Amorys Solicitors LLP Law Firm in Dublin - Logo 2024

COVID-19 Pandemic – Information For Employers

by | Mar 27, 2020 | Employment and Industrial Relations

The aim of the government during this pandemic is to help employers keep as many of their staff on their payroll as possible. A number of schemes have been put in place over the last two weeks to help employers deal with the unprecedented economic fallout from the spread of Covid-19.

  1. Temporary Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme – employers must show that at least 25% of their trade has been lost and they will then be able to claim 70% of their employee’s net wage back (up to a maximum of €410) through the scheme. The scheme is operated by Revenue and employers are expected to make their best efforts to maintain as close to 100% of normal income during the operation of the scheme.   Employers are also encouraged by the government, where possible, to top up their employee’s wages to maintain them at their current level of earnings.
  2. Short Time Work Support Scheme – if an employer needs to place their staff on a shorter working week or where they have had to cut their hours due to the pandemic, the employees can apply for this scheme.   Short Time Work Support is a form of Jobseeker’s Benefit and is a payment made in respect of the employee’s regular salary for the days they are no longer working. Employees must be working three days per week or less and also must have the required number of PRSI contributions in order to qualify.
  3. Recruitment Supports – if you are an employer looking to recruit staff in the following sectors:-
  • Medical/pharma
  • Healthcare
  • Retail/general operatives
  • Agri-food
  • Logistics/driving

the Employer Relations National Team is actively helping employers to recruit in these sectors during the pandemic. The Employer Engagement Contact List has details of all of the local employer relations divisions.

There are a range of supports available for your employees during the pandemic:-

  1. Employees who must self-isolate – For employees who are not diagnosed with Covid-19, but are required to self-isolate they can apply for illness benefit for Covid-19 absences. The payment will be made for a maximum of two weeks and the employee must remain confined in self-isolation in their home or a medical facility. In the unfortunate event that they are diagnosed with Covid-19, they will be entitled to the payment for up to ten weeks.
  2. Supplementary Welfare Allowance – if the employee is in receipt of the enhanced illness benefit for Covid-19 absence and the employer does not pay sick leave beyond the level paid by the State and the employee finds themselves in financial difficulty, they can apply for additional emergency income support. The supplementary welfare allowance is means tested.
  3. Workers who are requested to stay at home by their employer, but are unable to work from home, can apply for the pandemic unemployment payment of €350 per week.
  4. Caring for a person with Covid-19 – if your employee is required to take time off work to care for a person who has contracted Covid-19, they are entitled to apply for the Illness benefit for Covid-19 absences.
  5. Force Majeure Leave – employees are entitled to force majeure leave to provide urgent care to an immediate family relative (child, spouse, sibling, parent or grandparent). They are entitled to 3 days of force majeure leave within a 12 month period, or 5 days within a 36 month period. Given the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, employers are being encouraged to facilitate employees as much as possible by allowing them to take the full 5 days of leave within one block.
  6. Parental Leave – parents are entitled to take up to 22 weeks unpaid leave to care for each child up to 12 years of age, 16 years of age for a child with a disability, with 6 weeks’ notice required however employers have the discretion to waive the notice periods. Parents can also take two weeks of leave for each child under the age of 1 year born on or after the 1st of November 2019 and are entitled to receive Parent’s Benefit for the two weeks.

There is due to be an amendment made to the Redundancy Payment Act 1967 under the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Bill 2020 such that Section 12 of the Act will not have effect during the ‘emergency period’ between the 13th March 2020 and the 31st May 2020. The amendment will ensure that employees who have been laid-off or put on short time will not be able to seek redundancy payments during the ‘emergency period’ to avoid a situation where employers find themselves unable to pay redundancy claims where cash-flow may be severely restricted as a result of the pandemic. The amendment ensures that Section 12 ‘shall not have effect during the emergency period in respect of an employee who has been laid off or kept on short-time due to the effects of measures required to be taken by his or her employer in order to comply with, or as a consequence of, Government policy to prevent, limit, minimise or slow the spread of infection of Covid-19’.

