National Minimum Wage Act
This Act modifies all existing contracts of employment, collective agreements or legislative provisions insofar as they provide for less favorable remuneration than is provided for by the Act. This Act enables the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to prescribe a national minimum hourly rate of pay by Statutory Order. Ministerial orders are issued providing for a National Minimum Wage per hour with the rate as of March 2012 at €8.65.
Procedures and Enforcement
Disputes will be referable by an employee to a Rights Commissioner, although an employee must seek a written statement of pay before making an appeal. An appeal against a Rights Commissioner’s decision may be made to the Labour Court within six weeks. If an employer fails to comply with a decision by the Rights Commissioner, the employee may refer the matter to the Labour Court, which will make a determination directing the same redress, i.e. enforcing the decision of the Rights Commissioner. A failure to follow a determination by the Labour Court may be referred to the Circuit Court, which will make an Order directing the same redress.
Payment of Wages Act 1991
This Act establishes a range of rights for all employees relating to the payment of wages and the main rights established are a right to a readily negotiable mode of wage payment, a right to a written statement of wages and deductions and protection against unlawful deductions from wages.
The Act provides a right of complaint to a Rights Commissioner for any employee who has had an unlawful deduction from wages. The following payments are regarded as wages:
• Normal basic pay as well as any overtime
• Shift allowances or other similar payments
• Any fee, bonus or commission.
• Any holiday, sick or maternity pay
• Any other return or payment for work (whether made under contract of employment or otherwise and any sum payable to an employee in lieu of notice of termination of employment)
• The Act specifies a range of legally acceptable modes of wage payment.
Employers must arrange that a written statement of wages be given to every employee with every payment of wages. If wages
are paid by credit transfer, the statement of wages should begiven to the employee as soon as possible after the credit transfer has taken place. In every other case, the statement of wages must accompany the wage statement.
Each statement of wages must show the gross amount of wages payable to the employee and itemize the nature and amount of each deduction.
The Act allows an employer to make the following deduction from the wages of an employee:
• any deduction required or authorised by law, PAYE, PRSI
• any deduction or payment required or authorised by
a term of the employee’s contract
• any deduction agreed to in writing in advance by the
employee such as VHI premium.
Any deduction arising from any act or omission of an employee must satisfy certain conditions:
• The employee must be given particulars in writing of the act or omission and the amount of deduction or payment at least one week before the deduction is made and the deduction must be made no later than six months after the act or omission became known to the employer.
This Act modifies all existing contracts of employment, collective agreements or legislative provisions insofar as they provide for less favourable remuneration than is provided for by the Act. This Act enables the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to prescribe a national minimum hourly rate of pay by Statutory Order. Ministerial orders are issued providing for a National Minimum Wage per hour.
Procedures and Enforcement:
Disputes will be referable by an employee to a Rights Commissioner, although an employee must seek a written statement of pay before making an appeal. An appeal against a Rights Commissioner’s decision may be made to the Labour Court within six weeks. If an employer fails to comply with a decision by the Rights Commissioner, the employee may refer the matter to the Labour Court, which will make a determination directing the same redress, i.e. enforcing the decision of the Rights Commissioner. A failure to follow a determination by the Labour Court may be referred to the Circuit Court, which will make an Order directing the same redress.
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