General Scheme of Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024

The General Scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 was approved by government on 28 May 2024.

This Bill will make a number of important and necessary amendments to the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act 1984. This Act covers employees’ pay-related entitlements in the event of their employer’s insolvency, by way of the Insolvency Payments Scheme (IPS).

The most extensive change is to introduce a new Employer Deemed Insolvent Application which was developed by an Interdepartmental Working Group. This new process will allow former employees to apply to have their employer deemed insolvent, where their employer ceases trading without going through a formal wind-up, for the purpose of claiming their pay-related entitlements from the IPS. This change addresses a 2018 Supreme Court judgment which found that Ireland had not fully transposed Directive 2008/94/EC.

The Bill also makes a number of other technical amendments to improve the Scheme’s operation.

Topics: Workplace and Skills