Covid-19 news with a HR Twist
June 2015
Confidentiality is Paramount
Confidentiality refers to a situation in which information must be kept secret or private. Confidentiality is extremely important in most businesses as companies deal with sensitive information on a regular basis. This sensitive/secret data could relate to classified projects, clients, suppliers, employees, company finances, trade practices/agreements or a number
of other areas. For several reasons, it is imperative that this type of information remains confidential and that it is only accessible to approved/authorised individuals and groups.
Employers who deal with confidential matters, or who want their employees to use discretion with certain details that they learn throughout the course of their employment, should discuss confidentiality in their Employee Handbook.
An Employee Handbook, often referred to as the employee manual, is a document containing information about the Company and its policies and procedures. It is given to employees by
their Manager/Employer and employees should have to acknowledge (in writing) that they have read and understand it.
This manual is an excellent place to compile all important information pertaining to the Company rules and regulations. It can provide very useful details for new staff during the induction process; however, it can also be a good reference point for existing employees. An Employee Handbook gives clarity to employees, advises them in many situations and creates a culture where problems are addressed in a consistent and fair manner. Employees will know what to expect in certain scenarios because a comprehensive employee handbook outlines all of the relevant procedures.
An Employee Handbook communicates workplace and HR policies and can protect a business from expensive disputes with employees.
Some examples of items that should be discussed in the Employee Handbook are as follows:
- Annual Leave Entitlements
- Maternity Leave
- Performance Management
- Probation
- Discipline
- Bullying and Harassment
- Drugs/Smoking Policies
- Dress Code
Where relevant, confidentiality and employer expectations surrounding this should also be included in an Employee Handbook.
Employers should ensure that employees keep the following sensitive information confidential -
• Information that has been acquired during, or in the course of employment, or has otherwise been acquired by the employee in confidence;
• Information that relates to customers, suppliers or that of other persons or bodies with whom the Company has dealings of any sort;
• Information that has not been made public by, or with Company permission.
The Employer should ensure that all such information should remain confidential, and, save in the course of business or as required by law, should ensure that employees know that they are
not allowed to disclose the data to any person without the Company’s prior written consent (whether before or after the termination of employment).
Employees should have to exercise reasonable care to keep safe all documentary or other material containing confidential information. Employees should also be obliged to return any such material in their possession to the Company at the time of termination of employment, or at any other time upon demand.
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.
Employment Appeals Tribunal Awards €8,500 to Former Employee
Unfair Selection for Redundancy Claim succeeds leading the Employment Appeals Tribunal to award €8,500 in compensation. After hearing statements from the former employee (the claimant) and the respondent (a car dealership), the Tribunal was satisfied that a redundancy situation existed, however, the Tribunal concluded that the process was defective and, therefore, determined that the claimant was entitled to a significant award.
The respondent failed to consult the claimant about his redundancy and did not appear to properly consider alternatives before finalising the decision to make the employee redundant – For instance, the employee could have suggested that he work a shorter working week/reduced hours or that he take a reduction in pay. The respondent is obliged to consider these suggestions over a period of consultation, however, the claimant was not afforded this entitlement and was only told the reasons behind the decision to select him for redundancy after asking for these.
The Tribunal found that the claim under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 2007 was justified which is why the claimant walked away with €8,500. This sum was in addition to the redundancy lump sum that he had received when the redundancy first occurred.
Details of this case can be found on the Workplace Relations Website (Case No. UD450/2012) - http://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/Cases/2013/November/UD450_2012.html
This case stresses the importance of following the approved procedures when it comes to redundancy. Not only do you have to prove that a redundancy is required in order to keep the business viable – you must also be able to justify why you made one employee redundant over another. The employer must be able to show that the redundancy process was not flawed. Employers should use a Selection Matrix so he or she cannot be accused of subjectivity (which is what the employee claimed in the above-mentioned case). The employer is obliged to invite the employee to a meeting making them aware that it concerns redundancy. Employers are obliged to give the employee notice of the redundancy and the reasons why the redundancy scenario came about along with why they were selected. 
