Managing your employee’ annual leave and Public Holidays in 2021
Our ‘Annual Leave Tracker’ can assist employers and managers with annual leave management. We also devised an ‘Absenteeism Tracker’ that helps you stay on top of managing employee […]
A café was ordered to pay €25,000.00 to a former employee for allegations relating to harassment sexual harassment, and discrimination. This case highlights the importance of following internal […]
Hiring a young employee can be trickier than it looks. If the Employer does not apply the procedures correctly, it can cause exposure to the business. […]
A Contract of Employment gives both parties, Employers and employee rights and duties. The purpose is to understand all the aspects of the terms of Employment.
An Employer is legally obliged to provide employees with […]
‘Low Hour’ & ‘Zero Hour’ Contracts
Employers are legally obliged to provide workers with a written statement of the employment agreement between the two parties (the contract) within two months of the employee commencing employment.
Having a contract in place can offer protection to the Company in the event of a dispute or issue arising. This document can help to safeguard the Company in the event of employee litigation or Labour Court hearings.
Reasons why you, as an Employer, need to issue a Contract of Employment:
It outlines the requirements of the position and the conditions the person is meant to work against.
It addresses the legal requirements against which all employees are protected today.
In the event of poor performance the employer can refer to the contract and all conditions contained therein, and manage the employee against such conditions.
The use of probationary periods is fundamental for all new employees.
An example of what an employee’s rights are in the event of not having a contract in place:
If the employer fails to give written details of the terms of employment, the employee can bring a complaint to a Rights Commissioner. The employee must make the complaint when in employment or within 6 months of leaving employment.
Legal Requirements:
The Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 and 2001 provide that an employer is obliged to provide an employee with a written statement of terms of employment within the first two months of the commencement of employment.
The statement of terms must include the following information:
In the case of the particulars noted at (g) (h) (i) (j) (k), (l) and (m) above, the employer, as an alternative to providing all the details in the statement, may use the statement to refer the employee to certain other documents containing the particulars, provided such documents are reasonably accessible to the employee in his/her employment.
The statement of terms must indicate the reference period being used by the employer for the purposes of the calculation of the employee's entitlements under the Minimum Wage Act, 2000. (Under that Act the employer may calculate the employee's minimum wage entitlement over a reference period that is no less than one week and no greater than one month).
The statement of terms must also inform the employee that he/she has the right to ask the employer for a written statement of his/her average hourly rate of pay for any reference period (except the current reference period) in the 12 months prior to the date of the employee’s request.
An Employee Working Abroad is also entitled to details of the following:
The period of employment outside the State
The currency in which they will be paid
Any other benefits-in-kind or cash that will be provided
The terms and conditions applicable on the employee's return home
Here are examples of some further terms and conditions of employment that are not required by law but are highly recommended:
Probationary Period and Probation Policy
Hours of work / additional hours / overtime / shift liability / weekend liability / night work liability / public holiday liability
Performance related bonuses
Absence Management
Medical examination
Holidays, public holidays, all other forms of leave
Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures
Confidentiality
Company Property
Phone and Mobile Phone Usage
Right to Inspect / Search
Drugs & Alcohol Policy / Right to Test for Intoxicants
Retirement
Company Rules and Regulations
Bullying and Harassment / Respect and Dignity at Work
Internet, Email & Social Media Usage
Use of Company Vehicles
Suspension without pay
Break and rest periods / exemption provision for employer for recording breaks
Return of company property
Have you heard of NERA?
The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) delivers unprejudiced information on employment rights legislation to employers and employees in Ireland. NERA is charged with monitoring the employment rights of employees within the country. NERA inspectors perform various checks around the country and investigate suspected breaches of employment rights – it is important to bear in mind that a significant number of these inspection are unannounced. If NERA finds that an employer is not complying with employment rights legislation inspectors will seek reparation from the employer on behalf of the employee. In certain circumstances prosecutions against the employer may result.
NERA has the power to chase awards made by the Labour Court, the Rights Commissioner or the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
In order to pass a NERA inspection; employers must have provided their employees with clarity on the terms and conditions of their employment.
The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1996 is designed to protect the health of young workers and places restrictions on their employment. The basis for this is to guarantee the protection of young people and to ensure the workload assumed is not jeopardising their education. The law sets minimum age limits for employment. It also sets rest intervals and maximum working hours, and prohibits employees under the age of 18 from working late at night. Employers must also keep specified records for those workers who are under the age of 18.
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.
Break rules are: 30 minutes break after working 4.5 hours
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
Download your copy of our Under 18s Register here:
An employer and parent/guardian who fails to comply with the provisions of the Act shall be guilty of an offence. Some other notable rules the employer must adhere to when employing a young person or child are as follows:
•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.
For a comprehensive guide to employer responsibilities and the rules and regulations governing the employment of young workers please refer to the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1996
You must give employees a copy of the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act
docs/Protection of Young Persons Employment Act 1996.pdf
The national minimum wage for an experienced adult employee is €8.65 per hour. An experienced adult employee for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act is an employee who has an employment of any kind in any 2 years since the age of 18.
The Act also provides the following sub-minimum rates;
As I am sure you are aware, World Cup 2014 is starting today and we want to ensure that you are prepared as an employer, in the event that employee issues arise as a result of this tournament, particularly attendance at work during games and on the day following games.
