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Premium and Premium Plus customers, Graphite provides a HR
Consultation Service. As part of our regular monthly review
in HR e-ssentials Graphite HRM provides you with an insight
into the type of queries we get through this consultation
service.
Q: All our employees have one
month’s notice in their contract of employment. What can we
do about an employee who left after only giving us only one
week’s notice?
A: In principle,
this employee has broken the terms of their employment contract.
In practice, trying to enforce the contract after an employee
has left has little added value. The points to avoid are,
firstly, the employee being paid for days which they did not
work (i.e. if payroll cut-off date meant payroll had already
been processed and the person was paid for unworked days)
and secondly, withholding pay due to holidays. The employee
is still entitled to their holiday entitlement for all days
worked, and any calculation of monies due must take this fully
into account.
In the circumstances, refusing to provide a reference or
statement of employment could have unjustifiable consequences
for the employee, and would therefore not be advisable.
To read about Recruitment please see
Chapter 2, Contracts, of Personnel
Policies and Procedures – The Law in Perspective.
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Q: In relation
to wage slips, what is the full details which we have to provide
to each employee?
A: When we refer
to wages or salary, this covers the following:
- basic pay and overtime
- shift allowances or similar payments
- fees, bonuses or commissions, referable to the employment
- holiday, sick or maternity pay
- any other payment for work whether under a contract of
employment or not
- any payment due to an employee in lieu of termination
notice.
According to the Payment of Wages Act (1991), an employer
must provide an employee with a written statement each time
a wage payment is made. The statement must specify the gross
wages payable and details of any deductions made from the
gross amount. The employer must treat the information in the
statement confidentially. Where a payment is made in the form
of any sort or credit transfer, the written statement must
be provided as soon as is reasonably practicable after payment.
One of the areas of dispute is often the deduction from wages.
The Act is clear on this topic. It stipulates that an employer
must not make any deduction from the wages of an employee
unless:
- The deduction or payment is required or authorised by
statute or law, e.g. PAYE or PRSI;
or
- The deduction or payment is required or authorised by
a term in the employee's relevant employment contract, e.g.
employee pension contributions;
or
- The deduction is made with the prior consent of the employee.
To read about Recruitment please see Chapter 12, Payment
of Wages, of Personnel Policies
and Procedures – The Law in Perspective.
Disclaimer - This is not
a legal service, all suggestions will be based on HR best
practice.
You should seek independent legal advice before making any
decisions.
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*******Order a free
7-day evaluation copy of Personnel Policies and Procedures
- The Law in Perspective our leading employment law manual
by emailing sales@graphitehrm.com
or phoning Elaine Peters on (01) 6627099********
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