Managing Annual Leave & Public Holidays
These topics create some confusion amongst employers, this blog post will hopefully line out any confusion that employers may have.
What is a public holiday?
A public holiday is nationally recognised day when most businesses and other institutions are closed. They usually occur on a special day or event. For example, St Patrick's Day and Christmas Day.
In 2022 we were introduced to a new once off public holiday that will take place on Friday, 18th of March. From 2023 there will be a new annual public holiday in February to celebrate St Brigid’s Day, it will happen on the first Monday in February.
When are the public holidays?
• New Year’s Day
• First Monday in February, or 1st of February if the date falls on a Friday (2023 onwards)
• Saint Patrick’s Day
• Once off public holiday (18th March 2022 only)
• Easter Monday
• First Monday in May
• First Monday in June
• First Monday in August
• Last Monday in October
• Christmas Day
• St Stephens Day
What are employees entitled to?
Most employees are entitled to a day paid leave on public holidays. There is an exception for certain part-time employees.
If you qualify for public holiday benefit, you are entitled to:
• A paid day off on the public holiday
• An additional day of annual leave
• An additional day’s pay
• A paid day off within a month of the public holiday
Part time employees are entitled to a day’s pay for the public holiday if they meet the following requirements:
• You have worked for your employer at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks before the public holiday
• The public holiday falls on the day you normally work
If you are required to work on the day the public holiday falls you are entitled to an additional day’s pay. If you do not work on the day, you should get one fifth of your weekly pay.
Annual Leave
We all know that employers are obliged to provide paid annual leave under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. This act applies to all employees working under a contract of employment.
The amount of holidays an employee receives is calculated by the amount of work the employee does in the leave year.
If an employee works 1365 hours in a leave year they will be entitled to 4 normal working weeks of annual leave.
To calculate annual leave for employees who have worked less than 1365 hours in the annual leave year, they receive one-third of a week for each month that 117 hours are worked or 8% of the hours worked up to a maximum of 4 working weeks.
Accrual of Annual Leave
Employees will begin to accrue annual leave from the first date of employment.
Accrued from hours:
- Physically and notionally worked
- All time on certified sick leave
- Time worked on public holidays
- Annual leave itself
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What you Need to Know About the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021
The Gender Pay Gap Information Act was signed into law on the 13th of July 2021. It will amend the Employment Equality Act 1998. This legislation introduced gender pay gap reporting to Ireland. The technical elements to this Bill have not been published yet but, The Act promotes the making of regulations through which reporting requirements will be specified. It is unclear what the specific reporting responsibilities for employers will be.
What is it?
The Gender Pay Gap is the difference in the average gross hourly pay of women compared with men in an organisation. It should not be confused with the concept of equal pay for equal work. The existence of the gender pay gap does not indicate discrimination by employers or that women are not receiving equal pay for equal work. Employers are required to pay employees on the same terms when they do “like work” which is defined as work that is the same, similar, or work of equal value.
What does the employer have to do?
The Act will require organisations to report on the gender pay differences between male and female employees. For the initial first two years of The Act, it will only apply to employers with 250 or more employees.
What information needs to be reported?
- Mean and median hourly remuneration for full time and part time employees
- Mean and median bonus remuneration
- Percentage of all employees who have received a bonus or benefits in kind.
The act also indicates further regulations that may be proposed to provide further clarity on:
- The class of employer, employee and pay to which the regulations apply
- How the remuneration of employees is to be calculated
- The form, manner and frequency in which information is to be published
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What you Need to Know About Irelands New Public Holiday
What is it and when will it happen?
The Government announced last week that there will be a once off extra public holiday on Friday the 18th of March 2022. It was introduced to recognise the efforts made by the general public, volunteers and all workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. This will result in a four-day weekend in the middle of March as St Patricks Day is also a public holiday.
Next Year, 2023, there will be a permanent public holiday introduced to establish the celebration of St Brigid’s Day. This will occur on the first Monday in February. If St Brigid’s Day falls on the first day of February, that happens to be a Friday, that Friday the 1st of February will be a Public Holiday.
This new public holiday will bring the number of public holidays in Ireland to 10, which is one of the lowest in Europe, compared to Austria and Sweden which have 13.
What does this mean for employers?
