation to facilitate greater understanding.

As one of the Government’s commitments under Sustaining Progress, a review of the work and functions of the Labour Inspectorate is currently underway, in order to ensure its work is effective and proportionate.

However, the area of specific interest to the National Recruitment Federation is the current Review of the Employment Agency Act 1971.

Review of the Employment Agency Act 1971

In this regard, your members will wish to be made aware of the current position in relation to the Review of the Employment Agency Act 1971.

Last May, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment published a Discussion Paper on the Act and requested submissions from the various interests in the sector including the Social Partners and the National Recruitment Federation. A total of nine submissions were received and these have been in detail by the Department.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is currently finalising a Policy Paper which, following consultation with the Office of the Attorney General on some of the details, will be circulated to the various interests for further comment soon. Following this second round of consultations, the Department will draft the Heads of a Bill and seek Government approval to have a Bill drafted by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to the Government. It is hoped to publish this Bill by the end of the year.

Minister Killeen has asked me to tell the Conference that, as part of this Review, he is currently considering that, in future:

• employment agencies will be required to be registered with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment - rather than be licensed as present. Overseas agencies supplying workers to work in Ireland will also be required to be registered with the Department.
• employment agencies will be required to be comply with the terms of a Statutory Code of Practice which will set out in detail, the practices and standards which agencies would be expected to follow;
• a Statutory Monitoring and Advisory Committee – representative of all the various interests in the sector – will be established. This Committee will oversee the Statutory Code of Practice and make recommendations to the Minister for Labour Affairs in relation to revoking or suspending registration and/or the prosecution of agencies who breach the Code.
• Any employer who recruits a worker from an unregistered agency – either from Ireland or overseas - will be guilty of an offence and liable to prosecution.

Activities of a small minority of Employment Agencies

I want to take the opportunity of the Conference to say there has been some media coverage in recent weeks about the modus operandi of a small minority of employment agencies recruiting EEA non-nationals to work here in Ireland. I want to repeat that all workers who are here in Ireland from within the EU or on a Work Permit and are working under a contract of employment have the same rights as Irish workers.

We cannot tolerate any abuses of such workers. It gives Ireland a bad name in terms of our reputation as an attractive place in which to work. I would ask the continued assistance of the National Recruitment Federation in “weeding out” these few agencies – that unfortunately tarnishes all other employment agencies. In fairness, I know that I am talking to the converted in this regard, given the work of the Federation in raising the standards in the sector over the last few years.

Concluding Remarks

Finally, I want to wish the Federation every success with today’s Annual Conference and in their work in the year ahead. I hope that the Conference will, as I said earlier, give the audience a clearer perspective on the workings of the employment agency sector and the environment under which it operates.

Unfortunately, I can’t stay for the full Conference due to other commitments, later in the morning. However, officials from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment are in attendance here today and they tell me that they will be more than happy to answer questions on any issues that might arise during the morning. They have also indicated that they will apprise Minister Killeen on the various issues raised during the Conference that impact on Employment Rights Legislation generally, and on the Review of the 1971 Act.

Thank you very much Chairperson and good luck in your work over the morning.