The employer should have asked the employee in question if they could think of any alternatives to the redundancy and the employer should have allowed for a period of consultation of at least three days before making their final decision. It is also important to allow employees to be accompanied to meetings like this.
Constructive Dismissal leads to €9,000 Award for Former Employee
Constructive Dismissal is the term used when an Employee terminates his or her employment based on the conduct of the Employer. Unlike in an Unfair Dismissals case where the dismissal is deemed to be unfair unless proven otherwise and justified by the Employer - in Constructive Dismissal instances the onus is on the Employee to prove that their resignation was based on poor Employer conduct.
If it is found that the Employee has been Unfairly or Constructively Dismissed then he or she could either be awarded compensation for the loss of earnings suffered as a result of the termination of employment or could be placed back in their original role. Reinstatement is not common practice (particularly in Constructive Dismissal cases) due to the expected tension/ strained relationship between the Employer and the former Employee and due to the amount of time that is likely to have lapsed between the termination of the employment contract and the resolution of the case. The Employee has often entered in to a new employment contract elsewhere.
It is important for Employers to be aware of everything that occurs in their workplace as even other Employees’ behaviour that goes unchecked by the Employer could contribute to a Constructive Dismissal case. These can be extremely costly.
Here is an example of a case where the Employee (the Claimant) was awarded €9,000 after the Employment Appeals Tribunal found that he had been Constructively Dismissed.
The Claimant in this case started working for the Respondent in 2007. There were no issues until late 2010 when a Technician was promoted to Technical Manager. This immediately created a hostile environment and relationships became strained. The Claimant experienced problematic scenarios in the workplace as a result of the Technical Manager’s temper on numerous occasions.
The final occurrence led to the termination of employment for the Claimant. On the Claimant’s final day working for the Respondent the Technical Manager, a physically intimidating individual, entered the shop where the Claimant and his colleague were working. The Technical Manager lifted the Claimant up from his chair by his arm and proceeded to shout at him. The Claimant, who was frightened, attempted to avoid confrontation and turned away. The Technical Manager again grabbed the Claimant, this time by his shoulder, and spun him around while demanding that he not complain. The Claimant said that he didn’t complain, he just answered questions. The Claimant was pulled closer and then told to leave by the Technical Manager.
The Claimant did as he was told but the Technical Manager proceeded to follow him, grabbing him by the neck. At this stage the Claimant was in a state of shock and told the Technical Manager that he was simply working his way through college. The Claimant’s shirt was torn, there were marks on his neck and his hand was bruised after the incident.
After the event, the Claimant called a Senior Manager and told him what had happened. The Claimant returned his keys to the shop and arranged to collect his jacket from his colleague. A series of meetings with the shop Manager and other Senior Managers were arranged. The Claimant was offered a transfer to another shop, however, this other shop was located far
from the Claimant’s home and, therefore, was not a suitable alternative – he could not accept this transfer proposal.
As a result of the meetings the Claimant was given a written warning, however, as no arrangements were made for him to return to a safe workplace he had no option but to resign.
The Claimant established loss for the Tribunal and it was determined that the Claimant was Constructively Dismissed. The Respondent failed in its responsibility to the Claimant by not responding adequately.
Under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 2007, the Claimant was awarded €9,000 as compensation for being Constructively Dismissed.
The appeal was heard at Dublin on 14th October 2013. Case Number: UD669/2012.
A Tough Issue For Employers – Making Employees Redundant
Lots of difficult situations present themselves for employers on a regular basis - The HR Company aims to assist employers with their challenging role by giving pratical advice on all HR related activities -
One of our consultants was asked a question by an employer about redundancy -
Unfortunately, with the recent economic climate, my business simply doesn't justify eleven employees anymore. Things have become very quiet for us and I am struggling to make ends meet. I feel I need to get down to approximately seven employees to ride-out the downturn. What is the process that I should follow in order to stay compliant in this situation?
The HR Company advice:
Many companies are finding themselves in similar situations in this economy. Initially, the owner should determine if this quiet period is one that is expected to be short term or longer term. If the quiet period is expected to be for a few weeks or months the owner should consider placing employees on reduced working hours or possibly laying off some staff for the short term.
