Suggestion for Sticky - AL and Pub hol pay

tatli_lokma

Hi folks,

I have a suggestion for a sticky. It seems that several times a month there are queries about leave entitlements and after every bank holiday queries about public holiday leave.

Might be an idea to sticky some information on what is the standard rule for AL and Public holidays.


PUBLIC HOLIDAYS:

citizensinformation.ie wrote:

Your entitlement to public holidays is set out in the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Most employees are entitled to paid leave on public holidays. One exception is part-time employees who have not worked for their employer at least 40 hours in total in the 5 weeks before the public holiday.
Employees who qualify will be entitled to one of the following:

• A paid day off on the public holiday
• An additional day of annual leave
• An additional day's pay
• A paid day off within a month of the public holiday

The Organisation of Working Time Act provides that you may ask your employer at least 21 days before a public holiday, which of the alternatives will apply. If your employer fails to respond at least 14 days before the public holiday, you are entitled to take the actual public holiday as a paid day off.
Part-time employees

If you have worked for your employer at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks before the public holiday and the public holiday falls on a day you normally work you are entitled to a day's pay for the public holiday. If you are required to work that day you are entitled to an additional day's pay.
If you do not normally work on that particular day you should receive one-fifth of your weekly pay. Even if you may never be rostered to work on a public holiday you are entitled to one-fifth of your weekly pay as compensation for the public holiday.
In all of the above situations your employer may choose to give you paid time off instead of pay for the public holiday.
Sick leave on a public holiday

If you are a full time worker on sick leave during a public holiday, you have an entitlement to time off work for the public holiday you missed. If you are a part-time worker on sick leave during a public holiday, you would be entitled to time off work for the public holiday, provided you had worked for your employer for at least 40 hours in the previous five-week period.
You are not entitled to public holiday benefits if you have been off work for more than 26 weeks due to an ordinary illness or accident, or for more than 52 weeks due to an occupational accident.
Absence from work and public holiday entitlement

You are entitled to leave for any public holidays that occur while you are on maternity leave, parental leave or adoptive leave. These rights are set down in law in the Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004, the Parental Leave Act 1998, and the Adoptive Leave Act 1995 respectively.
You are not entitled to public holiday benefits if you have been absent from work immediately before the public holiday and your absence is:

• Over 13 weeks, due to lay off or some other reason and authorised by your employer.
• Due to a strike
• After the first 13 weeks of carer's leave

Losing your job

If your employment finishes during the week ending on the day before a public holiday and you have worked for your employer for the previous 4 weeks, you should receive an additional day's pay for the public holiday. This also applies to part-time employees who have established a right to the public holiday by working at least 40 hours in the previous 5 weeks.
Public holidays falling on a weekend

Where a public holiday falls on a weekend, you do not have any automatic legal entitlement to have the next working day off work. This occurred in 2011 when Christmas Day (25 December) fell on a Sunday. It also occurred in 2012 when New Year's Day (1 January) fell on a Sunday. This means that Tuesday 27 December 2011, and Monday 2 January 2012 were not public holidays. When this happens you are entitled to one of the following:

• A paid day off within a month of the public holiday
• An additional day of annual leave
• An additional day's pay

Your employer can require you to attend work on those days.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/leave_and_holidays/public_holidays_in_ireland.html

ANNUAL LEAVE

citizensinformation.ie wrote:

There are 3 different ways of calculating your annual leave entitlement:

• Based on the employee's working hours during what is called the leave year, which runs from April to March. An employee who has worked at least 1,365 hours in the leave year is entitled to the maximum of 4 working weeks' annual leave unless the employment ceases during the leave year. Many employers use the calendar year (January-December) instead of the official leave year to calculate entitlement
• By allowing 1/3 of a working week for each calendar month in which the employee has worked at least 117 hours
• 8% of the hours worked in the leave year, subject to a maximum of 4 working weeks

An employee may use whichever of these methods gives the greater entitlement.
An employee who has worked for at least 8 months is entitled to an unbroken period of 2 weeks' annual leave.
Part-time work: Generally, the annual leave for part-time workers is calculated using the 3rd method, that is, 8% of hours worked. If you work full time for some months and the rest of the year you work part time, you should calculate the leave for the full-time and the part-time periods of work separately.
Annual leave and sick leave

If you are ill while you are on annual leave, you should get a medical certificate from your family doctor (GP) as soon as possible to cover the days that you were sick and give this to your employer as soon as you return to work. In this way, the sick days will not count as annual leave and will be available to you at a later date.
An employer cannot require you to take annual leave for a certified period of illness. However, illness during the leave year will reduce the total number of hours you work and can therefore affect your entitlement to annual leave. While you are on sick leave from work you do not accumulate annual leave entitlement
Annual leave and other leave

