Human Resource Management in Early Years Services
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Author
Byrne, Mary
Canavan, Angela
Date
2010
Citation
Byrne, M. & Canavan, A. (2010). Human Resource Management in Early Years Services. https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13085/1366
Abstract
The early years sector in Ireland has undergone significant changes in recent years, impacting employment and service provision. The economic downturn led to increased redundancies, reduced working hours, and lower wages. The introduction of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) free pre-school year necessitated contract renegotiations, often resulting in term-time work arrangements.
Regulatory oversight has intensified, with inspections by various authorities ensuring compliance with employment rights, health and safety regulations, and childcare standards. The Child Care Regulations 2006 address employment issues, and the National Standards for Pre-school Services (2010) cover organization and management.
The Workforce Development Plan for the ECCE sector aims to support a qualified workforce and implement the free pre-school year. These developments have increased employers' responsibilities in the sector.
Employers face challenges in managing services, caring for children, working with parents, and supporting staff while complying with legislative requirements and promoting best practices. SÃolta, the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education, provides 16 standards for service delivery and quality improvement.
Ensuring quality standards extends to staff employment and working environments. Employers can implement best practices in Human Resources through various means, including benchmarking and quality marks.
Managing staff and navigating employment legislation is complex. While early years services may differ in structure and delivery, employee treatment should be consistent, emphasizing respect, fairness, equality, and well-being. Employers must stay informed about legislative changes and updates in employment, health and safety, and childcare to effectively manage their services and staff.
This publication is not a comprehensive guide to all areas of Human Resource Management. It is more an information resource to assist and guide in the broad range of issues pertaining to the employment and retention of staff.