This announcement can bring cost implications for employers. Employees are entitled to a paid day off. If the employee is working that day, they are entitled to double pay or an additional day of paid leave.
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Get Informed About Wage Deductions
There can often be debates between the employer and the employee as to what can be legally deducted from an employee’s wages. Well the confusion is over because in this blog post we have detailed for you what are the legal deductions employers can make, including the special restrictions on employers in relation to any act or omission of the employee. Firstly, under the Payment of Wages Act 1991, the employee has a right to:
1. A negotiable mode of wage payment
2. A written statement of wages and deductions, i.e. a payslip
3. Protection from unlawful deductions from wages
The Act applies to employees engaged under a contract of employment or apprenticeship, employed through an employment agency or through a subcontractor or working for the State.
There are only 3 circumstances in which an employer may legally make deductions from an employee’s wages or receive any payments from an employee. These are:
1. If the deduction or payment is required or authorised by law, for example, income tax, PRSI, USC, local property tax (LPT), additional superannuation contribution (ASC), an attachment of earnings order (AEO) or a notice of attachment.
2. If the deduction or payment is provided for in the contract of employment, for example, employee pension contributions, deductions for uniforms etc.
3. If the deduction is agreed to in writing, in advance, by the employee, for example, medical insurance subscriptions, trade union dues.
There are however special restrictions placed on employers in relation to deductions or the receipt of payments from wages, which arise from any act or omission of the employee (e.g. till shortages, bad workmanship, breakages), or are in respect of the supply to the employee by the employer of goods or services which are necessary to the employment (e.g. the provision or cleaning of uniforms). Any deduction or payment from wages of the kinds described must satisfy the following conditions:
i. the deduction or payment must be provided for in the contract of employment
ii. the amount of the deduction, or payment, must be fair and reasonable having regard to all the circumstances including the amount of the wages of the employee .e. if it is substantial it should not be taken out of one single wage payment.
iii. Prior to the act or omission occurring, the employee must have previously been given written details of the terms of the contract of employment, governing deductions or payments, by the employer.
Written notice must be given to the employee in the case of each deduction or payment to the employer at least one week prior to the deduction being made and the employer must provide a receipt. The deduction cannot take place more than six months after the employee’s act or omission becomes known to the employer or after the provision of good and services to the employee. However, where a series of deductions are to be made, the first deduction must be made within six months. Most importantly, the deduction or payment cannot be more than the cost to the employer, in other words, the employer should not profit from the deductions.
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WRC Annual Report 2017 – The Facts and Figures
The Work Place Relations Commission have published their third annual report, outlining the key performance metrics relating to complaints filed and decisions made across the employment realms.
One of the bigger achievements made by the WRC is a dramatic reduction in the length of time it takes to get a case to resolution. When the WRC was established in October 2015 it could take a case up to 2 years to secure an outcome whereas now, once submissions are received, it is taking less than 6 months.
Other Key Facts
• €1.8 million was recovered in unpaid wages; up €300,000 on the previous year
• 4750 workplace inspections were carried out, either announced or unannounced with over 99,000 employees covered by these inspections
• 14,001 complaints were received by WRC relating to:
- Pay – 27%
- Unfair Dismissal - 14%
- Discrimination and Equality - 11%
- Terms and Conditions of Employment – 8%
• Over 52,000 calls were received on the WRC information hotline, with just under half of these relating to employment permit queries.
• There were 4,370 adjudication hearing’s; up 24% on 2016
It is now almost three years since the formation of the WRC, and from the above figures it is clear that they are well into their stride and making significant inroads in terms of their objective of promoting the improvement of workplace relations, encouraging compliance with relevant employment and equality legislation. As such it is imperative that employer’s have the proper records in place in case of an inspection.
Solution
Bright Contracts allows the user to create and customise contracts of employment and company handbooks, this covers part of your obligation as an employer under current Employment Legislation.
To book a free online demo of Bright Contracts click here.
To download your free trial of Bright Contracts click here.
Christmas Public Holiday Entitlements
There are three public holidays coming up over the festive season – Christmas Day, St. Stephens Day and New Year’s Day. Although many offices across the country will close during this period it can be one of the busiest times of the year for industries including retail, hospitality, and hair and beauty. So what public holiday entitlement are employees entitled to over this time?
