Nov 2017
24
Premature births & maternity benefit
From 1st October 2017, the period for which Maternity Benefit is paid has been extended in cases where a baby is born prematurely. A premature birth is described as one at less than 37 weeks’ gestation. It is estimated that every year in Ireland approximately 4,500 babies are born prematurely.
Currently, under the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004, a mother is entitled to 26 weeks’ maternity leave and 16 weeks’ unpaid leave. Maternity leave normally starts two weeks before the babies expected due date or on the date of the birth of the child should it be earlier.
Under the new amendment, where a child is born prematurely the mother’s paid maternity leave will be extended by the equivalent of the duration between the actual date of birth of the premature baby and the date when the maternity leave was expected to start. For example, where a baby is born in the 30th week of gestation the mother would have an additional entitlement of approximately 7 weeks of maternity leave and benefit i.e. from the date of birth in the 30th week to the two weeks before the expected date of confinement. This additional period will be added onto the mother’s normal entitlement to 26 weeks of maternity leave and benefit, where the mother meets the ordinary qualifying criteria.
Mothers of preterm babies are advised to contact the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP), email maternityben@welfare.ie, to arrange the additional payment.
Babies surviving from the earliest gestations, such as 23 weeks, can spend months in a neonatal unit in hospital, by the time a premature baby gets to go home, a mother’s maternity leave can almost be used up. This new change has been heralded as a positive step in supporting parents during a difficult time.
Related Articles
Nov 2017
1
10% pay rise for Construction Sector under new Sectoral Employment Order
A Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) for the general construction industry has been signed into law by the Minister for State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Pat Breen.
Effective from 19th October 2017, the order provides for mandatory terms and conditions in the construction sector, including pay, pensions and sick leave. In finalising the Order, the Labour Court received submissions from the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), UNITE the Union, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Trustees of the Construction Workers Pension Scheme.
Who does the Order affect?
The Order applies to employers in the construction sector, regardless of whether or not they are CIF members. The sector is defined to include both “Building Firms” and “Civil Engineering Firms”, examples will include companies involved in; construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, painting and decorating. It is estimated that the new Order will apply to approximately 50,000 workers. Notably electricians and plumbers are not included.
Hourly Rates
The new minimum hourly pay rates are:
- New Entrant Workers: €13.77
- Category 1 Workers (General Operatives with more than 1 years’ experience: €17.04
- Category 2 Workers (Skilled General Operatives): €18.36
- Craft Workers (Includes: Bricklayers, Carpenters, Plasterers): €18.93
- Apprentices
- Year 1: 33.3% of Craft Rate
- Year 2: 50% of Craft Rate
- Year 3: 75% of Craft Rate
- Year 4: 90% of Craft Rate
These new rates are approximately 10% higher than they had been under the previous Registered Employment Agreement (REA).
Unsocial Hours
The following unsocial hours payments will now apply:
- Monday to Friday, normal finish time to midnight: time and a half
- Monday to Friday, midnight to normal starting time: double time
- Saturday, first four hours from normal starting time: time and a half. All subsequent hours until midnight: double time
- Sunday, all hours worked: double time
- Public holidays, all hours worked: double time plus an additional day’s leave
Pension Scheme and Sick Pay Scheme
The Order provides that employers must provide pension benefits with no less favourable terms than those in the Construction Workers Pension Scheme (CWPS). The Order also provides for a mandatory sick pay scheme, in recognition of the health and safety risks posed to industry workers.
Dispute Resolution
The Order includes a new dispute resolution procedure. No strike or lock-out is allowed unless and until all stated dispute resolution procedures have been exhausted.
Where to from here?
The Order is a significant development for those in the general construction industry. Employers will need to review their payment practices to ensure that they comply with the new requirements.
To keep up with the latest payroll news, check out our new Bright website. There, you'll be able to register for any of our upcoming payroll webinars and download our payroll guides.
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Jul 2017
24
GDPR - What businesses need to know
Data protection and how personal data is managed is changing forever. On 25 May 2018 the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force. The GDPR is a European privacy regulation replacing all existing data protection regulations.
The current data protection legislation in Ireland dates back to 1998 and 2003, predating current levels of internet usage and cloud technology, making it unsuitable for today’s digital economy.
The GDPR will apply to any personal data of EU cititzens, regardless of whether it is stored within or outside the EU. Most, if not all companies, process a level of personal data, whether it is customer details or employee details, therefore businesses need to be aware and plan for the new legislation.
