Record-keeping Requirements
Employers need to be aware that there are regulations which place a requirement on them to retain certain information in relation to their employees for specific periods of time. The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) has the authority to attend a company’s premises and conduct an inspection and the company will need to be able to provide them with a number of details.
• Employer’s registration number.
• A list of all employees including full names, addresses and PPS numbers.
• Dates of commencement and if relevant, dates of termination of employments.
• Written terms of employment for employees.
• Employee’s job classification.
• A record of annual leave and public holidays taken by each employee.
• Hours of work for each employee.
• Copies of payslips and payroll details for each employee.
• A register of employees under 18 years of age.
• Details of any board or lodgings provided.
• Employment permits or evidence that a permit is not required for non-EEA nationals.
A NERA inspection can be initiated
a. In response to complaints received of alleged non-compliance with relevant employment rights legislation.
b. As part of NERA’s compliance campaigns which focus on compliance in a specific sector or a specific piece of legislation.
c. Routine inspections.
Apart from the requirements of NERA, there are a number of other documents that employers are required to retain. These include details of Parental Leave, Force Majeure and Carer’s Leave.
Employers should also be mindful that there are other documents that are not covered by regulations that they would be best advised to retain. Documentation relating to recruitment, training and health and safety may prove indispensible in the event of a dispute and should be kept on file for a period of time. For example an employee may dispute that they were not trained on a particular part of his/her role or that they were not informed of a particular policy within the organisation that he/she had contravened. The employer will need to have the records in place to demonstrate that this training/informing did take place.
For a list of some of the main requirements and recommendations. See http://www.brightcontracts.ie/downloads/RecordKeepingRequirements.pdf
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks
BrightPay – Payroll Software
Read more at www.workplacerelations.ie >
Restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanian workers removed
The Government has decided to cease restrictions on labour market access in respect of Bulgarian and Romanian nationals, to the Irish labour market. This decision was made on the 17th July 2012 and is effective from the 1st January 2012 and means that all Bulgarian and Romanian nationals can work in Ireland without a requirement for work permits.
What is a work Permit?
A Work Permit is an employment permit issued to the employee, which permits his or her employment in the State by the employer in the occupation specified on the permit. It will be issued for an initial period of two years and can then be renewed for a further three years. After five years, the work permit can be renewed indefinitely.
Guidelines and application forms for work permits can be found on the Bright Contracts website. http://www.brightcontracts.ie/docs/work-permits/
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll Software
Dismissal during Probation
Many employers are of the mistaken belief that if an employee is still in his/her probationary period, that they are not obliged to follow their own disciplinary process in dealing with that employee and can dismiss that employee without due process if they so decide.
In a recent case the Labour Court noted that the employer confirmed that it did not follow it's own disciplinary procedures as it was of the belief that it was not obliged to do so as the Claimant had less than one year’s service. In that case the employee was awarded compensation of €5,000 as the dismissal was found to be unfair on both procedural and substantive grounds. This is well trodden ground for employers and numerous Labour Court decisions over time have established that the employer must follow fair procedures within a probationary period.
The Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures outlines the principles of fair procedures for both employers and employees and can be taken into account by the Court in assessing any case. Employers are obliged to provide all employees with written details of the dismissal process in operation in an organisation within 28 days of commencement, whether through an employee handbook or separate procedures. It is therefore important for employers to ensure that these established procedures follow best practice and comply with the guidelines outlined in this code. It is imperative for the employers to follow these procedures as set out.
The purpose of a probationary period is to evaluate an employee’s performance in doing a job and potential abilities to determine their suitability for the position. The implementation of this evaluation is a process specific to the probationary period, but as with disciplinary procedures the principles of natural justice must apply. Any shortfall in performance should be discussed and documented during the course of the period. In this way the employee is made aware of the issue and is given an opportunity to improve. A formal performance review meeting should be held between the employee and the manager at the end of the period.
The bottom line is that a probationary period does not give the employer a free hand to ignore their own procedures.
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll Software
Read more at www.brightcontracts.ie >
Reference Letters - Stick to the Facts
A recent decision by the Labour Court highlighted once again the importance of having control over the issuing of references to current or past employees.
The case involved the HSE and an employee and the Labour Court found that the employee had a permanent job offer withdrawn by the HSE on foot of an internal reference that contained inaccurate and incorrect information about her work performance and employment record. The Court recommended that the employee be continued in employment by the HSE in a temporary capacity without interruption pending her appointment to the first next suitable and appropriate permanent vacancy that becomes available.
The employee had made efforts to have the reference removed or corrected but it was retained on file and the Court also recommended that the employee be paid a sum of €10,000 in compensation for the delay in dealing with and addressing the issues raised and the distress caused to her.
Employers are advised to think carefully about how they approach the writing of reference letters for current or past employees. It is important to take a consistent approach for all employees and this can best be achieved by ensuring that all letters come from a central source rather than letting individual managers write references for their own staff. It is advisable that the letters are limited to factual information about the employee’s career with the Company such as start date, position, job description, working hours, changes to their role over the course of employment, promotions, locations changes and changes to working hours. Employers should refrain from making any subjective assessment on how the employee performed in their role.
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll Software.
Unfair Dismissal ruling against Supermac's for dismissing an employee accused of theft
A FORMER Supermac’s employee, who was fired after being accused of stealing from the restaurant in Portlaoise where he worked, has been awarded more than €33,000 by the Employment Appeals Tribunal for unfair dismissal.
Despite the Garda dropping charges against him, Daryl Mason was dismissed for gross misconduct from his position as a store supervisor following an in-house investigation by Supermac’s into missing cash lodgements. His appeal to the company’s human resources manager failed.
In making its determination, the tribunal noted the area manager had been “too hasty” in making his decision to fire Mr Mason.
The tribunal awarded Mr Mason €32,000 under the Unfair Dismissal Acts, 1977 to 2007, and a further €1,700 under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973 to 2005.
Bright Contracts – Employment Contracts and Handbooks
BrightPay – Payroll Software
Read more at www.irishtimes.com >
Costs of Employment Set to Increase
At a recent launch of a new government website, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton TD stated that:
A key part of our plan for jobs and growth is reducing costs, particularly by reducing where possible that Government regulations impose on business.
Recent speeches and mutterings coming from the Government parties suggest however, that the burden being imposed on employers is likely to increase rather than reduce. Some of these mutterings may be considered as kite-flying on behalf of the Government, but can only lead us to conclude that employers need to be prepared to face higher costs of employment.
Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton has suggested in a speech that the PRSI contributions of employers will have to increase and we are facing the prospect of employers being made responsible for the payment of sick leave to their employees. These extra costs are likely to affect the small firms in particular who are already struggling to maintain jobs in a difficult environment. This follows on from the reduction of rebate on statutory redundancy from 60% to 15%, which was made in the budget last December.
If the proposals on sick pay are introduced, employers who currently don’t pay any sick pay will find themselves with an immediate extra cost. At the moment if the business is able to get by without the absent individual and the state pays the benefit costs, the employer may ignore the absence without seeing an effect on their cash flow. The emphasis will have to be different if these changes go through and employers will have to proactively manage the issue.
As part of this absence management, and in order to reduce the exposure to higher costs, it is important that employers ensure that details on how certified absence will be managed within the company are included in the contract of employment and handbook.
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll Software
