Employment Rights in Ireland
Minimum Wage-
The
minimum wage for experienced adults
in Ireland is €8.65 per hour. An experienced
adult is anyone over the age of 18 who has been in any employment for two
or more years. The two years employment does not have to have been with the
same employer or have taken place in Ireland.
Working hours-
Employees
should not work for more than 48 hours in one week.
Employees
are entitled to:-
·
a
15 minute break when working four and a half hours or more; and a 30 minute
break when working six hours or more.
·
at
least one 24 hour rest period during a 7 day period and have at least 11 hours
rest between one day’s work and the next.
Terms of Employment-
All
employees should receive a written contract of their terms of employment within
2 months of starting their job. The information should include the name and
address of the employer, the job title and nature of the work, the rate of pay,
hours of work and the number of day’s annual leave.
Pay slips-
Employees
should receive a written statement outlining their gross pay and any deductions
that have been made, examples of deductions include income tax and PRSI.
Holidays -
Full-time
employees are entitled to 4 working weeks paid annual leave per year. In
addition there are 9 public holiday days throughout the year which employees
must have free or else be given an extra day’s pay.
Discrimination-
Discrimination
in the work place is prohibited under Irish law. If a person feels they have
been discriminated against on the grounds of race, religion, gender, family
status, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation or membership of
the Travelling Community they can make a complaint to the Equality Tribunal.
Maternity Leave-
All
pregnant women in employment are entitled to 26 weeks paid leave from work
which must start at least 2 weeks before their due date. There is also the
option of taking a further 16 weeks unpaid maternity leave.
To find out more
about Employment Rights see the
National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), the Equality
Authority’s website
or the Citizen’s Information Website.