Minimum Wage Increase from 1 January 2017
The minimum wage will increase to €9.25 per hour from 1 January 2017.
Employers should ensure their payrolls are updated and affected employees are informed of the change. Employers are also advised to review their Sunday rate as this may need to be adjusted to ensure the Sunday premium is complaint with legislation.
Minimum wage rates from 1 January 2017
- Experienced Adult Worker - €9.25
- Aged Under 18 - €6.48
- Over 18 and first year from date of first employment - €7.40
- Over 18 and second year from date of first employment - €8.33
Employees over 18, in structured training during working hours
- 1st one third period - €6.94
- 2nd one third period - €7.40
- 3rd one third period - €8.33
Bright Contracts - Employment Contracts and Handbooks
2016 Employment Round Up
2016 has been another busy year for employment law. We’ve summed up some of the key changes:
- Retirement Ages: January 2016 saw the introduction of the The Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 which stipulates that employers must objectively justify a mandatory company retirement age. The advice to employers in this regard is to review employment contracts and staff policies, where a mandatory retirement age exists employers should include a robust policy objectively justifying the retirement age. The “Optional Sections” tab within the Handbook of Bright Contracts contains a draft policy which may assist employers set objective justification. Read more
- Paternity Leave: 1 September 2016 saw the introduction of paid paternity leave in Ireland. Fathers / partners are now entitled to two weeks paid paternity leave within the first 26 weeks following the birth of a child / placement of a child for adoption. Read More
- Minimum Wage: As announced in Budget 2017, minimum wage will increase again in January 2017, the new rate being €9.25.
- CCTV in the Workplace: the Data Protection Commission this year released updated guidelines on CCTV use. The guidelines include a requirement for:
- a written CCTV policy to be in place
- a risk assessment to be conducted to justify the use of CCTV
- a privacy impact assessment
- evidence of previous incidents that have led to concerns that may justify the use of CCTV
- clear signage indicating that there is CCTV recording in operation. Read More
Bright Contracts - Employment Contracts and Handbooks
€20,000 awarded in constructive dismissal case
A recent case before the Employment Appeals Tribunal was one where an employee handed in his resignation due to the uncomfortable and unprofessional environment he felt he was working in because of another member of staff, who happened to be one of the directors’ wives.
After a number of incidents, the employee reported his grievances to the other director who responded with “..its “”’s wife, there’s nothing I can do..” After more incidents involving the director’s wife, where she became verbally abusive towards the employee, he made a formal complaint using the company’s own policies regarding harassment. An external mediator was appointed who in turn said the employee should try his best to get on with the other member of staff and given some time should resolve itself. The employee did this and for a short period things became manageable.
However the husband of the other employee - the director, started to cause problems for the employee by ignoring his emails and becoming aggressive towards him. At this stage the employee felt he had no option but to hand in is notice as it was no longer a comfortable working environment.
The Tribunal adduced that the companies refusal to take the employee’s concerns seriously or to investigate the matters properly and as per their own policies left the employee in a situation where he felt he could no longer work productively, therefore finding his termination of employment, though at his own hand to be unfair. The employee was award €20,000 compensation under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2007.
Bright Contracts - Employment Contracts and Handbooks
