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temporary employment contracts

  • 23-08-2011 08:26PM
    #1
    dienbienphu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 297 ✭✭


    is there legislation which governs temporary employment contracts in ireland? a mate of mine works for a company and hes on a temporary contract. hes been working there nearly 4 months and hasnt yet signed any contract. are employment contracts not in danger of abuse if employers can go around hiring people on the basis of a temporary contract?


Comments

  • #2
    blueythebear
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,074 ✭✭✭blueythebear


    dienbienphu wrote: »
    is there legislation which governs temporary employment contracts in ireland? a mate of mine works for a company and hes on a temporary contract. hes been working there nearly 4 months and hasnt yet signed any contract. are employment contracts not in danger of abuse if employers can go around hiring people on the basis of a temporary contract?

    Yes.

    However, the issue I believe is not that your friend is on a temporary contract, but that he has not received a formal contract outlining the terms of the contract. Under S3 of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994, an employer must give the employee a written statement of certain terms of the employment within 2 months of commencing the employment. He should request such a statement from his employer.

    Otherwise, protections are available for persons on temporary contracts via the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003, which holds that you are entitled to a permanent contract (contract of indefinite duration) where you have been on fixed term contracts (2 or more) for over 4 years (that's not the whole story but I'm too lazy to go into the detail).


  • #3
    dienbienphu
    Closed Accounts Posts: 297 ✭✭dienbienphu


    so what happens if my friend requests a contract and they decide to terminate his employment instead of committing themselves to a contract? will the company suffer any liability?


  • #4
    blueythebear
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,074 ✭✭✭blueythebear


    dienbienphu wrote: »
    so what happens if my friend requests a contract and they decide to terminate his employment instead of committing themselves to a contract? will the company suffer any liability?

    Your friend won't have much recourse. He has to have a year's continuous service with the company before Unfair Dismissals legislation applies. He could complain to the Rights Commissioner Service about failure to give him a statement of the terms of the employment but it would not be a claim that would amount to very much.

    However, I can't see an employer firing him just because he asked for written clarification of the basic terms of his employment. By entering employment with the company, he is entering a contract with them anyway, even if there is no written contract of employment as of yet.

    It's not a huge deal to not have the written terms of the contract. Many companies don't ask you to formally sign any contract. Employment law legislation and contract law principles still apply even if you don't have a written contract.


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