The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) launched its first National Awareness Campaign in January this year. The campaign was launched by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin TD and was a major publicity campaign aimed to make workers aware of their employment rights.

Speaking of the reasons for launching the awareness campaign, Ger Deering, Director of NERA, said: ‘We want to make sure that every employee knows what their employment rights are, that every employer knows their responsibilities, and that all are aware of how to find out about them.’

In conjunction with the awareness campaign NERA also launched a new website: www.employmentrights.ie, which will be an important resource for employees and employers.

NERA was established in 2007, under the Towards 2016  National Partnership Agreement to support the achievement of a culture of employment rights compliance among employers throughout Ireland. NERA is an important source of information, for both employers and employees, on all aspects of employment rights. During 2007, inspectors carried out in excess of 14,000 inspections and secured almost €2.5million in arrears for employees.

Minister for Labour Affairs, Billy Kelleher TD, said: ‘this is a new era for employment rights compliance and enforcement. With increased staff and new locations, NERA will be extending their reach and building a strong public profile. I wish them well as they make an enhanced contribution to the quality of our workplaces which are a key economic and social priority of this Government.’