Know Your Rights
Employees - Do You Know Your Rights?
Employment law is a wide-ranging and continuously changing area of law. During the Celtic Tiger there was plenty of work for everyone and employers were paying good wages and providing good conditions for their staff. Since the recession has begun, employers have looked to 'tighten their belts'. This has resulted in an increase in complaints by employees with regard to their employment rights.
Employee Rights
What rights have you?
1. You are entitled to a written statement of terms and conditions of employment. Whilst the full contract does not have to be in writing, certain terms and conditions of your employment must be stated in writing within two months of starting employment. These would typically include the method of calculating pay and whether or not there is a sick pay scheme in operation.
2. You are entitled to a written statement of pay or 'payslip'. Your payslip should set out gross pay and list all deductions made from it.
3. You are entitled to be paid the national minium wage, currently €8.65 per hour. There are some exceptions to the minimum wage requirement including those employed by close relatives, those aged under 18 and trainees or apprentices. In addition certain industries command a higher minimum wage and this includes the construction industry.
4. You have a right to certain procedures, such as discipline and grievance procedures. Your employer must also have policies in place to deal with bullying and harassment. The establishment of policies such as data protection and absence policies is considered best practice and will assist if there is a dispute in the future.
5. Your employment contracts can be terminated in a variety of ways such as leaving, dismissal, redundancy or insolvency. However, your employer must adhere to strict rules with regard to termination.
6. You're entitled to breaks during working hours. You have the right to a 15-minute break if working four and a half hours of work and a 30-minute break if working six hours of work.
7. You're entitled to annual leave from work. Full-time workers have the right to four working weeks paid annual leave per year. Part-time workers have the right to a proportional amount of annual leave based on the amount of time they work.
8. The maximum period you may work is an average of 48 hours a week. The maximum 48 hour week is based on an average calculated over a four, six, or twelve-month period depending on the industry. Your employer must keep a record of how many hours you work.
It should be noted that in some industries employees are entitled to additional rights. This is not a definite list and you should obtain legal advice if you feel that rights are being infringed on.
NERA
Employers should be made aware of the existence of The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA). The aim of the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) is to secure compliance with employment rights legislation. Its main activities are providing information on employment rights and monitoring employment conditions through its inspectors. It can also enforce compliance and seek redress.
NERA have dedicated inspectors who will undertake both "announced" and "unannounced" inspections. The inspectors will visit client premises at any reasonable time, and demand to see and inspect any relevant records, and take copies where necessary. They can also interview any relevant person they may require information from.
Redundancies
Employers must be aware of their responsibilities when a redundancy situation arises and also employees should be satisfied that they receive their minimum statutory entitlements if they find themselves in an unfortunate redundancy situation. The Redundancy Payments Acts obliges employers by law to pay redundant employees what is known as "statutory redundancy entitlement". The amount is related to the employee's length of service and normal weekly earnings, up to a maximum wage of €600 per week
The law applies to employees over the age of 16 with 104 weeks continuous service. The employee must be in employment that is insurable under the Social Welfare Acts. Employers who pay the statutory redundancy entitlement and give proper notice of redundancy, that is at least two weeks, are entitled to a 60% rebate from the Social Insurance Fund.
The rate of statutory redundancy payment is two weeks pay for each year of continuous and reckonable employment plus a bonus week subject to the ceiling of €600 per week. Employers may choose to pay above this rate.
If you require any further information in relation to your rights as an employee or your obligations as an employer please contact Stephen Cooney, Solicitor, Patrick Tallan & Company, New Town Centre, Ashbourne, Co. Meath. Tel: 01 8352027
Employment law is a wide-ranging and continuously changing area of law. During the Celtic Tiger there was plenty of work for everyone and employers were paying good wages and providing good conditions for their staff. Since the recession has begun, employers have looked to 'tighten their belts'. This has resulted in an increase in complaints by employees with regard to their employment rights.
Employee Rights
What rights have you?
1. You are entitled to a written statement of terms and conditions of employment. Whilst the full contract does not have to be in writing, certain terms and conditions of your employment must be stated in writing within two months of starting employment. These would typically include the method of calculating pay and whether or not there is a sick pay scheme in operation.
2. You are entitled to a written statement of pay or 'payslip'. Your payslip should set out gross pay and list all deductions made from it.
3. You are entitled to be paid the national minium wage, currently €8.65 per hour. There are some exceptions to the minimum wage requirement including those employed by close relatives, those aged under 18 and trainees or apprentices. In addition certain industries command a higher minimum wage and this includes the construction industry.
4. You have a right to certain procedures, such as discipline and grievance procedures. Your employer must also have policies in place to deal with bullying and harassment. The establishment of policies such as data protection and absence policies is considered best practice and will assist if there is a dispute in the future.
5. Your employment contracts can be terminated in a variety of ways such as leaving, dismissal, redundancy or insolvency. However, your employer must adhere to strict rules with regard to termination.
6. You're entitled to breaks during working hours. You have the right to a 15-minute break if working four and a half hours of work and a 30-minute break if working six hours of work.
7. You're entitled to annual leave from work. Full-time workers have the right to four working weeks paid annual leave per year. Part-time workers have the right to a proportional amount of annual leave based on the amount of time they work.
8. The maximum period you may work is an average of 48 hours a week. The maximum 48 hour week is based on an average calculated over a four, six, or twelve-month period depending on the industry. Your employer must keep a record of how many hours you work.
It should be noted that in some industries employees are entitled to additional rights. This is not a definite list and you should obtain legal advice if you feel that rights are being infringed on.
NERA
Employers should be made aware of the existence of The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA). The aim of the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) is to secure compliance with employment rights legislation. Its main activities are providing information on employment rights and monitoring employment conditions through its inspectors. It can also enforce compliance and seek redress.
NERA have dedicated inspectors who will undertake both "announced" and "unannounced" inspections. The inspectors will visit client premises at any reasonable time, and demand to see and inspect any relevant records, and take copies where necessary. They can also interview any relevant person they may require information from.
Redundancies
Employers must be aware of their responsibilities when a redundancy situation arises and also employees should be satisfied that they receive their minimum statutory entitlements if they find themselves in an unfortunate redundancy situation. The Redundancy Payments Acts obliges employers by law to pay redundant employees what is known as "statutory redundancy entitlement". The amount is related to the employee's length of service and normal weekly earnings, up to a maximum wage of €600 per week
The law applies to employees over the age of 16 with 104 weeks continuous service. The employee must be in employment that is insurable under the Social Welfare Acts. Employers who pay the statutory redundancy entitlement and give proper notice of redundancy, that is at least two weeks, are entitled to a 60% rebate from the Social Insurance Fund.
The rate of statutory redundancy payment is two weeks pay for each year of continuous and reckonable employment plus a bonus week subject to the ceiling of €600 per week. Employers may choose to pay above this rate.
If you require any further information in relation to your rights as an employee or your obligations as an employer please contact Stephen Cooney, Solicitor, Patrick Tallan & Company, New Town Centre, Ashbourne, Co. Meath. Tel: 01 8352027