Alternatively, if the business cannot sustain the number of employees they currently hold, then redundancies will need to be considered. All other avenues should be exhausted prior to making the decision to make positions redundant. 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.
Common employer pitfall:
If a business does not engage with introducing any of these measures with employees in the correct way, the employee may leave the company (i.e. if on a short working week or on lay-off) and claim Constructive Dismissal which could see the employee awarded a large sum. If the correct redundancy process is not followed a former employee may make a claim of Unfair Dismissal or Unfair Selection for Redundancy which can run to high costs for your business in the long run.
Age Discrimination and the Benefits of having a Retirement Policy
The issue of age discrimination has become a significant one in Ireland in this extremely litigious era – it is imperative that employers are very careful in all they say, write and do in relation to age if they aim to avoid a discrimination claim.
Discrimination is defined as the treatment of one person in a less favourable way than another person in a comparable situation on any of the nine specific grounds. It covers not only current and past discrimination but also discrimination that may exist in the future or is imputed to a person.
The Employment Equality Acts 1998-2011 prohibit discrimination in employment based on a person’s age as well as eight other grounds (gender, civil status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, disability, race and membership of the Traveller community). The Equality Authority, in some instances, will provide assistance to individuals who feel as though they have been discriminated against in their employment.
The Equality Tribunal is charged with investigating alleged discrimination on any of the nine grounds and ensures the relevant employment legislation is implemented correctly. The Equality Tribunal can enforce a means of redress or compensation in favour of the employee.
Discrimination based on age commonly occurs at the recruitment stage and in the course of the interview and selection process. The Acts outlaw discrimination in job advertisements and therefore employers need to be extremely careful when drafting such advertisements. An employer cannot seek a “young and dynamic employee” as this excludes several candidates who are not “young” – all interested parties should have equal right to be considered for the role. Similarly, employers should not make it compulsory for applicants to provide their age or date of birth when applying for a job.
It is also frequent in the area of promotion or in redundancy scenarios. An employee cannot be made redundant in order to make way for a “younger” employee.
Employers are entitled to implement certain policies under the Acts, for instance, an employer may set a minimum age requirement (not more than 18 years of age) for potential applicants for a job. The employer can also set a compulsory retirement age but this must be clear and fair for all employees based on their role.
In relation to retirement ages an employer should have a policy in place that covers this. He or she should ensure that the compulsory retirement age is referred to in the contract of employment as well as including a very detailed description of the policy in the company handbook – employees should be required to confirm in writing that they have read and accept the employee handbook.
A Retirement Policy should, at a very minimum, confirm the age at which employees must retire. It should also include a timeline detailing what happens in the run up to the retirement date. For instance, when the employee should expect to be advised of their precise retirement date and details of who they should expect to receive this information from.
Some employers will provide that a member of the HR department meets the employee who is set to retire in order to discuss items like outstanding annual leave, handover procedures, return of company equipment, how any benefits or benefits-in-kind may be managed (a company car, for example, if applicable).
Some companies will also assist the employee who is retiring by providing a pre-retirement course in advance of their departure or by discussing pensions and other financial matters with the individual. It could benefit the employee to meet with a financial advisor in the run up to the employee’s retirement - this is something that the employer could provide. If the employee offers this the option to meet a financial advisor (or similar) it should be detailed in the employee handbook.
The effective management of the retirement process will support the employee in the final stages of their employment with the company and will protect the employer by enabling the appropriate transfer of valuable knowledge from the departing employee to the company.
Companies may offer a fixed-term contract to a person over the compulsory retirement age but there is no obligation on them to do so.
Often the Tribunal finds in favour of the employee in cases relating to discrimination in the workplace, however, one notable age related case was dismissed by the Equality Tribunal when evidence that the employer had an established policy with regard to retirement age and had included retirement age in the contract of employment was provided.
The relevant case decision number is DEC-E2012-086.
Mr. X argued that his former employer had discriminated against him on the basis of age when he was forced to retire at the age of 65. Mr. X had worked for his employer for more than 10 years prior to turning 65. Mr. X, along with his colleagues, were informed of his departure date via e-mail when an invitation to a social event to mark Mr. X’s retirement was sent out.
