Ireland: Employment - Horizon Scanner: Infrastructure, Construction, Energy, April 2024

GENERAL SCHEME OF THE EMPLOYMENT (RESTRICTION OF CERTAIN MANDATORY RETIREMENT AGES) BILL 2024

In response to the Pensions Commission Recommendations and Implementation Plan, the Government committed to a range of pension reforms which included a commitment relating to contractual mandatory retirement age. The policy objective is to introduce measures which allow, but do not compel, an employee to stay in employment until they can access the State Pension.

The General Scheme of the Employment (Restriction of Certain Mandatory Retirement Ages) Bill 2024 has now been published. While the drafting of the Bill is awaited, a summary of the anticipated features of the Bill based on the wording of the General Scheme is set out in our briefing here.

PENSIONS: AUTO-ENROLMENT

Auto-enrolment is now on the horizon in Ireland, and the objective of the proposed scheme is to ensure that every worker will have access to a workplace pension to supplement the basic state pension.

For a brief summary of what we know about the proposed system so far, development of the legislation, what other steps towards auto-enrolment have been taken and whether action can be taken now by employers, see our briefing here. Our Pensions Team are continually monitoring developments relating to the rollout of auto-enrolment by Government. To stay updated on these developments, sign up to our auto-enrolment mailing list to receive regular updates here.

PROPOSAL FOR A DIRECTIVE ON PLATFORM WORK

Provisional agreement has been reached between the Council's Presidency and the European Parliament's negotiators on the Platform Work Directive.

The Directive aims to improve working conditions and regulate the use of algorithms by digital labour platforms. It will make the use of algorithms in human resources management more transparent, ensuring that automated systems are monitored by qualified staff and that workers have the right to contest automated decisions. It will also help to correctly determine the employment status of persons working for platforms, enabling them to benefit from any labour rights to which they are entitled.

The main compromise elements revolve around a legal presumption which will help determine the correct employment status of persons working in digital platforms:

• Member States will establish a legal presumption of employment in their legal systems, to be triggered when facts indicating control and direction are found;
• those facts will be determined according to national law and collective agreements, while taking into account EU case-law;
• persons working in digital platforms, their representatives or national authorities may invoke this legal presumption and claim they are misclassified; and
• it is up to the digital platform to prove that there is no employment relationship.

Under the proposal for a Directive, Member States will provide guidance to digital platforms and national authorities when the new measures are being put in place.

The text of the agreement will now be finalised in all the official languages and formally adopted by both institutions. After the formal steps of the adoption have been completed, Member States will have two years to incorporate the provisions of the Directive into their national legislation.

PROPOSAL FOR A DIRECTIVE ON IMPROVING WORKING CONDITIONS OF TRAINEES

The European Commission has put forward a proposal to improve working conditions for trainees, including pay, inclusiveness and quality of traineeships in the EU. The initiative consists of:

1. a proposal for a Directive on improving and enforcing working conditions for trainees and combatting regular employment relationships disguised as traineeships; and

2. a proposal to revise the 2014 Council Recommendation on a Quality Framework for Traineeships to address issues of quality and inclusiveness, such as fair pay and access to social protection.

Key elements of the proposed Directive include:

1. the principle of non-discrimination, ensuring that trainees are treated equally in terms of working conditions, including pay, compared to regular employees, unless different treatment is justified on objective grounds, such as different tasks, lower responsibilities, work intensity or the weight of the learning and training component;

2. ensuring traineeships are not used to disguise regular jobs, through controls and inspections;

3. allowing workers' representatives to engage on behalf of trainees to secure their rights; and

4. requiring Member States to ensure channels for trainees to report malpractice and poor working conditions.

The Commission's proposed Directive will be discussed by the European Parliament and the Member States. Once the proposed Directive is adopted by the co-legislators, Member States will have two years to incorporate it into national law.

EU AGREES TO ADOPT NEW FORCED LABOUR REGULATION

The EU agreed to adopt a regulation to ban products made from forced labour from the EU market. It is important to note that the Forced Labour Regulation does not expressly impose additional due diligence obligations on businesses in relation to forced and child labour. However, in order to ensure compliance, businesses will need to have in place clear policies and processes to identify, monitor and, where necessary, address any instances of forced or child labour in their operations and value chains.

If found to be in breach of the ban, products that have not yet reached end-users must be prohibited to be placed on or exported from the market. Competent authorities may also impose penalties on offending businesses.

This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.