Labour Relations Commission

Information

The main function of Ireland's Labour Relations Commission (LRC) is to promote the improvement of industrial relations. If you have problems in this area, you may ask the Commission to provide its services to help resolve the dispute. The Commission was set up in 1991 under the Industrial Relations Act 1990 and has an advisory role on industrial relations. It resolves disputes by providing a range of services to employers, employees and trade unions. They include the Conciliation Service, the Advisory Service, the Rights Commissioner Service and the Workplace Mediation Service. The Commission also provides assistance to Joint Industrial Councils and Joint Labour Committees. You can read more about the policy of the Labour Relations Commission here.

Streamlining of employment rights enforcement

Since 4 January 2012 there is a single point of contact and a new single complaint form available on the shared website, workplacerelations.ie.

On 5 April 2012 the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation published a Blueprint document detailing the following new workplace relations structures to be set up by the end of 2012. A Workplace Relations Commission will bring together the existing services of the Labour Relations Commission, Rights Commissioner Service, Equality Tribunal, the National Employment Rights Authority and the first instance functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal. The Labour Court will be the single appeal body for all workplace relations appeals, including those currently heard by the Employment Appeals Tribunal. A Workplace Relations Bill is being drafted to give effect to these changes in autumn 2012.

Conciliation Service

The Conciliation Service helps employers and their employees to resolve disputes when they have failed to reach agreement during their own previous negotiations. An Industrial Relations Officer of the Commission acts as chairperson during meetings to negotiate an agreement. The majority of the cases referred to conciliation are settled. If no agreement is reached then, if the parties wish, the dispute may be referred to the Labour Court.

Advisory Service

The Advisory Service provides advice and assistance to employers, employees and trade unions in situations where there is no dispute. It helps employers and employees to develop positive working relationships and mechanisms to solve problems. One of its services is preventative mediation, advising on grievance procedures and structural change. It has also published codes of practice including Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures and Procedures for addressing Bullying in the Workplace (pdf)

Rights Commissioner Service

The Rights Commissioner Service investigates disputes, grievances and claims in Ireland that individuals or small groups of workers make under certain legislation. The Rights Commissioner Service operates as part of Labour Relations Commission. Rights Commissioners are independent in the performance of their duties and have a wide range of functions under employment legislation including the Adoptive Leave Act 1995, Carer’s Leave Act 2001, Maternity Protection Act 1994, National Minimum Wage Act 2000, Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, Parental Leave Act 1998, Payment of Wages Act 1991, Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003, Protection of Employees (Part – Time Work) Act 2001, Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996, Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005, Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 and the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977-1993.
You can find more information in our document on the Rights Commissioner Service. See 'How to apply' below if you wish to refer a complaint to a Rights Commissioner.

Workplace Mediation Service

The Workplace Mediation Service aims to resolve workplace disputes and disagreements, particularly between individuals or small groups. This confidential service gives employees and employers who are in dispute with each other an opportunity to work with a mediator to find a mutually agreed solution to the problem.

Workplace mediation is a voluntary process which needs to have both sides agreeing to participate and to work towards resolving the problem. The advantage of using workplace mediation is that it allows a problem to be resolved informally. It ensures that all the sides are heard and the participants are involved in finding an agreed solution. Find out more about the Workplace Mediation Service here.