Watch this space for further updates once the Bill has passed.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, it has been provided for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Amorys Solicitors is a boutique commercial and private client law firm in Sandyford, Dublin 18, Ireland.
For further information and advice in relation to “Covid-19 Pandemic – Information For Employers”, please contact Daragh Burke, Amorys Solicitors daragh@amoryssolicitors.com, telephone 01 213 5940 or your usual contact at Amorys.
Download Buying Residential Property Guide 2020

Get Your Guide to Purchasing Residential Property

Click here to Download

COVID-19 Pandemic – Information For Employees

by | Mar 27, 2020 | Employment and Industrial Relations

The Covid-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented economic disruption in Ireland with 350,000 people expected to lose their jobs in the coming weeks and months.   The Department of Social Welfare has received the equivalent of 10 months’ worth of social welfare applications over the last ten days. The government has moved quickly to implement specific supports for employees whose jobs are affected by the pandemic.

 

  1. The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment – is a weekly payment of €350 and is available to employees and the self-employed who have lost their job on (or after) March 13 due to the pandemic.   Details of the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment can be found on the Gov.ie website.  You can apply online for the payment on the mywelfare.ie website. To be eligible for the payment you must:-
    • Be aged between 18-66 years old
    • Live in the Republic of Ireland
    • Have lost your job, been temporarily laid off, asked to stay at home and you are no longer receiving payment from your employer due to the Covid 19 pandemic
    • be self-employed and have ceased trading due to the pandemic
  1. Short Time Work Support – If you have been temporarily placed on a shorted working week, you may qualify for the Short Time Work Support. Short Time Work Support is a form of Jobseeker’s Benefit and is a payment made in respect of the employee’s regular salary for the days they are no longer working. Employees must be working three days per week or less and also must have the required number of PRSI contributions in order to qualify.
  2. Self-isolation – For employees who are not diagnosed with Covid-19, but are required to self-isolate you can apply for illness benefit for Covid-19 absences. The payment will be made for a maximum of two weeks and you must remain confined in self-isolation in your home or a medical facility. In the unfortunate event that you are diagnosed with Covid-19, you will be entitled to the payment for up to ten weeks.
  3. Supplementary Welfare Allowance – if you are in receipt of the enhanced illness benefit for Covid-19 absence and your employer does not pay sick leave beyond the level paid by the State and you find yourself in financial difficulty, you can apply for additional emergency income support. The supplementary welfare allowance is means tested.
  4. Workers who are requested to stay at home by their employer, but are unable to work from home, can apply for the pandemic unemployment payment of €350 per week.
  5. Caring for a person with Covid-19 – if you are required to take time off work to care for a person who has contracted Covid-19, you are entitled to apply for the Illness benefit for Covid-19 absences.
  6. Force Majeure Leave – employees are entitled to force majeure leave to provide urgent care to an immediate family relative (child, spouse, sibling, parent or grandparent). You are entitled to 3 days of force majeure leave within a 12 month period, or 5 days within a 36 month period. Given the extraordinary circumstances of the Covid-19 pandemic, employers should be trying where possible to facilitate employees by allowing them to take the full 5 days of leave within one block.
  7. Parental Leave – parents are entitled to take up to 22 weeks unpaid leave to care for each child up to 12 years of age, 16 years of age for a child with a disability, with 6 weeks’ notice required however employers have the discretion to waive the notice periods. Parents can also take two weeks of leave for each child under the age of 1 year born on or after the 1st of November 2019 and are entitled to receive Parent’s Benefit for the two weeks.
Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, it has been provided for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Amorys Solicitors is a boutique commercial and private client law firm in Sandyford, Dublin 18, Ireland.
For further information and advice in relation to “Covid-19 Pandemic – Information For Employees”, please contact Daragh Burke, Amorys Solicitors daragh@amoryssolicitors.com, telephone 01 213 5940 or your usual contact at Amorys.
Download Buying Residential Property Guide 2020

Get Your Guide to Purchasing Residential Property

Click here to Download

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 – Far Reaching Implications for Employers

by | Jul 10, 2018 | Company and Commercial Law, Employment and Industrial Relations, Mergers & Acquisition

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 (“the Bill”) which is now at committee stage is expected to be enacted later this year. The Bill if enacted will have wide ranging effects for employers, in particular regarding “low hour” or “zero-hour” contracts. Below, we discuss a number of the more topical aspects of the Bill which we expect to be of concern to employers:-

  1. Terms of employment

If enacted, it will be a requirement for employers to provide employees with a written statement within five days of commencement of employment confirming the following:-

  • The full names of the employer and employee;
  • The address of the employer;
  • The duration of the contract;
  • The method of calculating remuneration;
  • The hours the employee is to be expected to work per week.

