In July 2014, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation
published the Workplace Relations Bill 2014. The Workplace
Relations Act 2014 (the "Act") was
signed into law by the President on 20 May 2015, with a
commencement date of 1 July looking likely at this
stage.
The key reform proposed in the Act is the establishment of a new
Workplace Relations Commission ("WRC")
as the umbrella body for dealing with workplace complaints in the
first instance. The WRC will, essentially, take over the
statutory function of the various other employment law adjudicatory
bodies, such as the EAT and the Equality Tribunal.
Adjudication officers will hear all claims at first instance, and
an expanded and reconfigured Labour Court will deal with all cases
on appeal. Labour Court decisions can be appealed to the High
Court, on a point of law only, which should in practice mean very
few cases will go beyond the Labour Court stage. This new
system effectively reduces an
