Wages

Wage Deductions

An employer is not allowed to make deductions from the employee’s wage except where permitted by law or by an order of a competent court.

If the employer does not allow an employee to work the full weekly hours, the employee has the right to be paid his/her full weekly wage as agreed in the contract of employment.

Where the same duties are performed, employees are entitled to the same rate of pay. Different rates of pay can only apply if this is based on different lengths of service which are reflected under different salary scales, annual increments or other conditions of employment, provided that such salary scales have a maximum that is achieved within a specified period of time.

If an employee changes from part-time to full-time or vice versa, and the same duties are continued, the rate of pay should not be decreased. But, if there is agreement that the post and related duties are changed, new conditions, including different rates of pay, may apply.

If an employee is sent for training when s/he is not on duty and the training is obligatory, the employer must treat that period as working time and pay it accordingly.

Article by DIER, for further information please contact us or visit the website DIER

Overtime

Most sectors have their minimum overtime rates regulated by the respective Wage Regulation Order (WRO) that regulates their activity of work. Employees whose overtime rate is not covered by a Wages Council Wage Regulation Order shall be paid one and a half times the normal rate for work carried out in excess of a 40 week, averaged over a 4 week period or over the shift cycle at the discretion of the employer.

Overtime agreed in Pay Packages

Pay packages which include an unknown amount of overtime are not in conformity with the Information to Employees Regulations, in which there is specified that the employer has to inform the employee of the normal rates of wages payable and the normal hours of work.

A contract of employment may, apart from specifying the basic wage, also contain a clause specifying that an allowance of ‘X’ euro is paid in respect of up to ‘Y’ number of hours worked in excess of the normal working week. Such overtime may exceed 8 hours in a particular week provided that on average the 48 hour maximum is not exceeded.

Right to refuse Overtime

An employee who chooses not to give his/her consent to work over an average of 48 hours a week cannot be asked to work beyond such an average. On the other hand, the employer can oblige an employee to work overtime:

- when the total hours of work do not exceed an average of 48 hours a week

- when an employee has consented in writing to work over such an average.

It is important to note that according to the Protection of Maternity (Employment) Regulations, notwithstanding anything stated to the contrary in any other law, regulation, order, collective agreement or in any contract of service, employees shall not be obliged to work overtime under the following situations:

- during pregnancy

- for a period of twelve months from either the birth of his or her child or from the effective date of the adoption of a child.

This right shall be a non transferable right.

Banking Of Hours

Legal Notice 46 of 2012, Overtime Regulations, makes reference to a mechanism in which an employer may introduce schemes to bank hours. For further information kindly Click HERE.

Article by DIER, for further information please contact us or visit the website DIER

National minimum wage

What is the minimum wage for the current year?

For 2020, the national minimum wage per week of whole-time employees is:

Age 18 years and over	€179.33*
Age 17 years	€172.55
Under 17 years	€169.71

Other Sectoral Minimum Wages determined from the economic activity of the enterprise as stipulated in the applicable WRO may apply. Every employee is entitled to the statutory bonus and weekly allowance.

*National Agreement on the Minimum Wage signed by the Social Partners on the 28th of April 2017 and effective by means of Legal Notice 144 of 2017.

1. Employees on a minimum wage will, upon completion of the first year of employment with the same employer, be entitled to mandatory increases (over and above COLA adjustments for 2017, 2018 and 2019) of €3 per week in the second year of employment, and upon completion of the second year, to an additional €3 per week.

2. Employees earning more than the basic minimum wage will still be entitled to the portion of the increases mentioned in Point 1 during the second and third year of employment. This will place such employees on the minimum established wage for the second and third year of employment.

3. For existing employees on the minimum wage who have been with the same employer for more than a year, as on the date of signing of this agreement, this measure will be introduced as follows:

- With effect from 1stJanuary 2017: up to a maximum of €3 per week adjustment as per Point 2 above.

- In 2018: up to a maximum of €3 per week adjustment as per Point 2 above.

- In 2019: the balance to reach an increase of €6 in the minimum wage provided that the employee will have been in employment with the same employer for three years or more

4. Employees on the minimum wage who are transferred or offered new employment with another company within the same group of companies will carry their accumulated years of service for the purposes of the increases stipulated in this agreement.

5. Low wage earners who are affected by the increase in wages stipulated in Point 1 and 2, and who are engaged on a definite term contract, shall not on its expiry be replaced by another person for up to a period of one year unless for good and sufficient cause. If, within six months of expiry of the first contract, the employee is offered another definite term contract, the two periods shall be considered as one continuous period, both in terms of law, and for the purpose of this agreement.

Scenario 1

Employment engagement date					06.12.2014
2017 Minimum Wage					€169.76
2017 Wage received by employee					€169.76