Introduction

Employers are responsible for ensuring all their employees receive certain basic employment rights. These rights are governed by detailed employment legislation. If you employ people or are setting up a business that will employ people you need to be familiar with your responsibilities and your employees’ rights.

Definition of an employee

Employers engage persons on either contract of service or contracts for services. Only a person engaged under a contract of service is an employee and therefore protected by the full range of employment legislation. An independent contractor or self-employed person will have a contract for services with the party for whom the work is being done. The distinction between a contract of service, and a contract for services can sometimes be unclear but the type of contract a person is engaged under can have serious implications for both employer and employee in matters such as employment protection legislation, taxation and social welfare.

Contracts and terms of employment

While the full contract of employment does not have to be in writing, you must give your employee certain terms and conditions of employment in writing within 2 months of starting employment. This information must include the full names of the employer and the employee and details of the job title, the pay, hours of work, notice requirements.

While most terms and conditions of employment are stated in a written contract or a company handbook you should be aware that custom and practice in the workplace can also constitute a term of employment, for example, a mid-morning break of 10 minutes.

If you, as the employer, wish to change a term or condition of employment you must agree this change with your employee. This requirement for both the employer’s and the employee’s consent to changes in the terms of the contract is part of contract law.

Rates of pay

Most experienced adult workers are entitled to be paid a minimum wage of €9.25 per hour (correct at time of publication). There are however, some exceptions to this minimum wage, including people employed by close relatives, people aged under 18 and trainees or apprentices. You must also give your employees payslips showing their wages and any deductions that have been made.

Hours of work, breaks and rest periods

You are responsible for ensuring that your employees are given adequate rest. The Organisation of Working Time Act sets down the rules governing maximum working hours and daily and weekly rest breaks.

Leave

Nearly all employees, full-time, part-time, temporary or casual have annual leave and public holiday entitlements from the time they start work. Most employees are entitled to 4 weeks paid annual leave per leave year. Part-time workers ‘entitlement is generally calculated as 8% of the hours worked subject to a maximum of 4 working weeks per leave year. Employers can determine the timing of annual leave, taking into consideration work and personal requirements; however, you should consult your employee or their union in advance. Your employee can request pay for annual leave in advance. You are also obliged to allow employees to avail of statutory protective leave, such as maternity leave, paternity leave, health and safety leave, parental leave, adoptive leave, and carer’s leave. There is specific legislation setting down the rules for each entitlement.

Tax and PRSI

You are responsible for deducting the correct amount of tax, PRSI, and Universal Social Charge from your employees’ wages and remitting these to Revenue using the PAYE system. You also pay employer’s PRSI contributions. You must register as an employer with Revenue.

Employment records

As an employer, you are required to keep certain records relating to your employees. This is to show that you are compliant with employment legislation. Workplace Relations Commission inspectors will require access to these records during an inspection.

Health and safety in the workplace

Under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act employers have a duty to ensure employees ‘safety, health and welfare at work as far as is reasonably practicable. In order to prevent workplace injuries and ill health you are required, among other things, to:

• Provide and maintain a safe workplace, machinery and equipment
• Prevent risks from use of any article or substance and from exposure to physical agents, noise and vibration
• Prevent any improper conduct or behaviour likely to put the safety, health and welfare of employees at risk (“horseplay” and bullying at work come within these categories)
• Provide instruction and training to employees on health and safety
• Provide protective clothing and equipment to employees (at no cost to employees)
• Appoint a competent person as the organisation’s Safety Officer

Every employer is required to carry out a risk assessment for the workplace which should identify any hazards in the workplace, assess the risks arising from such hazards and identify the steps to be taken to deal with any risks. You must also prepare a safety statement based on the risk assessment. The Health and Safety Authority provides tools to help you with these tasks. Employers are obliged to report any accident that results in an employee missing 3 consecutive days at work (not including the day of the accident) to the Health and Safety Authority.

Disciplinary procedures and dismissal

The Workplace Relations Commission has a Code of Practice: Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures which states that employers should have written grievance and disciplinary procedures. Disciplinary procedures set out the stages and process you should follow in relation to alleged shortcomings of an employee.

Generally, the procedures allow for informal warnings leading to written warnings and ultimately to dismissal. Under the Unfair Dismissals Acts you are required to give employees written notice of the procedures to be followed before dismissal. This must be done within 28 days of entering the contract of employment.

You should give employees copies of these at the start of their employment. If you are considering dismissal you must follow fair procedures. This includes giving your employee appropriate warnings, making them fully aware of the allegations against them and give them an opportunity to present their side. You must also give them the opportunity to be represented in any disciplinary procedures by, for example, a trade union official or other representative.

If you do dismiss an employee you must be able to show that that there were fair grounds for the dismissal and that fair procedures were followed. You can read more in our document on fair grounds for dismissal.

Further information

For further information please email Barry Crushell of Aperture Partners Advisory at bcrushell@aperturepartners.ie or call 01-9053503.

Please note that the material contained herein is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice. Reference accurate at time of publication but subject to change.