Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act, 2001

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Part-time employees who work on a casual basis.

11.—(1) This section applies to a part-time employee who—

(a) works on a casual basis, and

(b) does not fall within a class of employee prescribed under subsection (7).

(2) Notwithstanding section 9 (1), a part-time employee to whom this section applies may, if such less favourable treatment can be justified on objective grounds, be treated, in respect of a particular condition of employment, in a less favourable manner than a comparable full-time employee.

(3) Nothing in subsection (2) shall be construed as affecting the application of a relevant enactment, by virtue of section 8 , to a part-time employee.

(4) For the purposes of this section, a part-time employee shall, at a particular time, be regarded as working on a casual basis if—

(a) at that time—

(i) he or she has been in the continuous service of the employer for a period of less than 13 weeks, and

(ii) that period of service and any previous period of service by him or her with the employer are not of such a nature as could reasonably be regarded as regular or seasonal employment,

or

(b) by virtue of his or her fulfilling, at that time, conditions specified in an approved collective agreement that has effect in relation to him or her, he or she is regarded for the purposes of that agreement as working on such a basis.

(5) In subsection (4)(b), “approved collective agreement” means a collective agreement that stands approved of by the Labour Court under the Schedule to this Act.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (4)(a), the service of an employee in his or her employment shall be deemed to be continuous unless that service is terminated by—

(a) the dismissal of him or her by the employer, or

(b) the employee voluntarily leaving his or her employment.

(7) The Minister shall from time to time cause to be reviewed, in such manner as he or she determines, the operation of this section in relation to part-time employees and may, following such a review, subject to subsection (9), prescribe a class or classes of such employee to be a class or classes of employee to whom this section shall not apply.

(8) In determining the manner in which such a review shall be carried out, the Minister shall consult with such organisations representative of employers, such organisations representative of employees, and such other bodies as the Minister considers appropriate and, before making regulations under this section, the Minister shall consult with such organisations and bodies in relation to the terms of the proposed regulations.

(9) The Minister shall not make regulations under this section unless the results of the review concerned referred to in subsection (7), in the Minister's opinion, show that there cannot, in ordinary circumstances, be objective grounds for treating the class or classes of employees to whom the regulations relate in a less favourable manner than a comparable full-time employee.