Employment Permits Act 2024
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PART 3 Regulations Relating to Employment Permits | ||
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Regulations governing grant of employment permit, etc. | ||
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47. (1) The Minister may, having regard to sections 9 and 48 and the matters specified in section 49 , make regulations providing for each class of employment permit specified in paragraphs (a) to (j) of section 9 (2) and may, for each such class of employment permit, provide for one or more of the matters specified in subsection (2) and may, in such regulations, make different provision for such classes of employment permit and such matters in relation to different cases and different classes of cases and different circumstances or different classes of circumstances. | ||
(2) The matters referred to in subsection (1) are as follows: | ||
(a) the maximum number of employment permits that may be granted in respect of a particular class of employment permit or specified employments or categories of such employments and such employments or such categories may be provided for on the basis of one or more economic sectors into which they fall; | ||
(b) the employments for which an employment permit may be granted and such employments may be provided for by reference to categories of employments for which an employment permit may be granted and by reference to one or more economic sectors into which they fall; | ||
(c) the employments for which an employment permit shall not be granted and such employments may be provided for by reference to categories of employments for which an employment permit shall not be granted and to one or more economic sectors into which they fall; | ||
(d) economic sectors in respect of which employment permits for any employment that falls into such sector shall not be granted; | ||
(e) the minimum amount of remuneration that shall be payable in respect of an employment as a condition for the grant of an employment permit in respect of it, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, in respect of such minimum amount of remuneration— | ||
(i) in so far as it relates to the salary referred to in paragraphs (a)(i), (b)(i) and (c)(i) of section 3 (1), the hourly rate for the salary shall be not less than the national minimum hourly rate of pay, or where appropriate to the employment or the category of employment, the hourly rate of pay referred to in paragraph (b) of the definition of “standard working week remuneration”, and | ||
(ii) in so far as it relates to the payments for board and accommodation, referred to in section 3 (1)(b)(ii) and 3 (1)(c)(ii) and the payments for health insurance referred to in paragraphs (a)(ii), (b)(iii) and (c)(iii) of section 3 (1), a maximum amount that may be paid in respect of those payments or the maximum amount of the value of such board and accommodation that are directly provided; | ||
(f) the qualifications or skills that a foreign national, in respect of whom an application for an employment permit is made, is required to possess in order for a grant of the permit to be made in respect of a specified employment or category of employment; | ||
(g) the minimum number of hours of work that are required to be worked in each week for an employment as a condition for the grant of an employment permit in respect of it; | ||
(h) the minimum period of experience required for an employment, or a category of employment, as a condition for the grant of an employment permit in respect of it including different periods of experience by reference to different levels of remuneration; | ||
(i) the minimum and maximum periods for which an employment permit may be granted; | ||
(j) the minimum and maximum periods for which an employment permit may be renewed. | ||
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2)(e), when specifying the minimum amount of remuneration, pursuant to that subsection, that shall be payable in respect of an employment as a condition for the grant of an employment permit in respect of it, the Minister may specify— | ||
(a) a minimum annual remuneration which shall be the minimum amount of remuneration to be paid to a foreign national for 39 hours of work in each week for 52 weeks, | ||
(b) the minimum hourly rate for the minimum annual remuneration referred to in paragraph (a) that shall be payable where the hours of work for an employment or category of employment exceed 39 hours, and | ||
(c) a minimum hourly rate for remuneration other than that referred to in paragraph (a) or (b), | ||
in respect of any class of employment permit, employment or category of employment, and may, without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), make different provision for any such class, employment or category in relation to different cases and different classes of cases and different circumstances or different classes of circumstances. | ||
(4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2)(e), where the Minister has made regulations, pursuant to subsection (2)(e), specifying the minimum amount of remuneration that shall be payable in respect of an employment as a condition for the grant or renewal of an employment permit in respect of it, he or she shall, every year from the date of the making of the regulations concerned, carry out a review of those regulations having regard to the most recent information on average weekly earnings made available by the Central Statistics Office and where, following such review, the Minister is satisfied that there has been an increase in the average weekly earnings as calculated by the Central Statistics Office since the date of the making of the regulations or the date of the last review carried out under this subsection (whichever occurs later), he or she shall increase the minimum amount of remuneration specified in those regulations in respect of an employment by a percentage equal to or exceeding the percentage increase in such average weekly earnings since that date. | ||