Mr. X did not want to retire and argued that he was being directly discriminated against on the basis of his age. The employer refuted Mr. X’s allegation and argued that the retirement age of 65 was a “clear term and condition of the contract of employment of employees and a long-standing custom and practice”.
Mr. X’s claim failed as the Tribunal found that his former employer had a “well established practice of retiring its employees” at the age of 65. In certain instances employees who were over 65 were re-engaged on fixed-term contracts for project purposes but that wasn’t the case in all circumstances and it was not the case with Mr. X.
It was an interesting determination from an employer perspective.
The HR Company – Who we are and what we can do for you
We provide a virtual employment law service over the phone and on email. It entails making sure your business is compliant at all times. We issue contracts of employment, handbooks, handle disputes, issue warning letters and basically offer a 24/7 helpline. We provide an unlimited service with regard to any issues in the workplace.
We are a long established Irish owned ‘HR Compliance’ Company, specialising in Employment Law and Legislation, we are based in Sandyford, Dublin with 23 staff.
We support small to medium sized companies in ensuring that your business is compliant from an employee perspective, therefore keeping you legal. We protect you and act as your eyes and ears on all Irish Employment Law issues.
The Cost of the service is €99+vat per month up to 30 employees and thereafter €3.50 for each additional employee minimum subscription of 1 year.
There is a once off set-up administration fee of €200 +vat. This is normally issued via cheque.
In summary, we support associations by providing you with customised and personal advice on any Employment Law issues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
· We handle all Grievance Issues in the work place
· We manage all work associated with reducing working hours and any redundancies
· We interpret all employment legislation where we deliver all Disciplinary recommendations, we will even write the disciplinary letters for you. These will be customised, we do not work with samples or templates. What you will receive on email will be the final document, you will not have to make any edits or changes
· We will guarantee you are NERA compliant
Did you know? - That NERA inspectors are currently carrying out investigations to ensure that businesses are compliant with employment law legislation and that labour inspectorates have the right to request access to employment records such as, Hours of Work, Public Holiday Benefits, Annual Leave, Wage Sheets and Legally Compliant Contracts.
Non compliance can result in fines ranging from €650 to €1,900 depending on the offence with a proposal currently in place for the maximum fine to be increased to €5,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 12 months and summary conviction or a maximum fine of €250,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 5 years and indictment.
· We will answer any question of employee legislation ie what rights does an employee have under the Maternity leave act/Parental leave act/Force Majeure/Compassionate leave/Part-Time / Casual workers and their rights!
· We will manage any conflict in the organisation
· We manage Bullying & Harassment in the workplace
· We handle all Performance Issues and provide recommendations on what to do.
· Negotiation with Trade Unions
· Dealing with the LRC (Labour Relations Commission)
· We will issue all contracts of employment and email to you, these will be customised and again not samples. Every time you hire new people, you just let us know and we will have a Contract of Employment for them within 24 hrs.
· We will write an Employee Handbook specific to your business, we do not use ‘one suits all’
Your dedicated account manager is available to your for advice and support on all HR issues whenever you need to ask a question.
Why not get your HR documents audited by one of our specialists free of charge and avail of a complimentary 1:1 (no obligation) Irish Employment Legislation consultation at your premises?
In this extrememly litigious era where employees know their rights insulate your company and treat yourself to peace of mind by availing of our free consultation -
Please note all our legal documents ie Contracts of Employment and other documents are all copyright protected and will be issued in PDF format only
Benefits and Compensation Administration
In a competitive job market compensation and benefits take on an even greater level of significance. Unfortunately, the management of such benefits can also take on an added level of complexity.
The HR Company takes the complexity back out. We take the guess-work out of decision making by surveying the marketplace and keeping you informed.
We take the headache out of administering compensation and benefits by providing you with a variety of specialised back-office services. These include everything from processing pension and medical plans to managing and organising your company’s Organisational Health Index.
