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The Covid-19 pandemic is rapidly changing the world around us. It has had a significant impact on businesses and Employers. More than ever, it is essential […]
Increase In The National Minimum Wage – Employer Advice
Increase In The National Minimum Wage
Changes Regarding The National Minimum Wage
Last Month, the Low Pay Commission issued it’s recommendation for the minimum wage for 2019. The Commission proposed a 25c per […]
Under 18 Work Register – Employer Responsibilities
In accordance with the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1996 employers are required to keep a register of employees that are under the age of 18. The basis for this is to guarantee the protection of young people and to ensure the workload assumed is not jeopardising their education.
During a National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) assessment the inspector will request access to the company’s register of employees under the age of 18 (if the company employs workers in this category).
There are strict rules that employers must adhere to when employing those under the age of 18.
According to the Act employers cannot employ children under the age of 16 in regular full-time jobs.
Children aged 14 and 15 may be employed on a controlled basis.
Some rules to pay attention to:
- They can do light work during the school holidays – 21 days off must be given during this period.
- They can be employed as part of an approved work experience or educational programme where the work is not harmful to their health, safety or development.
- They can be employed in film, cultural/advertising work or sport under licences issued by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
- Children aged 15 may do a maximum of 8 hours of light work per week during the school term. The maximum working week for children outside of the school term is 35 hours (or up to 40 hours if they are on approved work experience).
- The maximum working week for children aged 16 and 17 is 40 hours with a maximum of 8 hours per day.
There are many obligations on the employer when he or she employs a young person – here is a list of some of the items that employers must be vigilant of:
An employer must be provided with a copy of the young person’s birth certificate (or other documentation proving age) prior to the commencement of employment.
Before employing a child an employer must obtain the written permission of the parent or guardian of the child.
An employer must maintain a register of employees under 18 containing the following information:
- The full name of the young person or child
- The date of birth of the young person or child
- The time the young person or child commences work each day
- The time the young person or child finishes work each day
- The rate of wages or salary paid to the young person or child for his or her normal working hours each day, week, month or year, as the case may be, and
- The total amount paid to each young person or child by way of wages or salary
- The employer is obliged to ensure that the young person receives a minimum rest period of 12 consecutive hours in each period of 24 hours.
- The employer is obliged to ensure that the young person receives a minimum rest period of 2 days which shall, where possible, be consecutive, in any 7 day period.
- The employer cannot require or permit the young person to do work for any period without a break of at least 30 consecutive minutes.
What employers need to know about work permit Ireland
Employers, as you may be aware, the National Employment Right’s Authority (NERA) conducts thousands of inspections (many of which are unannounced) annually. It is within NERA’s remit to investigate your compliance with Irish Immigration and Employment Permit legislation.
Did you know that employers could be seriously penalised for employing individuals who do not have valid employment permits?
• The Employment Permits Acts 2003 to 2006 make it a criminal offence for a foreign national to work without an employment permit. Employers are committing an offence themselves if they employ a foreign national without a valid work permit.
• The Acts place an onus on the employer to carry out checks in order to be satisfied that a prospective employee does not require an employment permit, and, if he or she does, that they have obtained one.
• NERA inspectors are authorised to exercise powers under the Employment Permit Acts. If, during an inspection, NERA finds evidence showing that an employee does not have a valid employment permit, both the employer and employee are advised of the need to correct the situation. They are also informed of the consequences of failing to do so.
• An employer failing to rectify matters could be prosecuted. NERA commenced initiating proceedings under S.2 of the 2003 Act in 2012.
• An Garda Síochána are also an enforcement authority under Employment Permits legislation with prosecution powers.
Who needs an Employment Permit?
According to the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, a non-EEA national (except in the cases listed below) requires an employment permit to take up employment in Ireland. The EEA comprises the Member States of the European Union together with Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.
Employment permit (or work permit) holders are only allowed to work for the employer and in the occupation named on the permit. If the holder of an employment permit ceases to work for the employer named on the permit during the permit’s period of validity, the original permit (along with the certified copy) must be returned immediately to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation.
Citizens of non-EEA countries who do not require Employment Permits include:
• Non-EEA nationals in the State on a Work Authorisation/Working Visa
• Van der Elst Case The European Court of Justice delivered a judgement on the Van der Elst Case (Freedom to Provide Services) on 9 August, 1994. The Court ruled that in the case of non-EEA workers legally employed in one Member State who are temporarily sent on a contract to another Member State, the employer does not need to apply for employment permits in respect of the non-nationals for the period of contract.
