Complaints
Where a person believes that a breach of the legislation listed below has occurred in relation to him/her, he/she, or a person acting on their behalf, may refer a complaint to the Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission.
The Director General may, if they consider the matter to be suitable for resolution by means of mediation, refer such complaint to a Mediation Officer. Otherwise, they will refer the matter to an Adjudication Officer for adjudication.
Amongst the legislation by which a complaint may be submitted to the Adjudication Service are those contained in Schedule 5 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015:
Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973 | Protection of Employment Act 1977 |
Payment of Wages Act 1991 | Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 |
Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 | Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Act 1996 |
Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 | Protections for Persons Reporting Child Abuse Act 1998 |
Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001 | Competition Act 2002 |
Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 | Industrial Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 |
Health Act 2004 | Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 |
Employment Permits Act 2006 | Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Act 2006 |
Consumer Protection Act 2007 | Chemicals Act 2008 |
Charities Act 2009 | National Asset Management Agency Act 2009 |
Inland Fisheries Act 2010 | Criminal Justice Act 2011 |
Property Services (Regulation) Act 2011 | Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012 |
Further Education and Training Act 2013 | Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Act 2013 |
Protected Disclosures Act 2014 N.B. The Protected Disclosures Directive [Directive (EU) 2019/1937] on the protection of persons who report breaches of Union law is due to be transposed into Irish law by 17 December 2021. | A registered employment agreement within the meaning of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 |
Section 20(1) of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 | European Communities (Protection of Employees on Transfer of Undertakings) Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 131 of 2003) (other than Regulation 4(4) (a)) |
Regulation 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 of the European Communities (Organisation of Working Time) (Activities of Doctors in Training) Regulations 2004 (S.I. No. 494 of 2004) | European Communities (Organisation of Working Time) (Mobile Staff in Civil Aviation) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 507 of 2006) |
Regulation 19 of the European Communities (European Public Limited - Liability Company) (Employee Involvement) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 623 of 2006) | Regulation 20(1) of the European Communities (European Cooperative Society) (Employee Involvement) Regulations 2007 (S.I. No. 259 of 2007) |
European Union (Reporting, Analysis and Follow-up of Occurrences in Civil Aviation) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 195/2020) in relation to a complaint of a contravention of Article 16(9) of EU Regulation 376/2014 | Regulation 39(1) of the European Communities(Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 157 of 2008) |
European Communities (Working Conditions of Mobile Workers engaged in Interoperable Cross-border Services in the Railway Sector) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 377 of 2009) | Regulation 5, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 of the European Communities (Road Transport) (Organisation of Working Time of Persons Performing Mobile Road Transport Activities) Regulations 2012 (S.I. No. 36 of 2012) |
An employment regulation order under section 42C (inserted by section 12 of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012) of the Industrial Relations Act 1946 | A sectoral employment order within the meaning of Chapter 3 of Part 2 of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 |
Maternity Protection Act 1994 | Adoptive Leave Act 1995 |
Parental Leave Act 1998 | National Minimum Wage Act 2000 |
Carer’s Leave Act 2001 (other than a dispute to which paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of section 17(1) of that Act applies) | Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 |
Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 |
Cases may also be submitted to the WRC under the following pieces of legislation:
Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 | Employment Equality Act 1998 |
Equal Status Act 2000 | Pensions Act 1990 |
Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984 | Redundancy Payments Act 1967 |
Industrial Relations Act 1969 N.B. Cases brought under this Act are referred to as ‘disputes’ rather than ‘complaints.’ |
Explanatory Note
In order to understand how complaints arrive at the WRC and the legal framework under which they are considered, it is essential to note the following background.
The legislative basis for the referral of complaints and disputes to the Director General of the WRC for adjudication arises from a number of different enactments which include the Workplace Relations Act 2015, the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977, the Employment Equality Act 1998, the Equal Status Act 2000, the Pensions Act 1990, the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984, the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 and the Industrial Relations Act 1969.
The legislative basis for the referral of complaints and disputes under most of the enactments in respect of which the Director General of the WRC has first instance jurisdiction are governed by the provisions of Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015. Section 41 Workplace Relations Act 2015 creates a common procedure for the presentation of complaints and the referral of disputes under various pieces of employment legislation to the Director General of the Commission. The individual employment enactments under which a person can present a complaint or refer a dispute to the Director General of the WRC in accordance with the provisions of Section 41 are listed in Schedule 5 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 (set out above).
The provisions of Section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 have been amended by the Section 24(b) of the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 (S.I. No. 329 of 2015) and Section 20(1)(g) of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015 (S.I. No. 411 of 2015).
The legislative basis for the referral of complaints to the Director General of the WRC under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 arises from Section 8 of that Act (the relevant provisions of Section 8 of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 have been amended by Section 80 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 and Sections 14 and 20(1)(l) of the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015 (S.I. No. 410 of 2015).
The legislative basis for the referral of complaints to the Director General of the WRC under the Employment Equality Act 1998 arises from Section 77 of that Act (the relevant provisions of Section 77 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 have been amended by Section 83 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015).
The legislative basis for the referral of complaints to the Director General of the WRC under the Equal Status Act 2000 arises from Section 21 of that Act (the relevant provisions of Section 21 of the Equal Status Act 2000 have been amended by Section 84 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015).
The legislative basis for the referral of complaints to the Director General of the WRC under the Pensions Act 1990 arises from Part VII of that Act (the relevant provisions of Part VII of the Pensions Act 1990 have been amended by Section 82 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015).
The legislative basis for the referral of complaints to the Director General of the WRC under the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 arises from Section 39 of that Act (the relevant provisions of Section 39 of the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 have been amended by Section 76 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015).
The legislative basis for the referral of complaints to the Director General of the WRC under the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984 arises from Section 9 of that Act (the relevant provisions of Section 9 of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984 have been amended by Section 81 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015).
The legislative basis for the referral of a trade dispute to the Director General of the WRC under the Industrial Relations Act 1969 arises from Section 13 of that Act (the relevant provisions of Section 13 of the Industrial Relations Act 1969 have been amended by Sections 8, 40(9) and Schedule 2 Part 1 Item 2 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015). See also the Garda Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019, which commenced in February 2020.