Full-time employees
Full-time employees have immediate public holiday entitlement to one of the following:
• A paid day off that day
• A paid day off within a month of that day
• An additional day of annual leave
• An additional days pay
Part-time employees
If a public holiday falls on a day that a part-time employee usually works, they are entitled to one of the public holiday benefits as listed above, if they have worked at least 40 hours in total in the 5 weeks prior to the public holiday.
Where the public holiday falls on a day on which the employee does not normally work, the employee is entitled to one fifth of his/her normal weekly wage.
Sick leave, absence and public holiday entitlement
If a full time employee is on sick leave during a public holiday, they are entitled to one of the public holiday benefits as listed above. If a part time employee is on sick leave during a public holiday, they are also entitled to one of the public holiday benefits listed above, if they have worked at least 40 hours in total in the 5 weeks prior to the public holiday.
Employees absent due to maternity leave, adoptive leave, parental leave, annual leave and jury duty accrue public holiday entitlement as if they were at work. Employees on carer’s leave continue to accrue public holiday entitlement for the first 13 weeks absence on carer’s leave.
The following type of absences occurring immediately before the public holiday will not be entitled to public holiday benefit.
• Absence in excess of 52 weeks due to occupational injury
• Absence in excess of 26 weeks due to illness or injury
• Absence in excess of 13 weeks for another reason and authorised by the employer including lay off
• Absence by reason of strike
Termination of employment
Employees who leave employment during the week ending before a public holiday and have worked the 4 weeks prior to that week are entitled to receive the benefits outlined above for that public holiday.
To book a free online demo of Bright Contracts click here
To download your free trial of Bright Contracts click here
Why not get more for you and your employees when making Bonus payments?
As the long dark evenings set in and Halloween is over, the build up to the most wonderful time of the year will begin again! At this time of the year a significant amount of employers pay-out a Christmas/annual bonus and no matter how little or large the bonus is, a large portion ends up being paid over to the Revenue if it is put through the payroll as a taxable addition.
For example, if an employee’s salary is €35,000 per annum and they receive a bonus of €1,000 at Christmas, this employee would only receive around half of this amount after tax, employee PRSI and USC. The company would also be liable to pay 10.75% employer PRSI on the bonus, so in addition to giving the bonus of €1,000 there is also the extra €107.50 meaning the bonus is in fact costing the company €1,107.50.
The Solution
Revenue allow one small non-cash benefit per employee per annum up to the value of €500, PAYE, PRSI OR USC do not need to be applied to the benefit. A gift card or voucher seems to be the most popular way of allowing this payment to be made to the employee. The most popular gift card would seem to be One4All gift cards. Thesaurus Payroll Manager offers unique integration with One4All allowing employers to purchase gift cards quickly and easily for their employees. The integration offers a range of benefits, including:
- The ability to pay via EFT, a facility not available to regular gift card customers
- No additional charges, unlike when purchasing direct from the Post Office
- Tracking of gift cards purchased so that you as an employer are alerted if you attempt to purchase more than one gift card for an employee in any one tax year
- Prevention from ordering a card in excess of the exemption limit, i.e. €500.
Please note: where a benefit exceeds €500 in value, the entire amount will be subject to PAYE, PRSI and USC.
Purchasing gift cards through Thesaurus Payroll Manager is both simple and straightforward. To order, simply click on the Gift Card option, fill in your company details, select the amount for each employee's gift card and click to proceed to the gift card website. The software will bring you to the gift card website where you will arrange payment and delivery details.
It is also possible to order Me2You gift cards through Thesaurus Payroll Manager, if required tick to order from Me2You.
For further details click here.
To book a free online demo of Bright Contracts click here
To download your free trial of Bright Contracts click here
Making an Employee Redundant
Redundancy is never an easy decision for an employer to make but there may come a time when circumstances arise which leave an employer with no alternative but to declare redundancies.
A redundancy situation can often arise in the following situations:
- an employee’s job ceases to exist
- the employer ceases to carry on the business
- the requirement for employees has diminished
- an employee is not skilled for work that is to be done
In the event of a redundancy, employees are covered under Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2014, if they meet the following requirements:
- aged 16 or over
- have at least 2 years continuous service (104 weeks)
- are a full-time employee insurable under PRSI class A, or PRSI Class J for a part-time employee
How to calculate Statutory Redundancy Pay
Statutory Redundancy is payable at a rate of:
- 2 weeks’ pay for each year of service. If the period of employment is not an exact number of years, the excess days are credited as a portion of a year
- plus one week’s pay
The term ‘pay’ refers to the employee’s current normal gross weekly pay, including average regular overtime and benefits in kind. The above, however, is based on a maximum earnings limit of €600 per week (before PAYE, PRSI & USC).