• Non-EEA nationals who have been granted permission to remain in the State on one of the following grounds:
• Permission to remain as spouse or a dependent of an Irish/EEA national;
• Permission to remain as the parent of an Irish citizen;
• Temporary leave to remain in the State on humanitarian grounds, having been in the Asylum process.
• Explicit permission from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to remain resident and employed in the State
• Appropriate business permission to operate a business in the State
• A non-EEA national who is a registered student
Swiss Nationals: In accordance with the terms of the European Communities and Swiss Confederation Act, 2001, which came into operation on 1 June, 2002, this enables the free movement of worker between Switzerland and Ireland, without the need for Employment Permits.
It is imperative that every labour market opportunity is afforded to Irish and other EEA nationals in the first instance. This is also in accordance with EU obligations and recognises that Ireland's labour market is part of a much greater EEA labour market which affords a considerable supply of skilled workers.
An interesting point to note is that work permits will not be considered for certain occupations.
Since April 10th 2013 occupations listed as ineligible for work permits are as follows:
• Hotel, tourism and catering staff except chefs
• Work riders – horseracing
• Clerical and administrative staff
• Drivers (including HGV drivers)
• Nursery/crèche workers, child minders/nannies
• General operatives and labourers
• Operator and production staff
• Domestic workers including carers in the home and child-minders*
• Retail sales staff, sales representatives and supervisory or specialist sales staff**
• The following craft workers and apprentice/trainee craft workers: bookbinders, bricklayers, cabinet makers, carpenters/joiners, carton makers, fitters - construction plant, electricians, instrumentation craftspeople, fitters, tilers - floor/wall, mechanics - heavy vehicles, instrumentation craftspersons, metal fabricators, mechanics - motor, originators, painters and decorators, plumbers, printers, engineers - refrigeration, sheet metal workers, tool makers, vehicle body repairers, machinists - wood, plasterers and welders
* In exceptional circumstances an employment permit may be granted for a carer who is a medical professional caring for a person with a severe medical condition or for a carer who has a long caring relationship with a person with special needs where there are no alternative care options
** Specialist language support and technical or sales support with fluency in a non-EEA language in respect of those companies that have formal support from the State’s enterprise development agencies earning at least €27,000 a year may apply for a work permit.
Whistleblowing in Ireland
In light of the Garda whistleblowing issues that have been unfolding in recent weeks, we thought employers might find some information on whistleblowing useful.
The Protected Disclosure Bill 2013, commonly known as the ‘Whistleblowers Bill’ was published on July 3rd 2013 by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, T.D. The Bill is to establish a comprehensive legislative framework protecting whistleblowers in all industries in Ireland.
The purpose of the Bill is to protect workers who raise concerns regarding wrongdoing (or potential wrongdoing) that they have become aware of one way or another in the workplace. The Bill will offer significant employment and other protections to whistleblowers if they suffer any penalties at the hands of their employer for coming forward with information of wrongdoing in their place of work.
The Bill, which is due to be enacted shortly, closely reflects best practices in whistleblowing protection in developed nations around the world.
According to Minister Howlin the Bill “should instil all workers with confidence that should they ever need to take that decisive step and speak-up on concerns that they have about possible misconduct in the workplace, they will find that society values their actions as entirely legitimate, appropriate and in the public interest”.
Some key elements included in the Bill are as follows:
Compensation of up to a maximum of five years remuneration can be awarded in the case of an Unfair Dismissal that came about as a result of making a protected disclosure. This would be a massive step forward in Ireland’s attempt to match the standards set by other established nations.
It is important to note that limitations relating to the length of service that usually apply in the case of Unfair Dismissals are set aside in the case of protected disclosures.
As a result of this Bill, whistleblowers will benefit from civil immunity from actions for damages and a qualified privilege under defamation law.
The legislation will provide a number of disclosure channels for potential whistleblowers and stresses that the disclosure, rather than the whistleblower, should be the focus of the attention.
Protections for the whistleblower remain in place even where the information disclosed does not reveal any wrongdoing when examined. Deliberate false reporting, however, will not be protected.
These measures, when enacted, should encourage more people to come forward, and feel comfortable doing so, when they become aware of (or suspect) any criminal activity, misconduct or wrongdoing in the workplace.
The Seanad Final Stage debate on the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 was held on the 20th November 2013 and the Bill was passed by the Seanad. The Bill, which may be subject to minor changes, will soon be debated and passed by the Dáil. Once it is signed by President Michael D. Higgins, the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 will come into operation and, according to Minister Howlin, he intends for the legislation to be “commenced immediately on its enactment”.
What should employers do?
As it will apply to all employees in Ireland once enacted; employers should establish and clearly communicate a comprehensive ‘whistleblowing’ policy to ensure that staff are aware of and understand the provisions of the Protected Disclosures Bill.
