In the first half of 2008 National Employment Rights Authority (NERA)
Inspectors carried out 11,499 visits to employers. This is an increase
of 6,675 on the first half of 2007.
Breaches of legislation were detected in 16% of cases. As a
consequence over €1 million in arrears due to employees were
recovered.
NERA’s strategy is to focus on specific industry sectors and specific
legislation in addition to ongoing routine inspections. From a
legislation perspective, recent NERA campaigns have focused on the
National Minimum Wage and the Protection of Young Persons Act. The
catering sector campaign concentrated on the Catering Employment
Regulation Orders.
NERA are working with Revenue and/or the Department of Social and Family
Affairs. They have also highlighted two specific areas of non-compliance
by employers - statutory record-keeping requirements and with rates
of pay.
Employers are responsible for ensuring all their employees receive
certain basic employment rights. These rights are governed by a range of
detailed employment legislation. Here is an outline of these rights –
- A written statement of terms and conditions of employment.
- A written statement of pay or ‘payslip’.
- The minimum wage
- A maximum working week average of 48 hours a week. The employer must
keep a record of how many hours employees work.
- Unpaid breaks during working hours
- Annual leave from work
- A minimum amount of notice before dismissal
For more information and details on the above points click here.
Ignorance is no defence when the inspector calls. As an employer there
are basic records you are required to produce when the NERA Inspector
calls. Records to be made available for inspection include –
- Employer registration number with the Revenue Commissioners
- Full Name, Address and PPS Number for each employee (full-time and
part-time)
- Terms of employment for each employee
- Payroll details (Gross to Net, Rate per hour, Overtime, Deductions,
Shift and other Premiums and Allowances, Commissions and Bonuses,
Service Charges, etc.)
- Copies of Payslips
- Employees’ job classification
- Dates of commencement and where relevant, termination of employment
- Hours of work for each employee (including
starting and finishing times, meal breaks and rest periods)
- Register of employees under 18 years of age
- Whether board and/or lodgings are provided and relevant details
- Holidays and Public Holiday entitlements
received by each employee
- Any documentation necessary to demonstrate compliance with
employment rights legislation
- Additional records may be required to be held depending on the
sector/business involved and the legislation under which the inspection
is being conducted.
For more information on the National Employments Rights Authority click here.
Visit the Employment
Resource Bureau for information on human resource management
for your community organisation.
