The latest figures from the Employment Law Sentiment Survey carried out by Graphite HRM indicate that 41% of employers stated that at some point in time, their organisation had implemented employment practices that were illegal. In addition, 62% of respondents stated they found it impossible to be compliant with some areas of employment law, with the Working Time Act being the most frequently cited piece of legislation.
Simon MacRory, CEO of Graphite HRM said:
“This figure does not surprise us. Our survey also found that 88% of employers stated that their awareness of employment law could be improved. This clearly indicates that employers can find themselves carrying out illegal practices in the workplace by accident.”
97% of employers stated that the current Irish employment law framework has an impact on their operational costs. Over half (52%) said that these increases were significant.
“These figures are telling us that legal compliance is having a discernable impact on company costs. This means that employers with fewer resources are more likely to be carrying out illegal practices because they simply can’t afford to be compliant. The vast majority of this legislation has been developed with the large employer in mind with little consideration for the SME. The cost of legal compliance should not impact on how a company operates. Clearly these costs are hitting the SMEs hardest. This is also the opinion of the employers. Almost four out of five (79%) agreed with the proposal to lower thresholds of obligation and compliance for SMEs as has been done in the financial sector regulation.”
97% of employers said that the balance of employment law in Ireland is firmly weighted in the direction of the employee.
“One of the main sources of frustration Graphite hears constantly from employers regarding the regulation is the perceived inequality, and at times unfairness, that exists in favour of the employee. Obviously it is right that the Irish labour market be regulated to prevent any abuse. However this survey shows that Ireland many employers believe that we have gone too far and created a system that is oblivious to the realities of today’s world.”
This Survey also found that 59% of employers believe that taking maternity leave damages women’s chances of promotion.
Simon Mac Rory said:
“It’s no secret that Ireland is in the midst of a baby boom with the highest number of births here in more than a century. Our survey findings offer little hope to expectant mothers with a career in place. Employers are willing to hire women of this age but not promote them once they’ve given birth. These findings show that employers have no problem hiring women of child bearing age but if they want to take maternity leave, they’re taking themselves off the list for promotion.”
The survey also found that almost half of employers think that the current provisions for maternity leave are too generous.
“While there is little doubt that the origins of the Maternity legislation were well-founded, its effect in the workplace is often the exact opposite. Our survey shows that 39% of employers were prepared to state that they felt the current provisions for maternity leave were too generous.”
There were further words of caution for expectant mothers.
“Most employees are unaware when taking maternity leave that if they try to remain working during that leave, their maternity leave is cancelled immediately. So, if a woman does work on a day that she has selected for maternity leave, she is then considered ready to return to work. Therefore women who try to keep up to date with their work while on leave are giving up their maternity pay.”
Maternity leave is just one aspect of employment law that can work against the employee, the Working Time Act is another example.
The survey also shows that 37% of employers were unaware or did not provide for, the requirement to ensure that all staff remain within the limitations of the Working Time Act, regardless of the number of jobs they have.
“With the recession surging on, some people are forced to work a second job to try to pay the mortgage when a spouse has lost their job. What both the employer and the “shared employee” are unaware of is the fact that they can be liable to a fine of up to €1,903 each if the employee is found to have exceeded the average 48 hour working week. Even more worrying is that employers are, more often than not, unaware of the fact that an employee is working a second job and can find themselves in serious trouble if they are found in breach of this Act. This makes it difficult for the employers to manage their business and the employer is liable to be fined too.”
“Legislation associated with the Working Time Act is overly complicated and intrusive requiring every employer to keep up to eight different records for each employee and to retain these for three years. Despite the fact that this legislation has been in place for 12 years, employers still do not fully understand its requirements because government sources have never made any real attempt to communicate the details and the legislation itself is incredibly difficult to explain in simple terms. This is true of much of the legislation contained within employment law and means that many employers are found to be in breach of the law without being aware that there was an issue.”
This survey comes after the publication of the ESRI study that revealed lower levels of work experience is the single greatest factor preventing women from enjoying the same pay as the opposite sex.
Graphite is one of Ireland’s leading advisors on employment law through interpretation and application in HR policy and procedure. It supports over 1,000 organisations in this area.
The information from this survey has been used to conduct a complete review of Employment Law in Ireland. This report is now available from Graphite HRM for €30 and includes an historical review of the legal framework, together with suggestions on how this can be improved for the future.
To purchase a copy of this report, simply click here
https://www.graphitehrm.com/secure/books.asp
Graphite HRM Ltd
Stephen's House
7-8 Upper Mount Street
Dublin 2
Tel: +353 1 662 7099
Fax: +353 1 662 7893
www.graphitehrm.com/