It is important that cultural issues and negative connotations surrounding whistleblowing are addressed within the company to ensure that employees adhere to the appropriate whistleblowing guidelines.
Redundancy Explained
Without a doubt redundancies can be required to keep a business viable. Employers need to ensure that they make their decisions based on what is best for the business - not because they want to get rid of Danny the storeman who they feel hasn't done a tap for years.
Before making people redundant, Employers must look at the overall business and see what areas are suffering a downturn, what areas are picking up, and how best they can react to changed circumstances.
A Selection Matrix will help to clarify the Employee strength and weaknesses and take the personalities out of the decision - and also ensure that no-one can accuse the Employer of
using redundancy simply to remove people the Employer doesn't like from the Company.
As a business owner or manager, the Employer is entitled to make decisions that make business sense. So establishing the logic of any decision before making it is important.
There is a strict redundancy selection process that has to be followed when making job roles redundant. Remember that it is the role that is made redundant rather than the Employee – One cannot make an Employee redundant and then hire a replacement in their role the next day.
Proving that a redundancy was necessary is essential and if the correct process is not followed then this could be very costly for the Company and Labour Court action could follow.
When making an Employee redundant, you should:
*Invite the Employee in question to a meeting, making them aware of what it is about e.g. the closure of the business/need to downsize etc.
*This meeting should be to inform the Employee that they have been selected for redundancy, or, in other words, it is giving them their notice of redundancy. The Employer should make the Employee aware of the reason(s) for this selection etc. at this stage.
*At the meeting, the Employer should ask the Employee to think about alternatives to this redundancy and these options can be discussed at the second meeting to explore whether any of these alternatives are viable options to save this Employee’s job. The Employee may request a pay cut, to be laid off for a period of time, reduced working hours etc., (all of the options
mentioned should have already been ruled out by the Company in coming to the decision of making a position redundant). If there is a potential transfer situation, this may arise as an alternative to the redundancy.
*The Employer should end the meeting by telling the Employee that he/she will be meeting with them again. The next meeting should be scheduled more than 3 days from the first meeting as the Employer should have ample time to consider all suggestions or alternatives to redundancy that the Employee presents.
*The period between the first and second meeting is known as the 'period of consultation'. It
will be at this second meeting that the Employer will discuss any alternatives to redundancy that the Employee suggests. If none of the suggestions are feasible for the Company the Employer will explain the reasons why they are not feasible. At that point, the Employer will go through the terms of the redundancy i.e. what payment the Employee will receive. In advance of this meeting the Employee should be made aware of their entitlement to bring a representative with them – for instance, the employee could bring a colleague or some other person who has an in-depth knowledge of the Company.
*The Employer should tell the Employee that, prior to the meeting, he or she should inform the Company if they intend to bring a representative and, if so, who this will be. This is in case the Employee decides to bring:
a) A Solicitor:
The Employee is entitled to bring a solicitor if they wish (if they do, the Employer too will need to bring a solicitor). The solicitor will not be able to speak on behalf of the Employee, but will be entitled to ask questions on behalf of the Employee.
b) A Trade Union Representative: If the Company does not engage with/negotiate with Trade Unions, the Employer will have to make the Employee aware that they will only recognise this person in a personal capacity, that they do not have a collective agreement with any Trade Union and that they have not, nor will not ever recognise a Trade Union. The Employer should ensure that this is clear to the Employee.
*The use of the RP50 hardcopy form is not in place any longer and as there is no longer any Employer rebate, there is no requirement to lodge the RP50 with the Department of Social Protection. However, in line with best practice, it is recommended that the RP50 form is completed online through the following link: https://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/secure/RedundancyForm.aspx and printed so that the Employee is signing something to confirm they are receiving their payment from the Company.
*If the Company is not in a position to cover the cost of these redundancies, the Employee can claim their redundancy entitlements through the Social Insurance Fund, however, the Company does need to prove its inability to pay the redundancy amounts to the Department of Social Protection. In this case, the Employee will need the RP50 to claim his/her own redundancy payments.
Update on Employers Deducting Local Property Tax (LPT) at Source
Some companies have recently received correspondence threatening legal proceedings if they deduct Local Property Tax (LPT) from employees’ salaries. The Revenue Commissioners, however, have confirmed that any legal proceedings will be strenuously contested by the State.
Section 65 of the Finance (Local Property Tax) Act, 2012, states that employers are statutorily obliged to comply with any direction that may be issued to them to deduct tax in accordance with the below statutory provision.
