Databank of Questions and Answers
Every day Graphite's Telephone Consultation service takes questions on different HR-related matters relevant to HR Professionals and People Managers. This Databank holds the most interesting and important questions we receive on a regular basis.
To research a particular issue, simply click on the Heading most relevant to your subject. If you cannot find your answer here, give us a call on 01-662 7099.
Alternatively, if you haven't found an answer to your query here, you can submit your question in the space below. We will not be able to answer all questions submitted, but we will endeavour to answer as many as possible and will focus on those which recur or are particularly significant for a large proportion of employers. These questions will be added to the Databank under the appropriate Heading.
Furthermore, we will continue to add new Q&As as common or complex queries come in through our Telephone Consultation service.
Contracts
- In an organisation with 3 part time staff (in excess of 3 years experience) and the rest full time, the 3 part time staff have been arbitrarily informed that they are being reassigned to duties normally conducted by junior staff. There was no consultation regarding the change of duties. Do the employees have any recourse under employment legislation?
- Do we have to pay people in line with the relevant Joint Labour Committee's terms and conditions, even though we are not unionised?
- Do I have to provide my employees with an employment contract?
- We have had a downturn in business and are considering implementing lay-offs or short-time working. What would these actions entail?
- We are hiring a 16 year old student to cover holidays during the school holiday period this summer. Are there any specific restrictions around the employment of somebody this age?
- 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 one week's notice?
- A part-time employee recently claimed that he was entitled to be paid an overtime premium having worked hours in excess of his normal part-time working hours. However, it is our practice not to pay an overtime premium until a part-time employee has completed the hours of full-time employees. Are we correct in continuing this practice?
- We are hiring a number of employees for the summer to provide cover for holiday periods. Is there any specific legislation we need to consider in relation to these employees?
- What process should I follow if I need to make changes to an employee's contract of employment?
- My staff have email accounts and internet access through computers they use at work. I don't have a policy on this, is it recommended that I put one in place?
- During an investigation into a complaint of bullying and harassment, the employee against whom the allegation was made has made a data access request; what access to personal data has to be provided to the employee?
- An employee has requested access to their personnel file; do I have to give them access and what is the procedure for this?
- Our organisation uses the words "Bullying" and "Harassment" interchangeably. Is there a distinction between the two and how can I tell the difference?
- I have been told that should an allegation of bullying or harassment be made as a result of behaviour at the Christmas Party, an employee can use the Company's Dignity at Work Policy to pursue this complaint. What can I do to try to prevent inappropriate behaviour at this type of event, and protect the business from such allegations?
- Can I avoid liability in harassment claims if I have implemented a Dignity at Work Policy in my organisation?
- During an investigation into a complaint of bullying and harassment, the employee against whom the allegation was made has made a data access request; what access to personal data has to be provided to the employee?
- What does the Equality Tribunal Mediation option entail?
- What are the main stages of the disciplinary process that should be contained in a Disciplinary Procedure?
- What are the main criteria to enable an employer to ensure that fair procedures have been followed when invoking the disciplinary procedure?
- Our organisation has 140 employees and is now covered by the Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Act, 2006. We have not yet been asked to provide Information and Consultation arrangements under the legislation by our employees. However, we would like to initiate the process ourselves, as the employer. What do we need to think about?
- My staff have email accounts and internet access through computers they use at work. I don't have a policy on this, is it recommended that I put one in place?
- Under the Information and Consultation legislation, are we required to put a consultation procedure in place for our staff?
- How do I find out if a job applicant is legally entitled to work in Ireland?
- Foreign Nationals – what is the list of countries for which employees do not require employment permits to work in Ireland?
- Is it true that legislation requires our company to train staff in Fire Safety and First Aid?
- Is the employer always liable for the stress of employees?
- We have a number of foreign nationals in our company. Do we have to translate our Safety Statement?
- What should I do with an employee who does not want to come into work on their time off to attend Health and Safety training?
- One of our employees suffered an injury while working for another employer. They have handed in a medical cert stating that they will be unfit for work for two weeks. Do we have to pay them sick pay?
- One of my employees is going on maternity leave at the end of the month. I know this is due to change, so how many weeks of maternity leave is she entitled to?
- How do I calculate Annual Leave to ensure all of my employees are receiving their proper statutory entitlement?
- How do I calculate an employee's pay while they are on Annual Leave?
- One of my full-time employees has been on sick leave for 5 months; does this affect their annual leave entitlement?
- One of my team has been out on sick leave, and is not likely to be back for 8 weeks; do I have to pay sick pay?
- Under the Parental Leave Acts, 1998-2006 we are aware that we are obliged to permit an employee to break down their parental leave entitlements into periods of not less than six weeks at a time should the employee request it. However, where an employee is permitted to avail of leave for six weeks, can we restrict when they can next apply for a period of parental leave?