From a practical point of view and in an effort to avoid the sanctions under the Bill, it is advisable that employers should include the foregoing information in any offer letter being issued to a new employee. A contract of employment can then be issued inside the 8-week period as provided for in the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994.

In the Bill’s current format, where an employer is convicted for failure to comply with the foregoing, they may be liable on summary conviction to a Class A  (ie up to €5,000) fine and or a term of imprisonment not exceeding 12 months.

  1. Banded hours of work

In circumstances where the average hours an employee is working per week is greater than the contracted hours then in such circumstances, the employee on request is entitled to move to a higher band of hours. The reference period to be taken into account is proposed to be 12 months and the bands are as follows:-

Band                                                 From                                   

A                                                          3 to 6 hours

B                                                          6 to11 hours

C                                                          11 to 16 hours

D                                                         16 to 21 hours

E                                                          21 to 26 hours

F                                                          26 to 31 hours

G                                                         31 to 36 hours

H                                                         36 hours plus.

 

The above is of concern to employers and is expected to have a detrimental effect on businesses. In reality, it is widely expected that this new provision will force employers to close during quieter periods so as to avoid employees gaining rights under this provision. The concern is that if employees gain the right to move up in the bands then the employer may not be in a financial position to meet the increased wages over the longer term. The Bill is silent on the reduction of hours when the hours are not available at a later date.

  1. Employers to offer hours to part-time staff

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 imposes an obligation on employers to offer additional hours that may become available to existing part-time staff. The provision in its current format essentially prevents an employer from offering such additional work to full-time individuals. This measure clearly has an overly burdensome effect on how an employer can run their business. The provision is wide and fails to address issues such as skills and training and puts unreasonable expectation on employers to provide such additional hours to staff that simply may not be trained or qualified to carry out such work. Furthermore, it is likely that the provision will have a serious impact on custom and practice within organisations. For example, in situations where it is customary that overtime is regularly worked by full-time staff, it will not be within the gift of an employer to allow full-time staff to continue in this form. It will be set out in legislation that any such available hours will have to be provided to part-time workers where there are part-time workers employed.

  1. Prohibition on zero-hour contracts

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 imposes a strict prohibition on zero-hour contracts. If passed zero-hour contracts will only be allowed in circumstances which are genuinely casual in nature and in emergency cover situations. Again, the restriction is overly restrictive and may well result in employers not being able to fill casual or part-time roles for fear of falling foul of the proposed legislation.

  1. Conclusion

It is clear from the foregoing that if passed the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 will have far-reaching implications for employers. Given the overly onerous provisions in the Bill, it is regrettable that there does not appear to have been prior consultation with employers. In the circumstances, you may consider it appropriate to raise the issue with your elected representatives.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, it has been provided for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Amorys Solicitors is a boutique commercial and private client law firm in Sandyford, Dublin 18, Ireland.
For further information and advice in relation to “The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017”, please contact Brian Kirwan, partner, Amorys Solicitors brian@amoryssolicitors.com, telephone 01 213 5940 or your usual contact at Amorys.
Download Buying Residential Property Guide 2020

Get Your Guide to Purchasing Residential Property

Click here to Download

Employment Rights during Adverse Weather Conditions

by | Mar 5, 2018 | Employment and Industrial Relations

In the aftermath of Storm Emma, we answer five common questions from employers on the impact of severe weather conditions on the employer/ employee relationship.

  1. My office was closed during severe weather conditions. Do I have to pay my staff for the days on which my business was shut?

Yes.   An employer who closes a usual place of business prevents an employee from performing the employment contract – technically you are in breach of contract and it follows that an employee should not be at a loss as a result

  1. My office was open for business during the severe weather conditions but my employees could not get to work, am I obliged to pay them for the days not worked?

Unless specifically agreed in the employment contract or dealt with in an Adverse Weather Conditions Policy to the contrary, you do not have to pay your employee for days on which s/he could not attend work due to adverse weather conditions if the office was open for business during that time.  For the same reason as outlined above it is the employee who is in breach of the employment contract and the employer should not, therefore, be at a loss as a result.

Your options are to agree with the employee to work from home (but see below re Heath and Safety obligations), require him/her to make up the lost hours through working overtime – usually during the following month-, assign a day or part thereof to annual leave, grant a day or part thereof authorised leave with or without pay or a combination of any of these.

