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Our Government has recognised that Ireland has the highest minimum wage in Europe after Luxembourg. However, new research from the European Commission (EC) has brought an interesting fact to light. When Ireland’s minimum wages is adjusted to reflect purchasing power based on the cost of living here, the Irish minimum wage drops four places to sixth in Europe. Our minimum wages then is lower than that paid in the UK, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
There is speculation that the Government is looking at adjusting our minimum wage particularly if it “becomes an impediment to job-creation” according to Brian Lenihan, the finance minister. Michael Martin, the foreign affairs minister also feels that the future of our minimum wage should be open to discussion.

Currently, when looked at in monetary terms only, recipients in Ireland are paid €1,462 per month compared with €1,642 in Luxembourg and €1,010 in the UK. However, when compared in purchasing power the gap between the countries narrows considerably. There is only €2 difference between the value in Ireland and in the UK. Interesting……

A recent spate of e-mails has been circulating supposedly from the Irish Revenue Commissioners. The mail asks recipients for personal details including their date of birth and credit card details so that they may make a refund of tax. Revenue have confirmed that they have not issued such mails and never request personal details by e-mail or pop-up windows. Beware!

Taxsaver Customers can now benefit from a discount on car insurance. The Taxsaver Scheme is an incentive currently operated by many employers encouraging and benefiting employees using public transport. The scheme allows passengers purchase their travel passes exclusive of PAYE and PRSI including Employers PRSI. A new offer from Allianz Direct Car Insurance offers those holding an annual taxsaver ticket a 10% discount. While their website does not yet have the details, you can call Allianz Direct on 01 6133666 for more details.

There is no doubt that swine flu will have an effect on businesses this year. We recommend that employers consider how continuity of services can be maintained if employees are affected by this illness. While the workplace is not a causative factor, employers should implement preventative measures to minimise the risk of an outbreak. Reports indicate that strict adherence to hygiene is one of the most important issues, particularly in respect of hand hygiene. It is recommended that employers provide and encourage proper hand washing and regular cleaning of all hard surfaces including door handles, light switches and work surfaces with anti-bacterial sprays or wipes. The use and proper disposal of tissues for employees who are coughing or sneezing is imperative and regular sanitising of equipment such as computer keyboards, phones and tills will help maintain a hygienic work environment.

As an employer you should consider the continuity of services as absenteeism is predicted to reach a peak of 40%. Are there trained replacement personnel available at short notice for critical services and processes? Could work processes be changed even on a temporary basis to allow employees work from home for example? Face to face visits with clients and suppliers might be replaced with conference calling.

You should also consider what your policy is in terms of sick pay if you do not currently have a sick pay scheme. There is no obligation for employers in Ireland to pay employees out sick unless it is included in their Terms & Conditions of Employment. Under the Safety Health & Welfare at Work Act 2005, the employer is obliged to provide a safe place of work and may insist on staff staying away from the workplace on this basis. It may be worth considering introducing specific swine flu policies to guide staff in the event that the contract the flu. Deliberate breach or ignorance of such a policy should be a disciplinary matter and staff should be made aware of the possible consequences.

In emergency situations, your staff may be entitled to paid Force Majeure Leave under the Parental Leave Act 1998. Such leave is only available in restricted emergency circumstances and for a maximum of 3 days in one year or 5 days in 3 years. This leave can only be availed of if certain close family members and only applies if the family member is actually ill or injured and the immediate presence of the employee is required. There is no minimum period of employment required for an employee to be entitled to force majeure leave.
More Information for businesses is available from www.forfas.ie, www.enterprise-ireland.com and www.idaireland.com. A National Pandemic Influenza Plan is available from www.hse.ie and www.dohc.ie An excellent document with advise for businesses on preparing for an Epidemic is available at http://www.hse.ie/eng/swineflu/detebcm.pdf. The information guides employers through an implementation plan and even has case studies for various business types. Well worth a look!

Over the past few months we have, unfortunately, had a record number of enquiries about Redundancies and Short-time. Redundancy is where an employee’s position ceases to exist and the employee is not replaced. Any employee aged 16 or over with 104 weeks’ continuous service with an employer is entitled to a statutory redundancy payment in this situation. Many employers are now putting full time staff on shorter hours in their efforts to lessen the impact of a slowdown in business for their staff.

The state jobs agency FAS says that the rise in part-time workers “possibly indicates that some employers are using part-time work as an interim measure to either avoid or postpone redundancies”.

Part-time employment now accounts for more than 1 in 5 jobs in the Irish labour market. According to FAS, “males have been the worst affected by the rise in unemployment, primarily due to their high representation in the construction sector. There are now more than twice as many men as women on the Live Register, with the ‘gender gap’ increasing by over 100,000 over the last two years.”

Jobseekers this year tend to be manual and clerical workers with mangers and professional/technical workers increasing too. New apprentices entering the workforce has fallen by 63% in the first half of 2009.

If redundancy is inevitable, the statutory redundancy payment is two week’s gross pay per year of service up to a ceiling of €600 per week plus one week’s pay, which is also subject to the ceiling of €600. This payment is tax-free. The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) website at www.employmentrights.ie provides a useful on-line redundancy calculator.

Employers can claim 60% of the statutory redundancy payment back from the Social Insurance Fund provided they have given the employees the proper notice on Form RP50 Part A, and submitting the Form RP50 to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

It is important to establish the amount of notice the employee is entitled to. This is determined by the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts or the contract of employment, whichever is the longer. An employee may be able to claim redundancy without being dismissed if they are put on “short-term” for at least four weeks.

Short time means that they are earning less than half their normal weekly amount due to lack of work available. If the employee is informed that they are temporarily on short time they can claim redundancy after four consecutive weeks or six broken weeks in a thirteen week period. If the employee is informed that there is temporarily no work for four weeks, and is “laid off”, Form RP9 should be completed for the employee to claim redundancy.