What is Personal Data
The GDPR substantially expands the definition of personal data. Under GDPR, personal data is any information related to a person, for example a name, a photo, an email address, bank details, their personnel file, or a computer IP address.
Key Changes
Some of the key changes included as part of the GDPR include:
Consent must be clear, distinguishable from other matters and provided in an easily accessible form, using clear and plain language. It must be as easy to withdraw consent as it is to give it.
Breach Notifications: where a breach occurs, the Data Protection Commission and affected data subjects must be notified within 72 hours of the breach coming to light.
Data Subjects will have additional rights, including:
- Access Rights: data subjects may obtain from a data controller confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning them is being processed, where and for what purpose.
- Right to be Forgotten: data subjects will have the right to request that their personal data be erased, or ceased to be processed.
- Data Portability: data subjects will have the right to receive the personal data concerning them, and the right to transmit that data to another controller.
High Penalties
Ignoring the new legislation is ill advised as there are tough new fines for non-compliance. Companies or organisations found to be in breach of the legislation will face fines of up to 4% of annual global revenue or 20 million Euros, whichever is greater. The Data Protection Commissioner is the authority responsible for enforcing data protection obligations in Ireland. In preparation for the legislation, the Commission is doubling it’s workforce, leaving no doubt that they will be taking their new responsibilities extremely seriously.
To Do
If you have yet to start planning for GDPR click here for guidance on how to prepare.
Jun 2014
17
Thesaurus Gets Moving!
A physically active workforce makes so much sense. Research has proven that employees who are physically active have increased productivity, reduced injuries, reduced stress and take less sick days. It’s believed that physical activity reduces absenteeism by up to 20%.
Most employees spend eight hours a day at work, many sitting behind desks, driving or standing at workstations. Considering this, and the increasing rates of obesity in Ireland, it is extremely likely that many employees are not getting sufficient exercise to benefit their health.
Considering all of the above, employers are well advised to promote health and wellbeing in the workplace. There are a number of initiatives that employers can take to promote health and wellbeing, some of which include:
• Providing Health Screening e.g. blood pressure and cholesterol
• Providing healthy eating options in the canteen
• Encouraging employees to be active during their breaks
• Supporting employees to take a fitness class or join a gym
In Thesaurus we’re all office based and spend most of our days sitting behind our desks. In an effort to get our team moving and increase physical activity, we recently completed the Irish Heart Foundation Step Challenge.
We broke into teams and using pedometers counted our daily steps over a four week period. At the end of each week the teams totalled their steps, the totals were then logged on what soon became a very competitive scoreboard! The challenge was to walk at least 10,000 steps per day, some were more successful than others, but everyone got involved and everyone had fun!
The Irish Heart Foundation provided us with all the support material needed to get us up and running/walking. Any workplace looking to create awareness around a healthy lifestyle and looking to have some fun, should consider the Step Challenge. Further details can be found at www.irishheart.ie
Jun 2014
4
Changes to Holiday Pay Calculations
As we enter the summer holiday season employers need to ensure that they are paying their employees correctly during annual leave.
A recent decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) will impact how some annual leave pay is calculated.
Do you pay employee’s commission? Is the commission calculated based on the amount of sales made or actual work carried out? If yes, according to the ECJ, holiday pay should include commission pay.
The decision was made in the case of Locke v British Gas Trading and Others. Locke was a Sales Representative whose commission made up approximately 60% of his remuneration. After taking two weeks leave in 2011, Locke suffered financially as he was unable to generate sales for the period he was on annual leave.
The ECJ ruled that the purpose of annual leave is to allow a worker to enjoy a period of rest and relaxation with sufficient pay. By not including commission payments with holiday pay, employees are less likely to take annual leave so as to avoid financial hardship.
It has been left to the national courts to determine how to calculate the commission to which a worker is entitled, however the court did suggest that taking an average amount of commission earned over a certain period, e.g. the previous 12 months.
Employers are advised to review their commission policies to establish which, if any, payments need to be included in annual leave pay.
Mar 2014
3
How to Roll out Contracts & Handbooks to Existing Staff
Introducing a contract of employment or a handbook for the first time to current employees, can be a difficult, tricky matter for many employers.
It is an area that many employers put on the long finger, or avoid doing until they have to.