Annual leave is not affected by other leave provided for by law. Time spent on maternity leave, adoptive leave, parental leave, force majeure leave and the first 13 weeks of carer's leave is treated as though you have been in employment and this time can be used to accumulate annual leave entitlement.
Annual leave and leaving employment

It is illegal under the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 for an employer to pay an allowance in lieu of the minimum statutory holiday entitlement of an employee unless the employment relationship is terminated. In general, your annual leave is calculated on the basis of hours worked.
If you are leaving a job you are entitled to receive payment for any outstanding annual leave and public holidays due to you.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_and_conditions/leave_and_holidays/annual_leave_public_holidays.html



Mods, if you don't think this is a good idea, please feel free to delete

Eoin

Thanks for that, I've added a link to the useful links thread.

We don't want tons of individual stickies, but it might be worthwhile having a big thread with this type of FAQ.

Stingray

An employee who has worked for at least 8 months is entitled to an unbroken period of 2 weeks' annual leave.

A Q on above line, if I work 1 hour per week for 8 months am I entitled to 2 (full) weeks i.e. 14 days annual leave?

Eoin

That would be nearly twice as much time off as you would have worked in total. I think you'd only be due a few hours leave based on that being about 34 hours worked?

Unless I've done the sums wrong.

Stingray

Yes I would take it that it should be "pro rata", but the line on the Guidelines doesn't make it clear, it just sticks out for mis-interpretation

Perhaps the idea behind it is so... "you must give an employee at least 2 weeks off if they have worked 8 months continuous....all pro-rata"

You can see why there is always work for a Defence and plantiff solicitors...

Eoin

That's a good point - perhaps you'd be entitled to 2 weeks off, but anything over the paid leave you've accrued would be unpaid?

The wording of the act is here, in case it's any clearer there (it wasn't to me, anyway).

Stingray

anything over the paid leave you've accrued would be unpaid?

Thats a reasonable interpretation, bit like Break periods, if you've worked a certain period of time, you must have 2 continuous days off, your not actually paid for the days off though

Mrs OBumble

Stingray wrote: »

A Q on above line, if I work 1 hour per week for 8 months am I entitled to 2 (full) weeks i.e. 14 days annual leave?

Absolultey you are entitled to two continuous weeks.

And you will be paid for the one hour per week for each of those two weeks that constitutues you usual working hours.

That's my interpretation, anyway.

Stingray

^^^^^

But am I entitled to be paid 40hrs x €x.xx x 10 days, or am I just entitled to take it off? Whilst only receiving a paid portion equal to a pro-rata calculation based on the hours I have worked, balance is un-paid?

Eoin

The link I posted does refer to "paid annual leave" when defining your entitlements, and then just "annual leave" when referring to the 2 weeks off. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but the former certainly refers to how much you get paid for; while the second just seems to refer to more of a rest period.

I can't imagine how you'd be entitled to have twice as much paid time off than you'd worked in total in the 8 months.

Mrs OBumble

Stingray wrote: »

^^^^^

But am I entitled to be paid 40hrs x €x.xx x 10 days, or am I just entitled to take it off? Whilst only receiving a paid portion equal to a pro-rata calculation based on the hours I have worked, balance is un-paid?

You're over-thinking this.

You are entitled to paid annual leave.

You are paid for it based on regular hours worked.

There's a whole lot of extra stuff in the rules to look after people who work different numbers of hours each week.

But for someone who works the same hours each week, it is very simple. You are entitled to take the whole week off, and you are paid for the number of hours in that week that you regularly work.

Suggesting that you could work for one hour a week, but then during your annual leave times get paid for 40 hours is just ... deranged! (And I'm being polite)

freeze4real

Have you guys heard of holiday pay included in your hourly wage ?

Stheno

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

You're over-thinking this.

You are entitled to paid annual leave.

You are paid for it based on regular hours worked.

There's a whole lot of extra stuff in the rules to look after people who work different numbers of hours each week.

But for someone who works the same hours each week, it is very simple. You are entitled to take the whole week off, and you are paid for the number of hours in that week that you regularly work.

Suggesting that you could work for one hour a week, but then during your annual leave times get paid for 40 hours is just ... deranged! (And I'm being polite)

This, the two weeks unbroken leave is called out for full time employees not part timers, then it talks about part timers and the pro rata calculation of their entitlement.

freeze4real wrote: »

Have you guys heard of holiday pay included in your hourly wage ?

Yes, some agency workers have this arrangement, not sure if it's covered under the legislation as being right or wrong