The World Cup is commencing today, 12th June, and runs until 13th July. Employees should have requested this time off by now or in the coming days if they wish to take annual leave during this time for matches.
The main issues that could arise as a result of World Cup 2014, for employers, is that employees will be seeking additional time off either as annual leave or unscheduled time off. Unauthorised absence/increased sick leave may also be an issue for employers. Most games will be in the evening time - those employers who have evening/night shifts will need to be particularly prepared and pre-empt absence.
You as an employer, will first need to establish what your policy is to be during this period. Once you have decided the stance you wish to take with employees during this period, you will need to ensure this policy is clearly outlined to employees in the coming days to ensure they are clear about what is expected of them.
In deciding what you want to enforce for employees, you should pay attention to the following:
Inform employees that, if they wish to take time off, they must apply for annual leave immediately - and let them know that it will be on a first come, first served basis.
Perhaps give staff the opportunity to swap shifts with colleagues who may not be interested in the matches - ensure all shifts are adequately covered.
Be mindful of your employees who are not football lovers and do not want to take any time off during these games. Ensure there is fair treatment between all staff and ensure football fans are not getting special treatment and additional time off over those who do not follow the game.
Make it clear that all employees are expected to be in work as normal, unless they have requested time off etc., during World Cup 2014. Outline that you expect productivity and attendance etc., to remain as it is currently.
You could outline that for any absences during this time (within reason), due to illness; employees are required to provide a medical certificate upon their return.
Employees may also arrive to work still under the influence of alcohol. If this is discovered, you need to act fast. Send the employee to the company doctor immediately to be checked by the doctor to establish if the employee is under the influence of alcohol. If the employee is found to be under the influence he/she should be sent home. It may be time to engage a disciplinary process with the employee at this stage.
If applicable, you may consider screening the games in house as a goodwill gesture to employees.
Be mindful if there are a number of matches on, you will need to allow employees have their say on which match is shown..
Employees may attempt to stream matches online on work computers, the company’s internet usage policy should be outlined to employees and the company’s expectations also outlined to employees here.
The key to avoiding any issues during World Cup 2014 is to make sure you clearly outline to staff (in advance), what is expected of them and that absences etc., will not be tolerated.
The above advice is courtesy of Lorraine Byrne, Senior Account Manager at The HR Company.
A dispute arose recently between HSE South – Waterford Regional Hospital and UNITE Trade Union over the payment of a “Twilight Hours” premium.
The evening shift for 22 Catering Attendants employed by the HSE in Waterford Regional Hospital was Outsourced to Agency Workers and, resulting from this, as of the 28th April 2013, the Twilight Hours premium ceased to be paid.
Management’s opinion was that it was unreasonable to expect payment for a shift that was no longer worked by the Catering Attendants, however, UNITE argued that, in accordance with Section 8: Service Delivery Options of the Public Service Agreement (PSA), their members should continue to receive the payment.
As the dispute could not be resolved at local level, it became the subject of a Conciliation Conference under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission. Agreement was not reached at this stage and, on 18th June 2013, the case was referred to the Labour Court in accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990.
A Labour Court Hearing took place on 15th April, 2014 where UNITE argued that the workers suffered reduced wages due to the outsourcing of the evening shift even though the PSA stated that such procurement would not result in a worsening of pay rates for employees.
The Union also argued that the payment should have continued on a personal-to-holder basis or, at the very least, compensation, calculated on the actual loss over a 12 month period beginning on the 29th April 2013, should be paid as per the PSA.
The HSE argued that it was forced to consider outsourcing as an option because the level of Catering Staff had diminished considerably and there was no alternative to this. The Employer argued that the decision was not taken lightly and its view was that the move did not worsen rates of pay as the “Twilight Hours” payment was a premium payment and the basic pay for the Catering Employees was not affected by the HSE’s decision to outsource the evening shift.
Management’s view was that the Haddington Road Agreement took precedence over the PSA and that compensation for loss of earnings should be paid to the employees for the 2 months from 29th April (when the payment ceased) to 1st July 2013, rather than 12 months as argued by UNITE.
The Court noted that the premium was no longer paid because the hours were no longer worked due to the decision to outsource. The loss was calculated as €1,430.00 per annum per Claimant and, after considering the submissions of both parties, the Court recommended that the issue be dealt with via the compensation formula provided for under the terms of the PSA 2010-2014. This meant that 50% of the identified loss should be paid with effect from 29th April with the remaining 50% payable 6 months later.
A food production company that moved its warehouse 22km for logistics purposes was forced to pay seven staff members a total of €35,000 between them in relocation expenses. The dispute became the subject of a Conciliation Conference under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission, however, as agreement was not reached, it was referred to the Labour Court on 31st January 2014. In accordance with Section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990, a Labour Court Hearing took place on 17th April 2014.
The Court considered the submissions of the Company as well as the Union and noted that, while the distance was not a particularly significant one, the workers were entitled to receive some sort of compensation in response to the warehouse relocation. The Court also noted that employees personally helped the Company by transferring stock from the original premises to the new one. The workers involved exhibited a significant level of cooperation with their employer and the Court recommended that the Company should pay a figure of €5,000 to each of the seven claimants in full and final settlement of their claim.