Here is a list of some of the services we offer to assist companies with their compensation and benefits management:
•Pension/medical membership processing
•Salary survey, planning & administration
•Salary/Bonus/Stock system processing
•Company Car policy management
•Mortgage application processing
•Maternity/Parental Leave benefits
•Flexible benefits
•Advise on, manage and organise annual Benefits and Expo & Health Awareness Programme
•Manage & organise company OHI
•Manage Outplacement Programme
•Tailored generation of reports & statistics
If you require guidance or support with benefit and compensation administration then look no further than The HR Company.
HR support and guidance for companies in Ireland
In this era of increased employee litigation the Labour Court has thousands of cases waiting to be heard - In a huge number of these cases the employer will end up paying substantial sums in compensation to employees (or former employees). In a lot of instances the award will be made as a result of the employer failing to follow appropriate procedures when dealing with an employee.
Unfortunately, the onus is on the employer to prove that he or she acted in a fair manner - the motives behind his or her decisions will be scrutinised. Everything must be justified.
On a daily basis we hear of Unfair Dismissal cases succeeding - the rulings are regularly shocking... even to Irish Employment Law professionals. We see employers being forced to pay huge sums due to the occurrence of harassment/bullying - often the employer is not even aware that such an activity is taking place - yet it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that this type of situation does not arise in their workplace.
A recent example of harassment in the workplace occurred in a fast food company in Blackpool, Cork where two employees were subjected to sexual harassment by another employee.
An Equality Tribunal ruling found that a lesbian couple, who both worked for a fast food restaurant in Cork, were forced to endure obscene remarks and queries about their relationship and sexuality from another employee at the branch.
The tribunal found that management at the restaurant failed in their duty to take the appropriate steps to protect the women and consequently were instructed to pay €15,000 to the couple.
Under Irish Employment Legislation it is the duty of the employer to provide a workplace that is safe for lesbian women and gay men to be open about their sexuality.
This is something that all employers need to pay close attention to - this kind of sum could sink a small company - we heard yesterday that Ireland's economy is receding again - We know the whole area can seem like a minefield but companies simply can't afford to be careless when it comes to employee related matters. It is crucial to keep on top of the regular updates in Legislation.
Did yo know that parental leave has recently been increased from 14 to 18 weeks?
Did you know that Maternity, Adoptive and Health and Safety Benefits are taxable as of 1st July 2013?
The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) is carrying out inspections in Irish workplaces and imposing fines where employers are in breach of Irish Employment regulations.
The employer is legally required to have contracts of employment in place with all employee who have accrued 2 months' service - employers also need to have employee handbooks in place.
Without employment documentation and clear and appropriate policies and procedures in place the company is not insulated against the risk of a fine - many employers are exposed at the minute and need some guidance to ensure they are protected in the future.
We are Irish Employment Legislation specialists and are offering complimentary consultations/audits to employers in Ireland who feel that they would benefit from a meeting with one of our HR specialists.
Do not hesitate to leave us your details and we will be in touch shortly to arrange a complimentary (no-strings-attached) audit of your documentation or just a general consultation that will hopefully help your understanding of employer responsibilities.
Large businesses requiring on-site HR support
For organisations that require face-to-face, on-site HR support, we provide the services listed below, which have been categorised into five distinct components. Depending on the level of your requirement, we do this by either putting HR specialist(s) into your business on a permanent basis, or we provide you with full remote back-up complemented by regular site visits.
1. Legal
It is critically important that when one addresses any of the core HR activities, they must be carried out within the confines of the legal framework that exists. We will advise you to ensure that you are complying with all current legislation.
2. Mediation Services
We provide a full range of mediation services whereby we resolve many internal employee and industrial relations issues that arise within the workplace. This can include direct negotiations with solicitors, third parties and trade unions.
3. Staff Retention and Benefits
We assist you to ensure that you do what is necessary to keep your employees within the organisation. This covers the entire area of salary planning, benefits planning, benefits administration, performance management and face-to-face group meetings, or one-on-one discussions.
4. Recruitment
This involves us in the hiring process from the very beginning, from writing up job profiles and descriptions to advertising, arranging interviews, checking references, and issuing contracts.
