New laws cracking down on zero-hour contracts and precarious employment come into effect today.

The legislation also aims to address the challenges faced by casual workers.

Described as ‘one of the most significant pieces of employment legislation in a generation, the new act aims to improve security and predictability of working hours for employees on insecure contracts.

It is being introduced in response to the increased casualisation of work – and strengthen regulations for so-called ‘precarious employment’ where workers fill permanent job needs but are denied permanent staff rights.

Among the measures it includes: restrictions on zero-hours contracts, anti-penalty provisions for workers who invoke their rights, and core-terms of employment to be supplied to employees within five days of starting work.

Welcoming the new law, ICTU General Secretary Patricia King said: “Workers’ rights have been significantly improved thanks to the trade union movement successfully pushing for legal protection around the working hours of the lowest-paid and most vulnerable workers.

“Zero-hour and low-hours contracts give employers complete discretion when it comes to working hours. Rogue bosses, taking full advantage of this, unashamedly use the threat of reduced hours to keep workers in-line and to punish workers for being unavailable.”It is stressful, humiliating and makes it next to impossible for workers to plan ahead or to budget for their household expenses. The day-to-day reality of such working conditions for workers has no place in a modern, wealthy economy. This new law rightly puts an end this power-imbalance, she added”

Waterford TD David Cullinane is Sinn Féin’s spokesperson for Workers’ Rights. He welcomed the new law.

“The push to get banded hours into legislation started with Sinn Féin when we first moved a bill in 2014.

“I moved a similar Bill in 2016 that really put the issue on the agenda.

“The current Bill has two critical amendments from Sinn Féin in it.

“The first is the banded hours scheme; the second is the 12 month look-back period for qualification for the bands.

“These will have a significant and positive affect on the working lives of thousands of precarious and low-paid workers.

“The next move is to tackle bogus self-employment and the need to have additional hours allocated to workers, as well as the right to access for trade unions.

“I will be bringing forward legislation in the coming months to tackle these issues.”