Employment Permits Act 2024

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Refusal to approve person as approved seasonal employer

11. (1) Section 32 (2)(a) and (7) and section 33 (1)(a), (c), (d), (f), (g), (h), (m) and (p) and (7) shall, subject to the modifications specified in subsection (2), apply to the refusal to approve a change of employer under section 10 as they apply to the refusal to grant an employment permit.

(2) The modifications mentioned in subsection (1) are—

(a) in section 32 (2)(a), construing the reference to the person who has made the offer of employment as the person who has made an application under section 10 ,

(b) in section 32 (7), the omission of the reference to that section being subject to sections 44 (5) and 45 (5),

(c) in section 33 —

(i) in subsection (1)(a), construing the reference to the applicant for the permit as a reference to the person applying under section 10 ,

(ii) in subsection (1)(c), construing the reference to the foreign national or the person who made the offer of employment as a reference to the person applying under section 10 ,

(iii) in subsection (1)(m), construing the reference to the remuneration to be paid to the foreign national concerned as a reference to the remuneration proposed to be paid to foreign nationals under a seasonal employment permit by the person applying under section 10 ,

(iv) in subsection (1)(p), construing the reference to the person identified in the application in accordance with section 12 (6), or as the case may be, the connected person, as a reference to the person applying under section 10 , and

(v) in subsection (7), construing the reference to the person identified in the application in accordance with section 12 (6) as a reference to the person applying under section 10 ,

(d) construing the references to the grant of an employment permit as references to the approval of a person as an approved seasonal employer under section 10 ,

(e) construing the references to the application or the application for the permit as a reference to the application under section 10 , and

(f) any other necessary modifications.

(3) The Minister may refuse to approve a person as an approved seasonal employer where—

(a) the application relates to a proposed employment that is not a seasonally recurrent employment specified in regulations made under section 9 (4),

(b) the Minister is satisfied that the person has failed to comply with regulations made under section 47 (8)(c) on a previous occasion,

(c) the person has not made appropriate arrangements—

(i) to provide accommodation for the foreign nationals proposed to be employed by the person under a seasonal employment permit, or

(ii) to provide appropriate health insurance in respect of the foreign nationals proposed to be employed by the person under a seasonal employment permit should they require medical treatment for illness or injury during the period for which they will be in the State pursuant to the employment permit,

or

(d) the person had—

(i) fewer than such number of employees as may be prescribed,

(ii) less than such turnover as may be prescribed, or

(iii) less than such balance sheet total as may be prescribed,

in the financial year immediately preceding the year in which the application under section 10 (1) is made.

(4) Where the Minister refuses to approve a person as an approved seasonal employer, the Minister shall notify, in writing, the applicant of—

(a) the decision,

(b) the reasons for it, and

(c) the fact that the applicant may, in accordance with regulations under section 50 (9), submit the decision to the Minister for review under subsection (5) within the period referred to in section 35 (2) as applied by subsection (6).

(5) A decision of the Minister to refuse to approve a person as an approved seasonal employer may, in accordance with regulations under section 50 (14), be submitted by the applicant therefor to the Minister for review.

(6) Section 35 (2) to (8) shall, subject to the modifications specified in subsection (7), apply to a review under subsection (5) as they apply to a review under section 35 (1).

(7) The modifications mentioned in subsection (6) are—

(a) in section 35 (2), construing the reference to a submission under subsection (1) of that section as a reference to a submission under subsection (5),

(b) in section 35 (3)—

(i) construing the reference to the application for the employment permit as a reference to the application for approval as an approved seasonal employer, and

(ii) construing the reference to subsections (1) and (2) of that section as a reference to subsection (5) and section 35 (2) (as applied by this section),

(c) construing the references to a decision referred to in subsection (1) or (3) of section 35 as references to a decision referred to in subsection (5),

(d) construing the references to the refusal or grant of an employment permit as references to the refusal or grant of approval of a person as an approved seasonal employer,

(e) construing the references to section 34 as references to subsection (4), and

(f) any other necessary modifications.

(8) This section is without prejudice to the other requirements under this Act that must be satisfied with respect to the approval of a person as an approved seasonal employer under section 10 .

(9) In this section—

“balance sheet total”, in relation to a person, means the aggregate of the amounts shown as assets in the person’s balance sheet;

“financial year” means the period of 12 months beginning on 1 January and ending on 31 December;

“turnover”, in relation to a person, means the amounts of revenue derived from the provision of goods and services falling within the person’s ordinary activities, after deduction of—

(a) trade discounts,

(b) value-added tax, and

(c) any other taxes based on the amounts so derived,

and, in the case of a person whose ordinary activities include the making or holding of investments, includes the gross revenue derived from such activities.