(5) When making regulations under subsection (1) in respect of a general employment permit, critical skills employment permit or seasonal employment permit, the Minister, in addition to providing for any of the matters specified in subsection (2) for those classes of employment permit, may specify the maximum number of applications that may be made in respect of a particular foreign national under section 27 or 29 , and may make different provision for different classes of employment permit, employments or categories of employments in relation to different cases and different classes of cases and different circumstances or different classes of circumstances. | ||
(6) The Minister may, in regulations under subsection (1), when providing for— | ||
(a) a critical skills employment permit, make different provision for a foreign national to whom section 44 applies, and | ||
(b) a general employment permit, make different provision for a foreign national to whom section 45 applies, | ||
and may make different provision for such foreign nationals in respect of any matter to be provided for under subsection (2) and, without prejudice to subsections (1) and (3), when providing for remuneration under subsection (2)(e), such provision may include different amounts of remuneration in respect of such class of employment permit or any employment or category of employment and different provision may be made for different cases in relation to different classes of cases and different circumstances or different classes of circumstances. | ||
(7) When making regulations under subsection (1) in respect of an exchange agreement employment permit, the Minister, in addition to providing for any of the matters specified in subsection (2) for that class of employment permit— | ||
(a) shall specify in those regulations each exchange agreement in respect of which an employment permit may be granted, and | ||
(b) may, without prejudice to subsection (1) and (2), specify the employments referred to in that exchange agreement, or to which that exchange agreement applies, in respect of which an employment permit may be granted for that class of employment permit, | ||
and when specifying the exchange agreement may, without prejudice to subsection (1), make different provision for such different exchange agreements in relation to different cases and different classes of cases and different circumstances or different classes of circumstances. | ||
(8) When making regulations under subsection (1) in respect of a seasonal employment permit, the Minister, in addition to providing for any of the matters specified in subsection (2) for that class of employment permit, shall specify— | ||
(a) the period or periods each year during which a person may make an application for approval as an approved seasonal employer under section 10 (1), | ||
(b) the maximum number of approved seasonal employers that may stand approved by the Minister, and | ||
(c) the minimum number of foreign nationals to be employed by an approved seasonal employer under a seasonal employment permit during the period for which the approved seasonal employer is approved under section 10 (5), | ||
and may make different provision in respect of different employments or categories of such employments and such employments or such categories may be provided for on the basis of one or more economic sectors into which they fall. | ||
(9) In regulations under subsection (1) in relation to any class of employment permit or any matter specified under subsection (2), the Minister may, when providing for any such class or matter, make provision in respect of a recommendation referred to in section 16 , and may, in respect of such recommendation, make different provision for such classes or such matter in relation to different cases and different classes of cases and different circumstances and different classes of circumstances. | ||
(10) When specifying in regulations under subsection (1) the qualifications, referred to in subsection (2)(f), of a foreign national, the Minister may provide, in respect of such qualifications, for one or both of the following: | ||
(a) a requirement that the foreign national be registered with— | ||
(i) a regulatory body, or | ||
(ii) any Minister of the Government regulating the entry to or carrying on of any profession, employment or trade in the State; | ||
(b) a requirement that the qualifications of a foreign national be recognised by— | ||
(i) a regulatory body, or | ||
(ii) any Minister of the Government regulating the entry to or carrying on of any profession, employment or trade in the State. | ||
(11) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (2)(b), when specifying the employments for which an employment permit may be granted, including employments specified by reference to categories of employments and to one or more economic sectors, the Minister may specify such employments by reference to employments that require qualifications, experience or skills, referred to in section 49 (1)(c), that are required for the proper functioning of one or more economic sectors and the Minister is satisfied that there is a shortage, referred to in section 49 (1)(d), of those skills, experience or qualifications. | ||
(12) When making regulations under subsection (1) in respect of a general employment permit or a seasonal employment permit, the Minister, in addition to providing for any of the matters specified in subsection (2) for such an employment permit, may specify in those regulations as a condition for the grant of such an employment permit in relation to specified employments for which such an employment permit may be granted— | ||
(a) any accommodation, training or expenses that shall be provided to a foreign national to whom such an employment permit is granted, and | ||
