Industrial Relations Act, 1976

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 15/1976
• Year: 1976

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Number 15 of 1976

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1976

REVISED

Updated to 1 February 2020

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This Revised Act is an administrative consolidation of the Industrial Relations Act 1976. It is prepared by the Law Reform Commission in accordance with its function under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (3/1975) to keep the law under review and to undertake revision and consolidation of statute law.

All Acts up to and including the Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 (53/2019), enacted 26 December 2019, and all statutory instruments up to and including the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 24 of 2020), made 29 January 2020, were considered in the preparation of this Revised Act.

Disclaimer: While every care has been taken in the preparation of this Revised Act, the Law Reform Commission can assume no responsibility for and give no guarantees, undertakings or warranties concerning the accuracy, completeness or up to date nature of the information provided and does not accept any liability whatsoever arising from any errors or omissions. Please notify any errors, omissions and comments by email to

revisedacts@lawreform.ie.

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Number 15 of 1976

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1976

REVISED

Updated to 1 February 2020

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Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2019: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation to be construed together as one (Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019, s. 5(2)). The Acts in the group are:

• Industrial Relations Act 1946 (26/1946)

• Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 1955 (19/1955) (repealed)

• Industrial Relations Act 1969 (14/1969)

• Industrial Relations Act 1976 (15/1976)

• Industrial Relations Act 1990 (19/1990), other than Part II (ss. 8-22)

• Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001 (11/2001)

• Industrial Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 (4/2004), in so far as it relates to the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2001

• Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2012 (32/2012), other than ss. 16, 17 and 18

• Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 (27/2015), other than ss. 24 and 36 (collectively cited Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2015 and Part 3, other than s. 36, to be construed as one)

• Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019 (21/2019)

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 (27/2015)

• Industrial Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 (4/2004)

• Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001 (11/2001)

• National Minimum Wage Act 2000 (5/2000)

• Unfair Dismissals (Amendment) Act 1993 (22/1993)

• Industrial Relations Act 1990 (19/1990)

• Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 (8/1977)

• Industrial Relations Act 1969 (19/1969)

• Industrial Relations Act 1946 (26/1946)

All Acts up to and including Consumer Insurance Contracts Act 2019 (53/2019), enacted 26 December 2019, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory Instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Industrial Relations Act 1976 (Section 8) Order 2015 (S.I. No. 385 of 2015)

• Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011)

• Industrial Relations Act, 1990 (Definition of “Worker”) Order 1998 (S.I. No. 264 of 1998)

• Labour (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1993 (S.I. No. 18 of 1993)

• Labour Court (Fourth Division) Order 1979 (S.I. No. 161 of 1979)

All statutory instruments up to and including Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019 (Commencement) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 24 of 2020), made 29 January 2020, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

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Number 15 of 1976

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1976

REVISED

Updated to 1 February 2020

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

Acts Referred to
Agricultural Wages Act, 1936	1936, No. 53
Industrial Relations Act, 1946	1946, No. 26
Industrial Relations Act, 1969	1969, No. 14

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Number 15 of 1976

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INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 1976

REVISED

Updated to 1 February 2020

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AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACTS, 1946 AND 1969, TO REPEAL THE AGRICULTURAL WAGES ACTS, 1936 TO 1969, AND THE AGRICULTURAL WORKERS (HOLIDAYS) ACTS, 1950 TO 1975, AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED WITH THE AFORESAID MATTERS. [18th May, 1976]

BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:

Annotations

Modifications (not altering text):

C1

Application of collectively cited Industrial Relations Acts extended by Industrial Relations Act 1990 (19/1990), s. 23(1)-(1D) and sch. 6, as inserted (1.02.2020) by Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2019 (21/2019), ss. 3, 4, S.I. No. 24 of 2020.

“worker”.

23.—(1) In the Industrial Relations Acts, 1946 to 1976, and this Part, “worker” means [a member of the Garda Síochána referred to in subsection (1A) and] any person aged 15 years or more who has entered into or works under [(or, where the employment has ceased, worked under)] a contract with an employer, whether the contract be for manual labour, clerical work or otherwise, whether it be expressed or implied, oral or in writing, and whether it be a contract of service or of apprenticeship or a contract personally to execute any work or labour including, in particular, a psychiatric nurse employed by a health board and any person designated for the time being under subsection (3) but does not include—

[(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1) and subject to subsections (1B), (1C) and (1D), the Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 2019 and this Part shall apply to a member of the Garda Síochána.

(1B) Subject to subsections (1C) and (1D), for the purposes of subsections (1) and (1A), references to all or any of the following, in relation to a member of the Garda Síochána, shall be construed as follows:

(a) a reference to an employer shall be read as a reference to the Garda Commissioner;

(b) a reference to a—

(i) contract of employment,

(ii) contract with an employer,

(iii) employment contract, or

(iv) any similar term,

shall be read as a reference to any enactment, Garda code, instrument, decision, circular, instruction, any other document or any combination thereof that provides for or specifies the terms and conditions on which that member of the Garda Síochána serves;

(c) a reference to a trade union shall be read as a reference to an association established under and in accordance with section 18 of the Act of 2005;

(d) a reference to an employer organisation, a trade union of employers or an employer association shall be read as a reference to the Garda Commissioner;

(e) without prejudice to section 3 of the Industrial Relations Act 1946, a reference to a trade dispute shall be read as a reference to any dispute or difference between members of the Garda Síochána and the Garda Commissioner that is connected with the appointment or non-appointment of any such member, or with the terms and conditions on which such members serve, and includes any such dispute or difference between retired members and the Garda Commissioner.

(1C) (a) Nothing in subsections (1), (1A) or (1B) shall affect the operation of section 18(3) of the Act of 2005.

(b) Nothing in subsections (1), (1A) or (1B) shall operate to apply the Trade Union Acts 1871 to 1990 to the Garda Síochána and those subsections shall not apply to the interpretation of any terms used in those Acts.

(1D) The enactments specified in column (3) of the Sixth Schedule shall not apply to a worker who is a member of the Garda Síochána to the extent specified in column (4) of that Schedule.]

...

SIXTH SCHEDULE

Section 23(1D)

Enactments to which sections 23(1A) and 23(1B) shall not apply to members of the Garda Síochána

Reference (1)	Number and Year (2)	Short Title (3)	Extent of Disapplication (4)
...	...	...	...
2.	No. 15 of 1976	Industrial Relations Act 1976	The whole Act
...	...	...	...

C2

Application of collectively cited Industrial Relations Acts 1946 to 1990 restricted (31.05.2001) by Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001 (11/2001), s. 2, S.I. No. 232 of 2001, as partly substituted (6.04.2004) by Industrial Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 (4/2004), s. 2, S.I. No. 138 of 2004.

Investigation of dispute by Court.

2.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Industrial Relations Acts, 1946 to 1990, at the request of a trade union or excepted body...