Anti-Discrimination (Pay) Act, 1974

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Investigation by Labour Court.

8.—(1) (a) A party to a dispute in relation to which an equal pay officer has made a recommendation may appeal to the Court against the recommendation or may appeal to the Court for a determination that the recommendation has not been implemented.

(b) The Court shall hear and decide an appeal under this subsection and shall convey its determination to the parties and, in the case of a dispute mentioned in section 7 (2), also to the Minister.

(c) (i) A hearing under this subsection shall be held in private, but the Court shall, if requested to do so by a party to the dispute, hold the hearing in public.

(ii) Where a hearing under this subsection is being held in public the Court may, if it is satisfied that any part of the hearing concerns a matter that should, in the interests of any party to the dispute, be treated as confidential, hold that part of the hearing in private.

(d) Sections 14 and 21 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946 , shall apply to an appeal under this section.

(e) An appeal under this section shall be lodged in the Court not later than 42 days after the date of the equal pay officer's recommendation and the notice shall specify the grounds of the appeal.

(2) Any information obtained by an equal pay officer or by the Court in the course of an investigation or appeal under this Act as to any trade union or person or as to the business carried on by any person which is not available otherwise shall not be included in any recommendation or determination without the consent of the trade union or person concerned, nor shall any person concerned in proceedings before an equal pay officer or the Court disclose any such information without such consent.

(3) A party to a dispute determined by the Court under subsection (1) may appeal to the High Court on a point of law.

(4) (a) Where an employee complains to the Court that an employer has failed or neglected to implement a determination of the Court under this section, the following provisions shall have effect:

(i) the Court shall consider the complaint and shall hear all persons appearing to the Court to be interested and desiring to be heard,

(ii) if after such consideration the Court is satisfied that the complaint is well founded, the Court may by order direct the employer to do such things as will in the opinion of the Court result in the determination being implemented by the employer.

(b) If, where an order is made by the Court under paragraph (a), the direction contained in the order is not carried out within two months from the date of the making of the order (or, where there is an appeal under subsection (3), within two months of the date of the order of the High Court on the appeal) the person to whom the direction is given shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £100 and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding £10 for every day during which the offence is continued.

(c) (i) Where on a conviction for an offence under this section the court is satisfied that a person (in this paragraph referred to as the plaintiff) would be entitled to recover in a civil action arrears of remuneration, the court may, if it thinks fit and the plaintiff present or represented consents, impose on the convicted person, in addition to any other punishment, a fine not exceeding the amount which in the opinion of the court the plaintiff would be entitled to recover against the convicted person in respect of such arrears of remuneration.

(ii) The amount of a fine imposed under subparagraph (i) shall be paid to the plaintiff.

(iii) The payment by a convicted person of a fine imposed under subparagraph (i) shall be a good defence to any civil action brought by the plaintiff in respect of the arrears of remuneration referred to in that subparagraph.

(iv) Without prejudice to any right of appeal by any other person, the plaintiff shall have a right of appeal limited to the amount of the fine, either (as the case may be) to the High Court or to the judge of the Circuit Court in whose circuit the district (or any part thereof) of the Justice of the District Court by whom the fine was imposed is situated, and the decision on such an appeal shall be final.

(5) In any proceedings brought by a person to recover arrears of remuneration to which he is entitled under this Act the person shall not be entitled to be awarded any payment by way of such arrears in respect of a time earlier than three years before the date on which the relevant dispute was referred under section 7 to an equal pay officer.