An employer may also choose to pay a redundancy payment above the statutory minimum. In such circumstances, the statutory payment element will be tax free but some of the lump sum payment may be taxable.
Employers should ensure that a redundancy policy is included in their company handbook and that all staff are aware of the procedures in place if redundancies were to arise.
To book a free online demo of Bright Contracts click here
To download your free trial of Bright Contracts click here
Premature Births and Maternity Benefit
From 1st October 2017, the period for which Maternity Benefit is paid has been extended in cases where a baby is born prematurely. A premature birth is described as one at less than 37 weeks’ gestation. It is estimated that every year in Ireland approximately 4,500 babies are born prematurely.
Currently, under the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004, a mother is entitled to 26 weeks’ maternity leave and 16 weeks’ unpaid leave. Maternity leave normally starts two weeks before the baby’s expected due date or on the date of the birth of the child, should it be earlier.
Under the new amendment, where a child is born prematurely the mother’s paid maternity leave will be extended by the equivalent of the duration between the actual date of birth of the premature baby and the date when the maternity leave was expected to start. For example, where a baby is born in the 30th week of gestation the mother would have an additional entitlement of approximately seven weeks of maternity leave and benefit i.e. from the date of birth in the 30th week to the two weeks before the expected date of confinement. This additional period will be added on to the mother’s normal entitlement to 26 weeks of maternity leave and benefit, where the mother meets the ordinary qualifying criteria.
Mothers of pre-term babies are advised to contact the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP), email maternityben@welfare.ie, to arrange the additional payment.
Babies surviving from the earliest gestation's, such as 23 weeks, can spend months in a neonatal unit in hospital, by the time a premature baby gets to go home, a mother’s maternity leave can almost be used up. This new change has been heralded as a positive step in supporting parents during a difficult time.
To book a free online demo of Bright Contracts click here
To download your free Bright Contracts trial click here
4 Reasons why contracts of employment are needed
We’ve heard all the excuses before; “I’m too busy and don’t have the time”, “It’s too expensive to implement contracts”, or “I only have four employees, I don’t need to provide employment contracts”. If you are an employer you are obliged to provide your employees with a written statement of terms of employment.
We have compiled the 4 most important reasons why contracts of employment are needed.
It is a legal requirement
Under the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994-2014, as an employer you must provide a written contract of employment to a new staff member no later than 2 months after their commencement. Employers must also provide employees with written disciplinary procedures, and procedures that the employer will follow when dismissing an employee, within 28 days of the employee starting. These procedures may be included in the employment contract or in the company handbook.
Protect your business against costly disputes
Having contracts of employment in place offers your business protection in the case of a dispute. A dispute can escalate to the WRC, where not having clearly documented terms of employment can really leave you wide open as an employer. If you are found not to have contracts of employment in place for your staff you will face a fine of 4 weeks’ pay per employee. In the case of a dispute, employers could face fines equating to two years remuneration - the maximum compensation award.
Protect your company against WRC inspections
Approximately 5,000 workplace inspections are carried out by the WRC every year, with 60% of them being unannounced. During a WRC inspection, the first thing they will ask to see is a copy of your contracts of employment. In 2016, 62% of employers failed to keep adequate employment records. Inspectors may issue on the spot fines for amounts up to €2,000 where they have reasonable cause to believe that a person has committed a relevant offence.
Instills confidence in you and your employees
In terms of the employer/employee relationship, the contract of employment is the most important thing you’ll ever deal with. It is the foundation stone of the employer/employee relationship. Having contracts of employment in place will clarify certain conditions for you and your employee so that both parties are aware of what is expected of them. Having contracts in place will also instill confidence in you, knowing that you are doing everything you can do to protect yourself and your business in any situation that may arise.
It is never too late to put contracts of employment in place. Read our blog “How can I introduce contracts to existing employees?” and follow our 4 simple steps here.
To book a free online demo of Bright Contracts click here
To download your free Bright Contracts trial click here