- An employee has asked if he can have Force Majeure Leave to attend to his son's first week of school. He needs to leave at 12pm each day in the first week of school, to pick him up and bring him home.
- We have previously paid employees on maternity leave in full while they were on normal maternity leave (not additional maternity leave), making up the difference between their maternity allowance and their normal pay. The duration of maternity leave has recently been extended; do we have to extend our benefit for these extra weeks?
- An employee who is pregnant wants time off to go to antenatal classes. Do I have to give it to her?
- One of my employees has requested Paternity Leave for the birth of his child. Am I legally obliged to provide paid Paternity Leave?
- Is a male employee who is an expectant father employee entitled to paid time off to attend Ante-natal classes?
- Do we have to pay people in line with the relevant Joint Labour Committee's terms and conditions, even though we are not unionised?
- I have an issue with till shortages in my shop; can I deduct these from my employees' wages?
- In relation to wage slips, what are the full details which we have to provide to each employee? When can we make deductions from an employee's salary?
- What kind of records might an Employment Law Inspector look for during a visit to my organisation?
- I have been told that I need to keep attendance records for all my employees or I could be fined, is that correct?
- What recruitment records should we keep and how long should we keep them for?
- How do I find out if a job applicant is legally entitled to work in Ireland?
- Can I set a minimum and maximum age limit when recruiting for a position?
- Foreign Nationals – what is the list of countries for which employees do not require employment permits to work in Ireland?
- What recruitment records should we keep and how long should we keep them for?
- We set a closing date for applications for a post that we advertised recently, however a number of applicants applied after the closing date. Can we still consider them for the role?
- We are considering a number of redundancies in our organisation and have been told it might be considered a Collective Redundancy. How do we know if it is a Collective Redundancy and what implications would that have for our processes?
- We have had a downturn in business and are considering implementing lay-offs or short-time working. What would these actions entail?
- We are about to make an employee redundant as a result of losing a contract with one of our customers and we were told that the lump sum paid to her at redundancy can be treated differently for tax purposes. Is this true?
- We are considering a number of redundancies in our organisation and have been told it might be considered a Collective Redundancy. How do we know if it is a Collective Redundancy and what implications would that have for our processes?
- We have had a downturn in business and are considering implementing lay-offs or short-time working. What would these actions entail?
- We are about to make an employee redundant as a result of losing a contract with one of our customers and we were told that the lump sum paid to her at redundancy can be treated differently for tax purposes. Is this true?
- 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 one week's notice?
- A machine broke down in our factory last night and one of our employees had to be called in to work at 2am to fix it. He left the factory at 4am and then came into work as normal at 9am. The employee's normal working hours are 9am to 5pm. Has the employee gotten his correct entitlement for daily rest?
- One of my employees is going on maternity leave at the end of the month. I know this is due to change, so how many weeks of maternity leave is she entitled to?
- How do I calculate Annual Leave to ensure all of my employees are receiving their proper statutory entitlement?
- How do I calculate an employee's pay while they are on Annual Leave?
- I have just received a request for Part-Time Working from an employee. Do I have to grant it?
- One of my full-time employees has been on sick leave for 5 months; does this affect their annual leave entitlement?
- If both Christmas Day and St. Stephens Day fall on normal weekdays, what is an employee's entitlement to a public holiday benefit; also, what happens if they fall on a weekend?
- There are a number of employees in our organisation who have not used their full annual leave entitlement this year. Do these employees simply forfeit these annual leave days, or must we allow them to carry over the days into the next annual leave year?
- I have been told that I need to keep attendance records for all my employees or I could be fined, is that correct?
- An employee commenced employment with us five months ago and has now requested 2 weeks continuous annual leave; are we obliged to facilitate the request?
- We are hiring a 16 year old student to cover holidays during the school holiday period this summer. Are there any specific restrictions around the employment of somebody this age?
- What are the entitlements of a part-time employee in relation to Public Holidays?
- Can an employer provide an employee with pay in lieu for their holiday entitlement?
- An employee recently returned from annual leave and has requested that his absence be treated as sick leave, as he was ill during his holiday. Does an employee have a right to have their annual leave treated in such a manner?
- A part-time employee recently claimed that he was entitled to be paid an overtime premium having worked hours in excess of his normal part-time working hours. However, it is our practice not to pay an overtime premium until a part-time employee has completed the hours of full-time employees. Are we correct in continuing this practice?
- We want to introduce a summer shut-down for a two-week period in August this year; can we ask our staff to schedule their holidays and thereby use their annual leave entitlement during this period?
- I have just received a request for Part-Time Working from an employee. Do I have to grant it?
- An employee has asked if he can have Force Majeure Leave to attend to his son's first week of school. He needs to leave at 12pm each day in the first week of school, to pick him up and bring him home.