Common reasons for not implementing employee documentation include:
• Lack of time
• Fear that employees will refute the terms of the documents and refuse to sign
• Anxiety that documentation will harm the relationship between management and staff, if the employees feel a new set of rules are being entrust upon then
• A false belief that it will restrict how management deal with employees
However, this does not have to be the case. It is possible to introduce new documentation without spending huge amounts of time, alienating your work force, or causing disruption.
The answer lies in good communications.
To help employers introduce employee documentation, we’ve created a short video outlining our four step guide to rolling out contracts and handbooks.
Alternatively, read our guide to Introducing Contracts & Handbooks to Existing Staff available here http://www.brightcontracts.ie/docs/introducing-contracts-handbooks-to-existing-staff/
Feb 2014
25
National Employment Week - Improving employment for everyone
The 4th National Employment Week takes place this week, 24th to 28th February. National Employment Week was established as a forum focusing on social and economic issues surrounding employment in Ireland. As the country endeavours to reduce the number of people out of work and move towards economic recovery, National Employment Week puts employment at the centre of the agenda.
The week offers the opportunity to employers, managers and HR professionals to share opinions and experience on employment issues and set the national employment agenda.
Although supported by Government, with both the Taoiseach and Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton attending several events throughout the week, there is very much a commercial aspect to the week. The week itself has strong, reputable sponsorship with The Irish Times, The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Sigmar Recruitment and Monster.ie all involved. In addition all events, seminars and focus groups alike, are attended by professionals representing employers of all sizes and types across Ireland.
This year the focus will be on the following topics:
• Digital Innovation and the Drive for Talent
• Significance of Company Culture
• Emerging Talent
• The importance of investing in the future
• Mental Health & Employment
The highlight of the week is the National Employment Summit which takes place on Wednesday in the Convention Centre, Dublin. This is a free event and anyone can attend to hear practical measures that can be taken back to businesses.
National Employment Week is striving to achieve a better employment market for everyone. It is heartwarming to see such positive steps being taken. If you don’t make any of the events this year, mark it in your diary for next year. Further information can be found at http://www.nationalemploymentweek.ie/.
Sep 2013
29
How to manage sickness absence
Managing sick leave can be a challenge for every employer. It is essential that businesses find the balance between supporting those employees who are genuinely sick and minimising unnecessary absences in order to reduce costs. Costs can include:
- Loss of productivity
- Employing temporary cover
- Paying other employees additional overtime costs
The 2011 IBEC Guide to Managing Absence found that over 11 million days are lost to absence in Ireland every year, costing businesses €1.5 billion or €818 per employee. The report also found that employees missed 5.98 days on average, an absence rate of 2.6%.
Managing Absences
Absence levels can be addressed by taking some simple steps:
- Sickness Policy: there should be a policy in place that clearly sets out the procedure that will be followed by both employees and management in cases of absence through illness. The policy should be clearly communicated and consistently implemented. The default company handbook in Bright Contracts contains such a policy.
- Record, Monitor & Measure: monitoring and measuring enable employers to identify trends and recognise points at which absence levels need to be further investigated.
Return to Work Interviews: these are informal meetings between a line manager and an employee on the first day the employee returns to work. Return to work interviews are consistently rated as one of the most effective methods of managing absenteeism levels and it is recommended that they should be included in all sickness absence policies.
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks.
BrightPay – Payroll Software
Aug 2013
30
Whistleblowing Legislation – Be Prepared
This July the Government published the Protected Disclosures Bill 2013, commonly known as the “Whistleblowing Bill”. The aim of the bill is to combat corruption and promote a culture of public accountability and transparency. The Bill encourages workers to disclose information relating to wrongdoing in the workplace by offering protection against penalisation should they make a protected disclosure / blow the whistle.
When the Bill is enacted, likely to be later this Autumn, a whistleblower’s protection will include protection from dismissal or any form of penalisation by their employer. If an employee is found to have been dismissed unfairly for having made a protected disclosure, employers could be faced with compensation payments of up to 5 years remuneration. The usual service level of 1 year for cases of unfair dismissal will not apply to Whistleblowing cases.
In preparation of this new legislation, employers are advised to start reviewing their internal policies and procedures and to start considering establishing a robust whistleblowing policy to suit their business. Should you require assistance, Bright Contracts will be providing template policies and guidance on how deal with whistleblowing complaints.
Bright Contracts – Employment contracts and handbooks
BrightPay – Payroll Software
