Finance Act, 1998
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Amendment of section 202 (relief for agreed pay restructuring) of Principal Act. |
10.— Section 202 of the Principal Act is hereby amended– | |
(a) in subsection (1)— | ||
(i) by the substitution in paragraph (a) of the following definition for the definition of “relevant agreement”: | ||
“‘relevant agreement’, in relation to a qualifying company, means a collective agreement— | ||
(a) that applies to— | ||
(i) more than 50 per cent of the total number of qualifying employees of the company, or | ||
(ii) more than 75 per cent of a bona fide class or classes of qualifying employees of the company if the number of participating employees in the class or classes, as the case may be, comprises at least 25 per cent of the total number of qualifying employees of the company, | ||
(b) that provides amongst other things for— | ||
(i) a substantial reduction in the basic pay of the participating employees to which it relates, | ||
(ii) the payment of the reduced basic pay to the participating employees to which it relates for the duration of the relevant period, and | ||
(iii) the payment to them of a lump sum to compensate for that reduction, | ||
and | ||
(c) that is registered with the Labour Relations Commission;”, | ||
and | ||
(ii) by the addition of the following paragraph after paragraph (b): | ||
“(c) In determining for the purposes of the definition of ‘relevant agreement’ whether qualifying employees of a qualifying company are comprised in a bona fide class or classes, as the case may be, regard shall be had to matters such as common work practices, skills, established collective bargaining arrangements and the organisational structure and arrangements within the company.”, | ||
and | ||
(b) in subsection (2), by the substitution in paragraph (b) of the following subparagraphs for subparagraphs (i) and (ii): | ||
“(i) the company is confronted with a substantial adverse change to its competitive environment which will determine its current or continued viability, | ||
(ii) to accommodate that change and maintain its viability, it is necessary for it to enter into a relevant agreement with its qualifying employees, and”. |