Workplace Relations Act 2015
Codes of practice
20. (1) (a) The Commission may, for the purpose of providing guidance to employers, employees and any other persons to whom this Act applies with respect to compliance with an employment enactment, prepare and submit to the Minister draft codes of practice.
(b) The Commission may, for the purpose of providing guidance to employers, employees and any other persons to whom this Act applies with respect to compliance with an employment enactment, submit to the Minister a draft code of practice prepared by any person other than the Commission.
(2) The Minister may give a direction to the Commission requiring it to prepare and submit to him or her a code of practice for the purpose mentioned in subsection (1).
(3) The Commission shall comply with a direction under subsection (2).
(4) The Commission shall, before submitting a draft code of practice to the Minister under subsection (1), request any person that it considers appropriate, including trade unions and employer representative bodies, to make representations to it in relation to the draft code of practice, and the Commission shall consider any such representations made.
(5) The Minister may give a direction to the Commission to amend a draft code of practice submitted to him or her in accordance with this section in such manner as is specified in the direction, and the Commission shall comply with the direction and resubmit to the Minister the draft code of practice as so amended.
(6) The Minister may, by order, declare a draft code of practice submitted or resubmitted to him or her in accordance with this section to be an approved code of practice for the purposes of this Act, and the text of the approved code of practice shall be set out in the order.
(7) The Commission shall publish an approved code of practice on its internet website.
(8) Every order under this section shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order is passed by either such House within the next twenty one days on which that House sits after the order has been laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.
(9) A code of practice standing approved under this section shall be admissible in evidence in proceedings before a court, the Labour Court or an adjudication officer.
(10) In this section “employment enactment” does not include the Act of 1998.
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C3
Functions transferred and references construed (14.10.2020) by Employment Affairs and Employment Law (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 438 of 2020), arts. 2, 3(1)(a), (2) and sch., in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 4-8.
2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the exercise, performance or execution of any functions transferred by Article 3 are transferred to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
(2) References to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection contained in any Act or any instrument made under such Act and relating to any administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
3. (1) The functions vested in the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection -
(a) by or under the Acts specified in Part 1 of the Schedule and the provisions of the Acts specified in Part 2 of the Schedule, and
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are transferred to the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
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(2) References to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection contained in any Act or instrument made under such Act and relating to any functions transferred by this Article shall, on and after the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
SCHEDULE
PART 2
PROVISIONS OF ACTS OF THE OIREACHTAS
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Section 20 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 (No. 16 of 2015) in so far as it relates to codes of practice in relation to employment enactments (within the meaning of that Act) specified in this Schedule.
Editorial Notes:
E9
Power pursuant to subs. (6) exercised (31.03.2021) by Workplace Relations Act 2015 (Workplace Relations Commission Code of Practice on the Right to Disconnect) Order 2021 (S.I. No. 159 of 2021).
E10
Previous affecting provision: functions under section transferred and “Minister for” and “Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation” construed (1.09.2017) by Labour Affairs and Labour Law (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2017 (S.I. No. 361 of 2017), arts. 2, 3, 6-8, in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 4, 5; superseded as per C-note above.