home Newsletter   September 2022 Newsletter   In Case You Missed It - Employment Legislation Signed Into Law – July 2022

In Case You Missed It - Employment Legislation Signed Into Law – July 2022

September 01, 2022

Just in case you missed it, there were two pieces of key employment legislation signed into law on 20th July by the President.

Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill 2022 legislates for how tips should be treated by employers in terms of being distributed to employees.

Under the Act, tips cannot be used by the employer to make up an employee’s basic wage and employers are prohibited from deducting tips and gratuities made to an employee from an employee’s wage.

Employers are required to clearly display their policy on tips and service for customers, clarifying how tips, including those received through debit or credit cards, are distributed. The term ‘service charge’ or similar cannot be used unless the gratuity goes directly to staff.

If an employer performs the same work as employees, and can prove it, then they can share in the tips in a fair and reasonable manner.

If an employer fails to comply with the Act, they are liable under summary conviction to a class C fine of maximum €2,500.

Sick Leave Act 2022 legislates for statutory sick pay for employees for the first time. The new statutory sick pay scheme will be phased in over a four-year period with qualifying employees initially covered for three days per year. This will rise to five days in 2024, seven days in 2025, and ten days in 2026.

In order to qualify for sick pay, an employee must have 13 weeks employment and have a medical certificate confirming the dates of absence.

Employers are obliged to pay sick pay at a rate of 70 per cent of an employee’s wage, up to a daily maximum threshold of €110. The threshold is based on 2019 mean weekly earnings of €786.33 and equates to an annual salary of €40,889.

Any existing Sick Pay policies should be reviewed in light of the new legislation to ensure they are compliant. Any changes to policies or procedures must be communicated to staff. And, organisations that have yet to implement a sick leave policy need to urgently do so.