“Where a liable person is in receipt of emoluments ... the Revenue Commissioners may direct an employer to deduct, in a period specified in the direction, local property tax payable by the liable person from the net emoluments payable to the liable person by the employer”
Further clarification of what Employers need to know regarding LPT:
Any employee who has not yet paid, or started to pay, their applicable Local Property Tax (LPT) will have mandatory deduction at source from salary or pension imposed. Those who failed to submit their LPT return on time or failed to meet the relevant payment obligations by 1st July 2013 are under scrutiny.
Employers and occupational pension providers alike are obliged to ensure deduction at source. Revenue should have notified the employers/ pension providers of the outstanding sums via the P2Cs (The P2C is the employer copy of the tax credit certificate in respect of the individual employee).
The relevant sum is to be deducted from the employee’s net pay.
The employer is to commence deducting the LPT after receipt of the relevant P2C (after July 1st 2013). The relevant P2Cs should have been issued to most employers by mid June 2013. The LPT to be deducted is illustrated at the bottom of the P2C. The deductions must be made on a consistent basis over the 6 month period between July and December 2013. If the employee is paid weekly then the LPT deduction should be made weekly and if the employee is paid monthly then the deduction should be applied monthly.
For example if the LPT to be deducted is €300 then an employee who is paid weekly will see €300/26=€11.538 deducted from their weekly net salary (Any rounding should be in favour of the employee) - If an employee owing €300 is paid monthly then he or she is due to pay €300/6=€50 on a monthly basis.
Any refunds of LPT will be dealt with by Revenue – Employers are not to make any refunds of this kind.
If the employer receives the P2C detailing LPT after the July payroll has run then the total LPT should be deducted from August through December - the remaining 5 month period.
Employers are obliged to keep a record of the applicable LPT that they deduct for Revenue and are required to account for the figures on the Forms P30 and P35 in respect of the employees concerned. The employer is also responsible for recording the appropriate LPT data for employees on their payslips as well as P60’s and P45s.
Where there is a Court Order on file prior to the issuance of the P2C this must take precedence over the LPT deduction. However, if the P2C is issued prior to a Court Order being made then the LPT deduction will preside. Where the Court Order and P2C are issued or made effective from the same date the Court Order takes precedence. The LPT payment, however, takes precedence over all non-statutory deductions like Health Insurance.
The Employer/Pension provider cannot take an instruction from the employee to stop deducting LPT from his or her salary – the employer is obliged to deduct the applicable LPT until the P2C shows that no further payment is due. If an employee would like to pay the relevant tax via a different method he or she should contact the LPT Branch and make these arrangements – then the employer will be issued with an updated P2C telling them to stop the deduction from pay/pension. Similarly if the employee feels as though there is a discrepancy in the amount of LPT they are being charged he or she should discuss this with the LPT Branch not the employer. If an adjustment needs to be made to the P2C then a revised directive will be issued to the employer – until such a directive is received the employer should continue to deduct the original LPT figure.
According to Revenue “Where there are shortfalls due to insufficient net salary in a particular pay period(s) the employer should adjust the amount of LPT to be deducted per pay period (for the remaining pay periods in the year) to ensure the full amount of LPT is collected by the end of the year. Once this is done, the employer will not be required to notify Revenue about the shortfall. However, employers must notify Revenue in writing (e.g. by Secure Email to employersLPT@revenue.ie) where there will be insufficient income to satisfy the employee’s full LPT liability for the year, based on the expected income for the employee.”
Revenue has established a helpline for employers and pension providers alike to assist with their queries on how this LPT deduction at source will operate.
The Employer Helpline is 1890 25 45 65.
Theft in the workplace – A serious issue for employers
The HR Company aims to assist employers by giving guidance on all HR related topics - here we advise on what to do when theft is suspected in the workplace:
Request for guidance from employer:
I know somebody in my staff is stealing money from the till. I'm pretty sure I know the culprit. What are my options? I have a staff of nine, all of whom handle cash. I don't have closed circuit TV.
As with any accusation of theft, the onus of proof is on the Employer to establish the culprit. Therefore the business needs to have an appropriate policy in place to investigate such allegations. An Employer should have a Right to Search policy in place in their contracts of employment and Company Handbook. If there is no such policy, an employee has the right to refuse a search of their personal items.
To uncover the person responsible for the theft, there should be markers placed on notes and then a search carried out to obtain the proof. If there is CCTV in place, then the recorded evidence should be obtained.
Common Pitfall:
An Employer discovers there is a theft of money and conducts a 'Witch Hunt' of the staff member they suspect, and this staff member can then claim that they are being victimised in the workplace.
Employers often end up paying out thousands of euro for disciplining employees without following appropriate procedures