However, deducting pay may not be the best approach for an employer to deal with loss suffered as a result of adverse weather conditions.  An employer would be well advised to consider other ways in which to recover the loss suffered such as agreeing with the employee to make up the time the following week or to assign the day to authorised leave or a combination of both.  Staff morale and your reputation as a good employer may benefit in the long run if you pay staff on a snow day.

  1. Some of my employees could get to work during the bad weather but as crèches and schools were closed, others were unable to attend work due to lack of child care arrangements. What are my options in this situation?

This situation is usually treated separately to the inability to access work due to weather conditions as legislation specifically dealing with this situation is in place under Parental Leave Acts 1998 – 2006.

A parent of a child has the right to take a reasonable amount of time off where it is necessary to deal with the unexpected disruption, termination or breakdown of arrangements to care for the child. An employee finding himself/ herself in this scenario must explain the reason for the length of his/her absence to an employer as soon as reasonably practicable. Unless specifically agreed in an employment contract or contained in a policy, you do not need to pay your employee for this day. However as with answer no. 2 above this is one situation where the letter of the law says one thing and common sense dictates another. There is a value to having strong staff morale and a reputation as a good employer and it might therefore be worth assigning authorised leave with pay to the snow day. The employee is protected from suffering any detriment for taking the time off and cannot be the subject of disciplinary action as a result. The child must be under the age of 8.  Further details on unpaid parental leave are available on the Workplace Relations Commission Guide to the Parental Leave Acts.

  1. How can I best deal with the impact of Adverse Weather Conditions on my business in the future?

The best way to deal with the impact of adverse weather conditions on your business is to have a plan in place to ensure the critical dependencies of your business are met during the relevant period in a way which does not pose a risk to the health and safety of your employees.  The Department of Jobs and Enterprise has issued a Business Continuity Planning in Severe Weather Conditions Checklist which offers useful tips to business owners to follow in such circumstances.

In addition, as part of a Business Continuity Plan your organisation should have an Adverse Weather Conditions policy in place which:-

  1. Acknowledges that an employer has a duty of care to ensure that employees do not risk their health and safety attending work during extreme weather conditions;
  2. Confirms a general expectation that every staff member will make every reasonable effort to get to work;
  3. Sets out a general obligation on staff members to report inability to attend and the reasons for same specifically referring to the usual mode of transport and lack of available alternatives by way of public transport or otherwise to a person of suitable authority within your organisation as soon as reasonably practicable;
  4. Outlines the options available to the staff member who has been unable to attend work due to extreme weather or other circumstances outside his/her control (ie to work from home, requirement to work overtime, usually during the following month, surrender a day or part thereof to annual leave, elect to have a day’s authorised leave with pay, overtime or a combination of all perhaps).

As with any policy, it should be communicated to the workforce and, if necessary, training should be provided to those who will be handling the day to day aspects of weather disruption.

If an employer has reason to believe that an employee is using the weather or other event as a convenient excuse, the employer can choose to investigate the matter and take disciplinary action if necessary.

  1. The nature of my business requires employees to work during adverse weather conditions. How can I best deal with this?

In this day and age, many jobs can be done from home, and employees who frequently work at home should be encouraged to do so when bad weather approaches.

However, employers need to be aware that asking an employee to work from home during adverse weather conditions when a requirement to do so is not included in his/her contract of employment, constitutes a unilateral variation of the contract which requires advance consultation with the staff member.  Therefore technically speaking if you have not agreed this arrangement with the employee in advance of the snow day, an employee is not obliged to work from home.

Employers should also consider the health and safety aspects of homeworking before imposing such a requirement: some employees’ homes will simply not be set up to be turned into a temporary workplace.  Even when employees work from home, an employer still owes that employee a duty of care to ensure a safe place of work exists.

  1. During extreme weather conditions, I find it difficult to keep a moderate temperature in the office. Is there a minimum and/or maximum temperature required for a workplace?

There is no prescribed temperature as ‘too hot’ under current rules but generally, an employer has an obligation to ensure a safe place of work for its employees. The Guide to Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 acknowledges that for most people an acceptable temperature for office work lies between 18C and 23C.

