S.I. No. 321/1999 - Employment Equality Act, 1998 (Section 76 - Right To Information) Regulations, 1999

I, JOHN O'DONOGHUE, T.D., Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 3 (3) and 76 (1) of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 (No. 21 of 1998), hereby make the following Regulations:

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Employment Equality Act, 1998 (Section 76 — Right to Information) Regulations, 1999, and shall come into operation on the 18th day of October, 1999.

2. In these Regulations —

“the Act” means the Employment Equality Act, 1998 (No. 21 of 1998);

“discriminatory ground” has the meaning given by section 6(2) of the Act;

“material information” has the meaning given by section 76(2) of the Act.

3. The form set out at Schedule 1 to these Regulations is hereby prescribed as the form to be used for the purposes of section 76(1) of the Act by a person (“the Complainant”) to obtain material information in order to decide whether to refer a matter under any provision of section 77 of the Act and, in the event of such a reference, to formulate and present his or her case in the most effective manner.

4. The form set out at Schedule 2 to these Regulations is hereby prescribed as the form to be used for the purposes of section 76(1) of the Act by a person (“the Respondent”) when replying to a request by a complainant for material information as prescribed by Regulation 3 of these Regulations.

SCHEDULE 1

Employment Equality Act, 1998 — Section 76

Questionnaire of the Complainant

Name and address of person to be questioned (the Respondent):		To............................................................ ....................................
		of............................................................ .....................................
		............................................................ ........................................
		............................................................ ........................................
Name and address of Complainant:	1.	I............................................................ .......................................
		of............................................................ .....................................
		............................................................ ........................................
		............................................................ ........................................
Delete the circumstances which do not apply to your complaint.		consider that you may have:
		(a) discriminated against me;
		(b) dismissed or otherwise penalised me in circumstances amounting to victimisation;
		(c) failed to provide equal remuneration to me as required by an equal remuneration term;
		(d) failed to provide equal treatment to me as required by an equality clause under my contract of employment;
		contrary to the provisions of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 .
Indicate the discriminatory ground(s) which you consider to apply to your complaint. (Tick where appropriate).	2.	Gender ( ) Martial Status ( ) Family Status ( ) Sexual Orientation ( ) Religion ( ) Age ( ) Disability ( ) Race ( ) Traveller Community Ground ( )
Outline the circumstances of your complaint including:	3.
(a) in the case of treatment, dates, times and a factual description of the treatment received and of the circumstances leading up to the treatment, or
(b) in the case of remuneration, the name(s), job title(s), etc. of person(s) with whom you consider you perform like work (i.e. the same work similar work or work of equal value).
Complete if you wish to give reasons otherwise delete the word “because”.	4.	I believe that the treatment/circumstances outlined at paragraph 3 of this Questionnaire may have been unlawful because . . .
This is the first of your questions to the Respondent.	5.	Do you agree that the circumstances outlined at paragraph 3 of this Questionnaire are accurate? If not, in what respect do you disagree or what is your version of the situation?
This is the second of your questions to the Respondent.	6.	Do you accept that your treatment of me, or the rate of remuneration afforded to me, was unlawful, contrary to the provisions of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 ? If not:
		(a) Why not?
		(b) For what reason did I receive the treatment/remuneration which is the subject of my complaint?
Enter here any other questions you wish to ask including any request for other non-confidential material information in respect of other persons who are in a comparable position to you or information which it is reasonable for you to require in the context of your case.	7.
Address to which reply should be sent if not the same as that at paragraph 1 of this Questionnaire.	8.
		Signature of Complainant
		............................................................ ............................................
		Date ............................................................ ....................................

Note

If there is not sufficient space to request information please use additional page(s) and sign and date each of them.

SCHEDULE 2

Employment Equality Act, 1998 — Section 76

Reply by the Respondent

Name and address of Complainant:		To............................................................ ........................................
		of............................................................ .........................................
		............................................................ ............................................
		............................................................ ............................................
Name and address of Respondent:	1.	I............................................................ ...........................................
		of............................................................ .........................................
		............................................................ ............................................
		..........................................
		hereby acknowledge receipt of the Questionnaire signed by you and dated ............................................................ ..................................
Delete sentence at (a) or (b) as appropriate and, if (a) is deleted, complete (b).	2.	(a) I agree that the statement/circumstances outlined in paragraph 3 of the Questionnaire is/are accurate.
		(b) I disagree with the statement/circumstances outlined in paragraph 3 of the Questionnaire in that .....................................................
Delete sentence at (a) or (b) as appropriate and, if (a) is deleted, complete one or more of the sentences at (b)(i) or (b)(ii).	3.	(a) I accept that my treatment of you, or the rate of remuneration afforded to you, was unlawful, contrary to the provisions of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 .
		(b) I dispute that my treatment of you, or the rate of remuneration afforded to you, was unlawful, contrary to the provisions of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 :
		(i) My reasons for disputing are ........
		(ii) The reasons why you received the treatment accorded to you or the rate of remuneration afforded to you are as follows
Replies to the questions in paragraph 7 of the Questionnaire should be entered here.	4.
Delete this entire sentence if you have answered all of the questions in the Questionnaire.	5.	I have deleted (in whole or in part) the paragraph(s) numbered ........... above, because I am unable/unwilling (delete as appropriate) to reply to those questions for the following reasons—
		Signature of Respondent
		............................................................ ............................................
		Date ............................................................ ....................................

Notes

If there is not sufficient space to enter a reply, please use additional page(s) and sign and date each of them.

If a Respondent fails to provide the information sought by the Complainant, or the information provided is false or misleading or is otherwise not such as the Complainant might reasonably require in accordance with the appropriate provisions of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 , the Director of Equality Investigations, the Labour Court or the Circuit Court may draw such inferences as seem appropriate in the circumstances.

	GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 18th day of October, 1999.
	JOHN O'DONOGHUE, T.D.
	Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations prescribe the forms to be used for the purposes of section 76 (1) of the Employment Equality Act, 1998 — (a) by a person (the Complainant) who wishes to obtain material information in order to decide whether to refer a matter to the Circuit Court, the Labour Court or the Director of Equality Investigations and, in the event of such a reference, to formulate and present his/her case in the most effective manner (Schedule 1); and (b) by a person (the Respondent) when replying to a request by a Complainant for material information (Schedule 2).

The Employment Equality Act, 1998 prohibits discrimination by employers, providers of vocational training, employment agencies and certain vocational bodies on grounds of gender, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, race or membership of the traveller community. The Act provides a means of redress (the Director of Equality Investigations, Labour Court and Circuit Court) where a person considers that he/she has been discriminated against contrary to the provisions of the Act. The Act also provides for the establishment of the Equality Authority. The statutory functions of the Authority include the provision of information and assistance to the public in relation to the Act.