(b) any measures that shall be taken by the employer of the foreign national to whom such an employment permit is granted— | ||
(i) to increase the skills, knowledge, qualifications or experience of employees (other than the foreign national) in respect of the employment concerned, including the employment of new trainees or apprentices in that employment, or | ||
(ii) to otherwise reduce the employer’s reliance on the employment of foreign nationals in respect of the employment concerned, including by way of the introduction of technical changes to work processes, | ||
and may make different provision for such classes of employment permit in relation to different cases and different classes of cases and different circumstances or different classes of circumstances. | ||
(13) Where, under subsections (1) and (2)(a), the Minister makes regulations providing for the maximum number of employment permits that may be granted in respect of a class of employment permit or specified employments or categories of employments, whether the maximum number is provided for on the basis of an economic sector or otherwise, the Minister shall specify a period during which that maximum number of employment permits shall be granted. | ||
(14) The Minister may, having regard to section 9 and the matters specified in section 49 , make regulations providing that no permits shall be granted in respect of any class of employment permit referred to in section 9 (2) for a period as the Minister shall specify in the regulations. | ||
(15) The Minister may, having regard to section 9 and the matters specified in section 49 , make regulations providing that no permits shall be renewed in respect of any class of employment permit referred to in section 9 (2) for a period as the Minister shall specify in the regulations. | ||
(16) Where the Minister has made regulations under this section, he or she shall from time to time carry out a review of the regulations having regard to the matters specified in section 49 and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, the shortages and surpluses referred to in section 49 (1)(d) in respect of the matters specified in the regulations pursuant to this section. | ||
(17) Subject to subsection (18), in regulations under subsection (1), the Minister may, having regard to sections 9 and 48 and the matters specified in section 49 , provide, in respect of each class of employment permit referred to in subsection (1), for— | ||
(a) one or more of the matters specified in subsection (2) other than the matters specified in paragraphs (a), (c) and (d) of that subsection, and | ||
(b) any matter specified in subsections (3) and (7) to (12), | ||
in relation to the renewal, under section 36 , of an employment permit and may, for each such class of employment permit in such regulations, make provision for such classes of employment permit in relation to any of the matters specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) in relation to such renewal that is different to the provision made by the Minister in relation to the grant of an employment permit under section 19 and may, in such regulations, make different provision for such classes of employment permit and such matters in relation to different cases and different classes of cases and different circumstances or different classes of circumstances. | ||
(18) The following modifications apply in respect of the regulations referred to in subsection (17): | ||
(a) the substitution of references to an application for the renewal of an employment permit for references to an application for the grant of an employment permit; | ||
(b) the substitution of references to a condition for the grant of the renewal of an employment permit for references to a condition for the grant of an employment permit; | ||
(c) the substitution of references to the grant of the renewal of an employment permit for the grant of an employment permit. | ||
(19) The Minister may, having regard to paragraphs (d) and (e) of section 9 (2), section 48 and the matters specified in section 49 , make regulations specifying— | ||
(a) the minimum period of employment for which a foreign national referred to in section 9 (2)(d) is employed with the foreign employer before an application for an employment permit may be made in respect of him or her, and | ||
(b) the minimum period of employment for which a foreign national referred to in section 9 (2)(e) is employed by the contractor or subcontractor concerned before an application for an employment permit may be made in respect of him or her. | ||
(20) Where— | ||
(a) the Minister is satisfied that, having regard to section 49 (1)(d), there is a shortage of the skills referred to in section 49 (1)(d), and | ||
(b) those skills are required for an employment, or a category of employment, specified in regulations under this section as an employment or a category of employment for which a general employment permit or contract service agreement employment permit may be granted, | ||
the Minister may specify in regulations under this section the employments or categories of employments to which section 23 (2) shall not apply— | ||
(i) in respect of— | ||
(I) an employment, and | ||
(II) a category of employment or an employment falling into a category of employment, | ||
specified in regulations under this section as employments or categories of employment for which a general employment permit may be granted, and | ||
(ii) in respect of— | ||
(I) an employment, and | ||
(II) a category of employment or an employment falling into a category of employment, | ||
specified in regulations under this section as employments or categories of employment for which a contract service agreement employment permit may be granted. | ||
(21) Where regulations under this section are in force, the relevant powers of the Minister under this Act in relation to employment permits shall, subject to this Act, be exercised subject to, and in accordance with, those regulations. |