Resources

This guidance is for all employers in the public, private and voluntary sectors. It has been developed by a working group co-chaired by Sir George Quigley and Nigel Hamilton and comprising representatives of Government departments, the Irish Congress of Trades Unions, the Confederation of British Industry and a representative group of ex-prisoners. 

This report has been prepared by Marguerite Bolger and Barry Fitzpatrick for the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Relations Agency. It contains an examination of the transposition in Ireland and Northern Ireland of the Fixed Term Work Directive and the Working Time Directive, together with analysis of relevant case law.

When we provide services, we want to make them easy, useful and reliable.

The Labour Relations Agency is required to protect the public funds it administers. It may share information provided to it with other bodies responsible for auditing or administering public funds, in order to prevent and detect fraud.

Mediation works by using a neutral Labour Relations Agency mediator to assist parties involved in a workplace conflict or dispute to reach a satisfactory solution to workplace disputes that both sides are able to agree to.

If someone has lodged a claim to the tribunal about their employment rights a copy is sent to the Labour Relations Agency.

We have a legal duty to offer Conciliation in most cases when someone has a complaint about their employment rights even if no claim has been made to the Tribunal service.

Collective Conciliation is facilitated or assisted negotiation where an Agency conciliator helps employers and employees (normally via trade unions) to try to reach mutually acceptable settlements of their collective disputes.

Arbitration

Arbitration involves an independent and impartial person called an arbitrator (acting alone or chairing a panel) being appointed by the Labour Relations Agency to make a decision on a dispute. This decision is based on the evidence presented by the parties to that dispute.

You can use the Labour Relations Agency Arbitration Scheme to resolve an employment–related dispute (a “claim”) instead of going to a tribunal.