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This conference provides information for farmers who are employing, or intend to employ people, about the basic requirements regarding employment.
Growth in the national dairy herd requires additional people to work on Irish dairy farms. It is estimated that 2,300 full-time equivalent labour units will be required by Irish dairy farmers over the next eight years. Organiser of the conference, Pat Clarke, Teagasc dairy specialist, said: “Moorepark analysis of the dairy sector shows that the industry will need additional people working in dairy in the future. This will require dairy farmers to develop their system and skills to deal with this new scenario for their farms.”
Tom O’Dwyer, head of dairy knowledge transfer in Teagasc, said: “There is a lot of preparation that needs to be done in advance of employing a person. Employers need to be clear on the type of person they require, and that they can afford them. They must also be familiar with the legislation regarding employing, and health and safety issues on farm.”
To provide detailed information on all aspects of employing people, Teagasc in collaboration with the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), have produced an ‘‘Employing People Manual’’. This manual, which is launched by Teagasc director Professor Gerry Boyle at today’s conference, addresses all the issues that an employer must take into consideration in advance of employing.
Professor Boyle said: “This manual is a significant team project which brings together the expertise of frontline advisers, educators, human resources personnel and researchers across Teagasc. Contributions from commercial dairy farmers and the WRC further enhance this highly practical publication.”
Personnel from the WRC spoke to the farmers attending about obligations and rights under employment legislation when employing and retaining employees. The WRC said that it was delighted to be associated with this collaborative effort which was in keeping with its overall objective of promoting an awareness of, and providing information in relation to, employment rights and responsibilities.
In the afternoon, the workshops focus on the practical on-farm elements of communication, essential farm requirements for retaining employees and rostering the people required to operate your farm.
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