Notwithstanding the above, a minimum temperature of 17.5 C for the first hour of work has been set by section 7 of the Guide to Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 and 16 C for the hours after that in a sedentary workplace environment.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, it has been provided for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Specific advice is required in each individual scenario.Amorys Solicitors is a boutique commercial and private client law firm in Sandyford, Dublin 18, Ireland.
For further information and advice in relation to “Employment Rights during Adverse Weather Conditions” or if you would like us to draft an appropriate Adverse Weather Conditions Policy for your employment contracts, please contact Deirdre Farrell, partner, Amorys Solicitors deirdre@amoryssolicitors.com, telephone 01 213 5940 or your usual contact at Amorys.
Download Buying Residential Property Guide 2020

Get Your Guide to Purchasing Residential Property

Click here to Download

Are You Ready For The Gender Pay Gap?

by | Dec 12, 2017 | Employment and Industrial Relations

Are you aware of the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (Gender Pay Gap Information) Bill 2017 which is in the Seanad. The Bill was proposed by the Labour Party and has been accepted by the Government as part of its Programme for Government.

  • Employers of 50 employees upwards will be required to report the average pay differential between male and female earnings in roles (gender pay gap).
  • Employers will be required to report on:
    • The difference in the average hourly rate of pay between male and female employees
    • The difference in bonus pay between male and female employees
    • The proportion of male and female employees who are eligible to be paid a bonus
    • The proportion of male and female employees at four levels in an organisation called quartiles
  • It will be an offence to breach the obligation to report the Gender Pay Gap, and there will be a fine of up to €5,000 for a breach.
  • At present the average gender pay gap in the Republic of Ireland is 14.9%, and this differs from industry to industry. Employers should review the gender pay gap in their industry and how they compare.
  • Employers should take care in carrying out any scoping exercise to clarify the gender pay gap. This information may be sought by employees or by Discovery in a litigation context.
  • The Bill is not detailed and is based on the UK model, which is already being implemented on a voluntary basis.

Employers should take pro-active steps to consider their gender pay gap and how they should deal with this as the requirement to report the gap should be in place in the next few months.

“I found the whole process of redundancy stressful. During the redundancy process I found myself overwhelmed at times.

You however were stoic and grounded and I found that helpful“

Anonymous, testimonial 2017

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, it has been provided for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Amorys Solicitors is a boutique commercial and private client law firm in Sandyford, Dublin 18, Ireland.
For further information and advice in relation to “Are You Ready For The Gender Pay Gap?”, please contact Deirdre Farrell, partner, Amorys Solicitors deirdre@amoryssolicitors.com, telephone 01 213 5940 or your usual contact at Amorys.
Download Buying Residential Property Guide 2020

Get Your Guide to Purchasing Residential Property

Click here to Download

Record Damages for Discrimination and Gender Pay Gap

by | Aug 28, 2017 | Commercial Litigation and Disputes, Employment and Industrial Relations

Female army Captain, who served in the army for 9 years was awarded record damages for discrimination when all of her Captain colleagues (who were male) were promoted to Commandant after 9 years in accordance with the Defence Forces Regulations when she was on maternity-leave. The Captain first applied to the High Court to judicially review the decision of the Minister for Defence not to promote her to Commandant. The High Court found the Minister for Defence had breached the Equal Treatment Directive between men and women in not automatically promoting Ms Byrne to Commandant due to her maternity-leave.

As the Captain had left the Army, the Minister for Defence argued the Court should only consider the Captain’s loss of earnings due to the failure to promote her to Commandant in making an award. But the Court found it was foreseeable that Ms. Byrne would leave the army as a result of not being promoted as she was excluded from the promotion process due to her maternity leave. Ms. Byrne was not told that there was a Board being established to consider the issue of promotion. She was treated in a less favourable manner to her work colleagues who were all male. The Court found Ms. Byrne should receive damages for loss of earnings as a result of leaving the army which included pension loss, overseas duties for future duties, bringing it to a total amount of €412,397. This was doubled to take into account taxation to of €824,794. It also took into account her earnings in her new employment.

There are costly implications for employers who fail to treat male and female employees equally. The recent spotlight on the gender pay gap in broadcasting is bringing differences of payment for like work between male and female employees to the fore. Consultation on steps to be taken to address the Gender Gap has been opened today and is advertised in the Independent Newspaper. Employers should take note.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, it has been provided for information purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. Amorys Solicitors is a boutique commercial and private client law firm in Sandyford, Dublin 18, Ireland.

For further information and advice in relation to “Record Damages for Discrimination and Gender Pay Gap”, please contact Deirdre Farrell, partner, Amorys Solicitors deirdre@amoryssolicitors.com, telephone 01 213 5940 or your usual contact at Amorys.
Download Buying Residential Property Guide 2020

Get Your Guide to Purchasing Residential Property

Click here to Download

Pin It on Pinterest