Minimum wage query

kdouglas

Hey guys, sorry if this has been asked before, tried doing a search but the boards search is broken atm and using google didnt show anything relevant.

Anyway, a friend of mine recently got a part-time job working in a local spar shop, she has worked a couple of retail/sales jobs before, both part-time and full-time and is currently in college.
She is only getting paid 6.64 per hour though, my first reaction to this was wtf? minimum wage is 8.30, but i knew there were certain circumstances where minimum wage did not apply so i looked it up on citizensinformation.ie, below is what the site says, however the wording confuses me a bit

Sub-minimum rates

The Minimum Wage Act provides the following sub-minimum rates.

* An employee who is under 18 is entitled to 5.81 euro per hour (this is 70% of the minimum wage)
* An employee who is in the first year of employment since the age of 18 is entitled to 6.64 euro per hour (80% of minimum wage)
* An employee who is in the second year of employment since the date of first employment over the age of 18 is entitled to 7.47 euro per hour (90% of the minimum wage)

This phasing in of the National Minimum Wage also applies to employees who are over 18 and enter employment for the first time.

The bit in bold is what i assume applies here, but it says "first year of employment since the age of 18", does this mean that if you start working at 18, for the first year, you are entitled to 80% of minimum wage?

she is 20, so if the employer is using this as their basis for only paying 6.64 then they are completely wrong, no?


Edit: reading it again, im guessing it means that if it is your first year working since the date of your 18th birthday, then you are entitled to 80%, but is that your first year in that particular job, or first year working in any job? as mentioned previously, this is not her first job....

connundrum

kdouglas wrote:

Edit: reading it again, im guessing it means that if it is your first year working since the date of your 18th birthday, then you are entitled to 80%, but is that your first year in that particular job, or first year working in any job? as mentioned previously, this is not her first job....

You've just cancelled out both the arguments in your last few words there then. She needs to make her employer fully aware of the situation as soon as possible - if he provides further applicable evidence as to why he isn't going to pay her the full minimum wage then so be it. She can't be sacked for asking questions.

If they agree that she should be on minimum wage then they must also back pay her from her starting date.

kdouglas

connundrum wrote:

You've just cancelled out both the arguments in your last few words there then. She needs to make her employer fully aware of the situation as soon as possible - if he provides further applicable evidence as to why he isn't going to pay her the full minimum wage then so be it. She can't be sacked for asking questions.

it's difficult to word these situations clearly i guess, sorry

tbh, he hasnt really provided any evidence as to why she's on less than minimum, she asked should she not be on more and was told "no, thats right" without any proper justification.

If they agree that she should be on minimum wage then they must also back pay her from her starting date.

was thinking that myself

Wishbone Ash

Here it is, as clear as crystal :rolleyes: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/ZZA5Y2000S15.html

15.—(1) Subject to subsection (2) and sections 16, 17 and 18, a person who—

(a) enters employment for the first time after attaining the age of 18 years, or
(b) having entered into employment before attaining the age of 18 years continues in employment on attaining that age,
shall be remunerated by his or her employer in respect of his or her working hours in any pay reference period at an hourly rate of pay that on average is not less than—

(i) in the case of an employee commencing employment for the first time after attaining the age of 18 years—
(I) in his or her first year after having commenced employment, 80 per cent, and
(II) in his or her second year after having commenced employment, 90 per cent,
(ii) in the case of an employee having entered into employment before attaining the age of 18 years and continuing in employment on attaining that age—
(I) in his or her first year after having attained the age of 18 years, 80 per cent, and
(II) in his or her second year after having attained that age, 90 per cent,
of the national minimum hourly rate of pay, notwithstanding that the employee, if he or she has changed his or her employer during the relevant period, may have been remunerated at a higher rate by the previous employer.

(2) In calculating a period of employment for the purpose of subsection (1), any period of employment during which the employee had not attained the age of 18 years shall be ignored.

(3) An employer shall not be liable in a dispute with an employee to whom this section applies as to the applicable rate of pay for the employee if the employer took reasonable steps to obtain detailed information about the employee's employment with any previous employer and paid the employee at an hourly rate in accordance with the information and this section.

(4) This section applies to an employee in circumstances described in subsection (1) (a) or (b) whether he or she entered employment, or continued in employment on attaining the age of 18 years, before or after the commencement of this section, but the employee's entitlement to remuneration as provided for in subsection (1) shall be only in respect of any period remaining after the commencement of this section of the employee's first and/or second year after so entering employment for the first time or, as the case may be, so attaining the age of 18 years and continuing in employment.

kdouglas

crystal indeed, lol, my vision normally clouds over when reading legal statue's...

BUT, assuming my grasp of the english language is somewhat sufficient, the above does not apply in this case as she is over 18 years of age and this is not her first job since 18

possibly she might be still classed as being in her second year after having commenced employment (not sure when she started working, but it was more than a year ago anyway), but this would mean being paid 90% of minimum, not the 80% she is currently on.