5. Training and Development
The service we offer in this space includes identifying training requirements, driving the training programme and the training vendors, right through to succession planning, key people identification, skills identification and management development.
The Smart Solution for Businesses - We aim to ensure that you, our client, are not constrained by the legislation that exists today, but are aware of it and acting in accordance with it.
The service includes salary surveys to support your salary planning and review process, design and implementation of your policies and procedures and inclusion of these in the company handbook.
As part of this service, a company is provided with on-site representation approximately once per month.
Reminder for Employers: Taxation of Maternity Benefit – July 1st 2013
The Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan T.D., published the Finance Bill 2013 on 13th February 2013. The Bill provided for the Budget day announcement that, effective 1st July 2013, Maternity Benefit, Adoptive Benefit and Health & Safety Benefit payments will be treated as taxable income. As with all other Social Welfare payments; Maternity, Adoptive and Health and Safety Benefit will remain exempt from Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) and Universal Social Charge (USC).
This measure will mean that women entitled to these benefits will pay the same level of income tax while in receipt of the benefit as they do when they are working.
Once the benefit is approved by the Department of Social Protection, Revenue will be notified of the applicable figure and will reduce the relevant allowances (tax credit and standard rate cut-off point in respect of the employee) accordingly. Revenue will notify the employer or pension provider of the applicable adjustment by means of a new P2C in respect of the employee. The P2C is the employer copy of the employee tax certificate.
The issuance of a revised P2C is the only thing that the employer needs to be actively aware of in relation to maternity or adoptive benefit. However, since the employer pays the first 21 days of the Health and Safety benefit the new taxation provided for in the Finance Bill may have more of an impact on the employer and the payroll administrator here.
The net income paid to the recipient for the period is going to be reduced by the new taxation. Consequently, one significant result of this new provision might be mothers/expecting mothers availing of reduced periods of maternity/adoptive leave.
Breaks and Rest Periods in the Irish Workplace
Under the Organization of Working Time Act 1997 every employee in Ireland has a legal entitlement to breaks during their working day (or night) and is entitled to have clearly defined rest periods between their working days/nights.
Under the Organization of Working Time Act 1997 a rest period is defined as any time that is not working time.
In general an employee is entitled to a 15 minute break after the completion of 4.5 hours of work. If the employee is working a shift of 6 hours then he or she is entitled to a 30 minute break (the first break of 15 minutes can be included in this 30 minute allocation).
The employer is not obliged to pay employees for these break periods and they are not included when counting the total amount of time that the employee has worked.
The regulations vary slightly for different categories of employees - for instance, shop employees who work more than 6 hours at a time are entitled to a break of one consecutive hour between the hours of 11:30 and 14:30 if their work schedule incorporates this period.
Employees are entitled to 11 consecutive hours of rest in a 24 hour period – on top of this an employee should receive 24 hours of consecutive rest in every 7 day period and this 24 hour allocation should follow an 11 hour rest period. Where an employer does not give his or her employee a full 24 hour consecutive rest period throughout the course of one week he or she must give two of these 24 hour rest periods in the following week. This rest period, unless otherwise stated, should include a Sunday.
Not all employees are governed by the break and rest period rules described above. Members of An Garda Síochána, The Defence Forces and employees who manage their own working hours are exempt. Family employees on farms or in private homes are also excluded from the Organization of Working Time Act 1997 directives.
The working terms and conditions for people under the age of 18 are regulated by the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996.
In exceptional circumstances or emergencies an employer is exempt from providing the above mentioned rest periods but only where he or she provides equivalent compensatory rest. Where the rest period is postponed the employer must allow the employee to take the compensatory rest within a reasonable period of time. Employees working in transport activities or certain categories of civil protection services are exempt from the statutory break regulations specified above (the equivalent compensatory rest rules do not apply for these employees).
Employers should be aware that employees have 6 months to make a complaint regarding breaks and rest periods (in certain circumstance this period can be extended to 12 months).
Human Resources support in Ireland
Administration can be an extremely frustrating and time-consuming part of the job but efficient internal mechanics (the nuts and bolts if you will) is what keeps the HR department flowing smoothly.
