6E.— (1) Subject to subsections (2), (3) and (4), an employer shall not —

(a) prohibit an employee from taking up employment with another employer, outside the work schedule established with the first named employer, or

(b) subject an employee to adverse treatment for taking up employment with another employer, outside the work schedule established with the first named employer.

(2) An employer may restrict an employee from taking up employment with another employer, outside the work schedule established with the first named employer, where such restriction (in this section referred to as an "incompatibility restriction") is proportionate and is based on objective grounds.

(3) Where an employer imposes an incompatibility restriction on an employee —

(a) details of the incompatibility restriction (including details of the objective grounds on which the incompatibility restriction is based) shall be included in the contract of employment, or

(b) the employer shall provide to the employee a statement in writing setting out the incompatibility restriction (including details of the objective grounds on which the incompatibility restriction is based).

(4) This section shall not apply to seafarers or sea fishermen.

(5) In this section"objective grounds" includes the following grounds —

(a) health and safety,

(b) the protection of business confidentiality,

(c) the integrity of the public service,

(d) the avoidance of conflicts of interests,

(e) safeguarding productive and safe working conditions,

(f) the protection of safety of patients and people receiving care from the health service,

(g) the protection of national security,

(h) the protection of critical national infrastructure,

(i) the protection of energy security,

(j) the administration of vital public service functions,

(k) compliance by the employer and the employee with any applicable statutory or regulatory obligations,

(l) compliance by the employee with any professional standards for the time being in force, and

(m) notwithstanding the generality of paragraphs (a) to (l), ‘objective grounds’ for the purposes of a contract of employment entered into by the Health Service Executive or a service provider includes the following grounds:

(i) the protection of patient health and safety;

(ii) the State’s objectives of —

(I) the promotion of public welfare by improving public health,

(II) the removal of inefficiencies and inequalities in the delivery of healthcare services, and

(III) assisting in the implementation of a universal healthcare service in which patients are treated on the basis of health needs.

(6) In this section "service provider" means —

(a) a person who enters into an arrangement under section 38 of the Health Act 2004 to provide a health or personal social service on behalf of the Health Service Executive,

(b) the Mental Health Commission,

(c) the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, or

(d) the National Virus Laboratory at University College Dublin.]