Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP)

MangerSeekingAdvice

Hi all,

I'm a new manager trying to sort out a Critical Skills Employment Permit (CSEP) for an employee who has been with us for over a year. They initially started on a Stamp 1G – non-EEA nationals may work for up to two years on a Stamp 1G if they have graduated with a master's degree from an Irish university.

Unfortunately, my company is small and I handle most of the HR tasks for my team, so I have limited support when seeking advice.

The employee's role is on the Critical Skills Occupation List and they have the required qualifications. Their salary was increased to €38,000 at Christmas, which should make them eligible. I understand that DETE plan to raise the minimum threshold to €44,000 in the near future, although this plan appears to have been temporarily postponed.

First question:

When applying for the CSEP, do we need to issue the employee with a completely new contract, or can we simply attach an addendum to their existing contract to reflect the salary increase? I have contacted DETE via email and the WRC employment permits helpline, but the advice I've received has been contradictory – some say a new, reissued contract is required, while others believe an addendum is acceptable.

Second question:

Our company currently uses rather generic employment contracts. In the section detailing the employee's job title and duties, only the job title is mentioned, without outlining the specific responsibilities unique to their role in particular. I'm concerned that this might cause issues with the CSEP application. The application form asks, "What are the main functions of this job?", and my understanding is that a detailed job description is needed here to demonstrate how the employee's role aligns with the occupation on the Critical Skills Occupations List. Should this detailed description also be included in the contract or addendum?

Third question:

The employee's current salary is exactly €38,000 – the minimum threshold for the CSEP – and their contract states that they work 35 hours per week. I'm worried that being right on the threshold might prove problematic when DETE assess the application.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058402558/critical-skills-employment-permit-csep

I'm no expert in this - but having worked with quite a few people on CSEP, with a large employer, I'll do my best.

1. As far as anyone told me, they weren't given a new contract specifically after 2 years - we would do a new contract every 3-4 years IIRC to satisfy some internal metric, but in between, it was just addendums with salary increases and benefits.
   
2. However, out contracts were very specific, and did included the technicalities of the job. I've now moved myself to the US under an employment based visa - and it's incredibly detailed. It's much better to have more information than less here. You can't lie of course, but I do think it has to be sufficiently detailed.
   
   I'd be inclined to add this in the contract itself so it all matches up and isn't looking like you're adding bits and pieces to satisfy an application.
   
3. If I was looking at the application, I'd be giving much more consideration to the rest of the application if the salary barely scraped over the threshold.
   
   Devils advocate - if their skills are so critical, why aren't you paying them more?

OnlyWayIsUp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058402558/critical-skills-employment-permit-csep

1. Do exactly what DETE staff told you to do in the email, you have proof of the advice you were given.
   
2. The main functions of the job must be included, this is how DETE staff determine whether the job is eligible for a CSEP or not… just because you think the job title makes it eligible for a CSEP doesn’t mean that the CO making the decision on the application will agree.
   
3. As long as it meets the salary threshold then it’s fine. It makes ZERO difference to the application whether the salary is at the threshold or €100k more.
   
4. Finally, don’t stress if you get the application wrong, there’s nothing preventing you making a brand new application straight afterwards