Contract Of Employment | Terry Gorry & Co. Solicitors

Do You Make Costly Mistakes in These 9 Areas as an Irish Employer?

Being an employer in Ireland is a difficult challenge at the best of times.

There is a huge body of employment law which places fairly onerous obligations on the employer.

There are key areas of possible friction for you as an employer and which can lead to costly and expensive mistakes in your dealings with your employees.

There are a number of key areas where things can go badly awry-lets take a look at some of the most common ones.

Key areas of concern for an Irish employer

1) The Contract of employment

This is a critical area to get right from the outset and to prevent problems arising in the future. Watch out for implied terms as well as the express terms you agree with your employee. (See contract of employment for more information)

2) Payment of wages

The Payment of Wages act 1991 governs the payment of wages by an employer to the employee.

3) Time and leave entitlements

This area covers rest periods, sickness of the employee as well as holiday and maternity periods and is an area of friction between employer and employee. The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 and various EU directives have a lot to say in this area.

4) Discrimination and equality in the place of work

This is another huge area of law with rights and entilements arising from the Constitution, EU directives and our own Irish legislation such as Employment Equality Acts.

Many employers get caught out, not by direct discrimination but, by indirect discrimination.

5) Health and safety

Health and safety law places some very serious obligations on the employer and there are common law obligations as well as statutory obligations. Breaches of health and safety law can lead to criminal convictions for you as an employer.

6) Transfer of undertakings

This covers situations where one business buys another in which there are employees. The Transfer of Undertakings Directive govern this area.

7) Unfair dismissals

Need I say more? This area also covers constructive dismissals and has proven to be an area of considerable cost and expense to employers.

8) Redundancy

If you wish to make an employee redundant it had better be a proper redundancy and the procedure for choosing an employee for redundancy must be fair and non-discriminatory. Read more about redundancy law here.

9) Trade union recognition/disputes

These are 9 broad areas of employment law which can lead to costly mistakes and expense for you as an employer if not handled correctly.

The Contract Of Employment

The contract of employment in Ireland is made up of both express terms and implied terms with the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 stipulating that certain basic information must be given to the employee in writing.

This includes the names and addresses of both employer and employee, the place of work, the title of the job, pay, any terms relating to sick pay, periods of notice and many other basic details.

(This part of the employment law Ireland series of articles)

Implied Terms

In every contract of employment, written or otherwise, there are 4 categories of implied terms which fall under the headings of
a) terms implied by custom/practice(depending on the industry)
b) terms implied by statute (right to redundancy, right not to be unfairly dismissed)
c) terms implied by law (employers duty of care and employees duty of trust and confidence)
d) collective agreements in unionized employment.

Express Terms of Employment

The express terms of employment set out below is a pretty extensive list but it should provide a decent check list of what should be included in a contract of employment and be contained in writing in the contract.
1. Who-the employer and employee
2. When-when does employment start
3. What-what is the job role
4. Hours-hours of work?
5. Where-the workplace
6. Is there a period of probation? For how long?
7. Pay-the salary package
8. Holidays-what is the position re holidays and is there extra days over and above those set down by statute in the Organization of Working Time Act,1997
9. Sick pay-what is the situation re sick pay
10. Retirement age
11. Pension
12. Disciplinary and grievance procedure
13. Any restrictions re competition and setting up against the employer in the future using trade secrets/contacts
14. Notice re termination of employment
15. Email and internet use

This list is not exhaustive but should give a good basis for both employer and employee when it comes to negotiating an employment contract.