Well-organized administration is what maintains the forward moving momentum of the company yet it is the element of human resources that most HR professionals look upon with trepidation. Rightly so – it’s not glamorous – in fact, one could call it the ‘slog’ work. The professionals at The HR Company thrive on it and turn it into something useful…. information.
From processing new employees to delivering redundancy packages, our HR systems management covers every aspect of back-office administration. The HR Company’s dedicated account managers do much more than administer and process, however, they track your company’s HR information and prompt you and your employees to keep information fresh and up-to-date to avoid any unforeseen issues. Dedicated account managers at The HR Company also use this information to generate the reports and statistics you need to integrate HR into your company’s overall strategic planning.
Here is a list of the main tasks that fall under the tricky Human Resources Administration umbrella:
•Data entry of new employees
•Setting up of email aliases and accounts
•Tracking headcount movement
•Processing applications
•Processing appraisals
•Tracking vacation time
•Provision and management of electronic filing systems
•Preparation and delivery of redundancy packages
•Payroll Processing
•Tailored generation of reports and statistics
We can help to ease the burden of HR administration in a cost-effective manner.
HR Guidance for Childcare Facilities in Ireland
Crèches in Ireland have come under intense scrutiny in recent weeks. On the 28th of May 2013 the Prime Time Investigates programme “A Breach of Trust” highlighted grave mishandling of infants in the care of a number of crèches in the Leinster region.
While the programme uncovered substandard care in three specific childcare facilities it exposed widespread failures in the industry in general. The programme researchers acquired a HSE inspection report that illustrated that a staggering 75% of Irish childcare facilities were in breach of regulations in 2012.
Understandably, these statistics caused uproar and opened up a huge debate on childcare standards throughout the nation. Many parents were very upset by the revelations of breaches in child protection regulations. The poor practices exposed in certain crèches distressed many people and the disturbing reports have seriously tainted the image of the childcare industry in Ireland.
Subsequent to the Prime Time Investigates programme there have been two reported incidents of unaccompanied toddlers leaving crèches in Dublin while in the care of employees at the facilities. The most recent of these incidents occurred last Friday, 21st June, where two little boys made it out of a Giraffe Crèche on the North side of Dublin. The boys were lucky to have been spotted before they made it as far as the busy road behind the building.
These revelations have again raised serious concerns and the childcare industry will have to work hard in order to earn back the trust of parents. In order to protect their reputation it is absolutely vital that management in childcare facilities take the steps necessary to ensure that all employees are fully qualified for the roles in which they have been hired.
It is imperative that all employees working with children are vetted thoroughly and that all relevant paperwork is in place.
The HSE report from 2012 highlighted serious policy breaches and failures on numerous grounds like the child-carer ratio. It is imperative that employers seek advice from Employment Legislation experts if they need clarification on policies and procedures that they are required to have in place or if they need help in determining whether or not they have the appropriate paperwork on file.
The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) is carrying out inspections to ensure that all employers have contracts of employment in place with their employees as well as employee handbooks and so on. NERA seeks to ensure that employment paperwork is up to date with all of the recently implemented employment legislation changes. NERA inspectors can impose large fines if they find that employers are in breach of the regulations.
It is essential that all facilities are adequately staffed and that management take every precaution in ensuring a high standard of protection and care for children at all times. One suggestion perhaps might be to install a CCTV system to monitor the interaction between employees and children – before doing so, however, a CCTV policy is required – again, it is essential to seek advice from the appropriate body if you are considering such a course of action.
Reports suggested that multiple employees were suspended and at least one dismissed after the Prime Time Investigates programme aired in May of this year. Employers need to remember that, to avoid any risk of exposure, it is absolutely imperative to follow approved disciplinary procedures prior to disciplining employees. Regardless of the severity of the situation there are steps that need to be followed in order to ensure employers remain compliant with all Irish Employment Legislation.
It is vital to follow procedures that are in line with the Labour Court recommendations to insulate your company against the risk of a future claim. To avoid jeopardising the process contact an Employment Law expert prior to initiating any disciplinary action and arm yourself with the appropriate guidance.
