539. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Youth which body or bodies have legal responsibility for ensuring that teachers employed in voluntary secondary schools have their employment rights protected and are provided with a safe working environment. [64920/26]

Under Section 24 of the Education Act, 1998 (as amended by the Education (Amendment) Act, 2012) the Board of Management is the employer of Teachers and other staff of the school. In the case of schools established or maintained by an Education and Training Board (ETB), the relevant ETB is the employer in accordance with section 6 of the Education (Amendment) Act, 2012.

Boards of Management and ETBs, as the employer, must comply with all relevant employment law. The Workplace Relations Act 2015 sets out how employment disputes are handled in Ireland. Teachers may use both the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and the Labour Court as part of the statutory process for resolving employment disputes.

In employment rights cases, employees must first refer their case to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) for adjudication. Where either party is dissatisfied with the decision of the WRC’s Adjudication Officer, that decision can be appealed to the Labour Court.