Recent employment regulation changes and Ibec-ICTU Ukraine Fund

The latest CEO Update to Ibec membership from Danny McCoy

Dear member,

This week, we have seen a number of pieces of legislation approved by Cabinet that will directly impact on labour costs of business, most notably the introduction of Statutory Sick Pay schemes and Auto-Enrolment Pension schemes.  Details of each of these can be found in the latest Ibec HR Link, available here.
 
The sheer scale of recent and proposed employment regulation is creating challenges for business, most notably as it drives down opportunities for employers to offer flexibility and significantly drives up costs. At a time when businesses are facing into a difficult inflationary environment following a prolonged period of Covid disruptions, it is imperative that such legislation be delivered through an effective coordination mechanism that manages them as an aggregate rather in a piecemeal fashion that we are currently witnessing. The need to have these rises in the “social wage” acknowledged is important in the determination of the overall wage bill growth. We will continue to keep you informed on these matters.
 
As I have detailed to you in previous updates, the Irish business community remains committed to addressing the humanitarian crisis and helping those directly impacted in Ukraine. This week, Ibec has teamed up with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to launch an initiative to encourage workers and employers to give support to the humanitarian relief efforts of the International Red Cross and UNICEF Ireland in Ukraine.
 
Where they can, workers are encouraged to donate one-hours’ worth of their pay to these worthy causes and where they do, we are encouraging employers to match the contribution where they can, on a voluntary basis.
 
This joint initiative sends a strong message of support from the business community to the people of Ukraine. In the past few weeks, we have seen the broad spectrum of Irish business extensively engaging with humanitarian organisations to support those impacted by the war in Ukraine and we are encouraging all who can continue to do so to support this deserving cause. Your help can go a long way in supporting families and communities directly suffering from the Russian invasion.
 
For details on how you can get involved, please click on this link.
 
As always, if you have any queries please get in touch.
 
Regards,
 
Danny McCoy
 
CEO
Ibec