Press release
Workplace Relations Commission publishes 2023 Annual Report
From Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Published on
Last updated on
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) today published its Annual Report for 2023.
In welcoming the Report, Emer Higgins, Minister of State for Employment Affairs and Retail Business said:
"The WRC continued to perform strongly in 2023, and its Annual Report for the year illustrates the effectiveness of the WRC across the full ambit of services it provides, including adjudication, inspection, conciliation, mediation, advisory and information services."
Minister Higgins also highlighted the success of the WRC in recovering unpaid wages for workers:
"The WRC continues to play an important role in terms of a level playing field across the economy for companies and employees, ensuring employment rights are upheld for all. Recovering almost €2 million in unpaid wages in 2023, the WRC is playing a crucial role in this regard."
Minister Higgins paid tribute to the former acting Director General, Anna Perry, who retired in February 2024, and the former Director General, Liam Kelly, who retired in March 2023, and acknowledged their significant contributions to the WRC and wished them both well in their retirement.
Dr David Begg, Chairperson of the Board of the WRC commented:
"The year in review saw a considerable expansion of all the services provided by the WRC. Our aim is to continuously improve our offering to our stakeholders, and we are very grateful for the trust and confidence they repose in us."
Ms Audrey Cahill, Director General of the WRC, said:
"2023 was the year when the WRC saw its first full year of normal services since 2019. The increased demand across all our divisions was met with high standards of delivery and commitment from the teams. Significant trends have begun to emerge in some key areas of our activity which will inform our workplans in the coming years and we look forward to continued positive engagements with all of our service users and stakeholders."
Ms Cahill concluded by acknowledging the role of her predecessors, Anna Perry and Liam Kelly, and thanked the Minister, the department and the WRC stakeholders for their support over the period.
An infographic from the Report summarising the WRC’s key performance indicators in 2023, is included below, indicating:
Inspections:
In 2023, some 6,519 workplace inspection visits took place with the WRC Inspectorate placing a strong emphasis on sectors including Fishers, Road Transport, Construction, Agriculture, and on the National Minimum Wage. A total of 4,727 inspections were completed with €1.95 million recovered in unpaid wages.
Adjudications:
The number of adjudication hearings scheduled, and the number of hearings held, by the WRC Adjudication Service each increased by almost 13% and 12% on 2022, with the number of decisions issued by the service, increased by 50% in 2023, on 2022 output.
Mediations:
The WRC pre-adjudication mediation service delivered an additional 127 mediations in 2023 compared to the previous year, representing a 19% increase in mediations.
Code of Practice:
The Code of Practice on the Right to Request Remote/Flexible Work was significantly advanced in 2023 and was finalised in early 2024 and published in March 2024.
Conciliation Service:
The WRC’s Conciliation Service, which is central to maintaining good workplace relations in Ireland and the effective resolution of disputes, was involved in the resolution/prevention of a number of serious high-profile disputes. Its success rates remain high at around 85%.
The WRC facilitated discussions in late 2023 between the government and the Public Sector Trade Unions/Associations on a successor agreement to Building Momentum and this engagement continued into early 2024.
Digital Strategy:
In line with the “Digital First” pillar of the Public Service ICT Strategy, the WRC began developing a new eComplaint Form in 2023. When the eComplaint Form goes live in 2024, it will enable the public to submit complaints to the WRC in a more efficient manner. The Form will be accessible across all digital platforms, from mobile and tablet to desktop.
Information Services:
Over 61,800 callers were helped by the WRC’s Information and Customer Service staff providing information on employment, equality, or industrial relations matters: up by 3% on 2022. There were over 4.6m pageviews of the WRC’s website, up 12% on 2022.
Outreach:
WRC staff across all pillars, attended over 40 outreach events involving a range of stakeholders including trade union and employer conferences, secondary schools and Local Enterprise Offices, and presentations to specific stakeholder groups. These events are a very useful and important method of engaging with the public to provide information on WRC services.
The Workplace Relations Commission Annual Report 2023 is available at the following links on the WRC website: