HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT


TAKING LEAVE INTO ACCOUNT


PAYMENT FOR ANNUAL LEAVE


Payment in lieu of annual leave can only be taken on the ter- mination of employment. Terefore, it’s important for employ- ers to take a structured approach to annual leave entitlements and to monitor it to ensure employees are taking their full entitlements. If an employer fails to give an employee annual leave within the appropriate time period they are committing an offence and breaching the employment contract. Te Act provides for payment in advance of annual leave at


the normal weekly rate of remuneration. Where normal remu- neration does not vary in relation to the work done, then pay for annual leave is the rate payable for normal weekly hours. Where the rate of pay does vary, ie the employee receives com- mission or bonus payment, then the pay for annual leave is calculated over the 13-week period prior to the commence- ment of the annual leave.


SICK LEAVE AND ANNUAL LEAVE ENTITLEMENT


If an employee is sick while on annual leave, and they obtain a medical certificate covering their period of leave, this leave cannot be counted as annual leave and must be taken again at an alternative date. If an employee is out on sick leave for a long period of time


during the leave year, it will reduce the total number of hours worked by an employee and can therefore affect their entitle- ment to annual leave. Other absences from work (other than maternity leave,


adoptive leave, parental leave, force majeure leave and annual leave) will also reduce an employee’s annual leave entitlement such as suspension, strike or lay-off. Employers should also consider including in the contract of


employment a clause that allows the company deduct from an employee’s final salary any payment made for leave which the employee has taken but has not accrued. If this clause is not present in the contract it cannot be removed from the final pay cheque unless the employee consents to the deduction.


PUBLIC HOLIDAYS


Tere are nine public holidays each year. Te list of public holi- days are: n New Year’s Day – 1 January n St Patrick’s Day – 17 March n Easter Monday n First Monday in May n First Monday in June n First Monday in August n Last Monday in October


Aisling Igoe


n Christmas Day – 25 December n St Stephen’s Day – 26 December


Public holidays are not the same as bank holidays, such as Good Friday and Christmas Eve. Te following employees are entitled to public holidays:


n Part-time/casual employees who have worked 40 hours in the five weeks leading up to the day before the public holiday falls.


n All full-time employees are automatically entitled to public holiday benefits


n A paid day off on the public holiday; or n A paid day off within a month; or n An extra day’s annual leave; or n An extra day’s pay.


Employees who qualify will be entitled to either:


ABSENCES AND THE PUBLIC HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT


Full-time workers who are on sick leave during a public holiday have an entitlement to time off work for the public holiday(s) they have missed. However, they lose their entitlement to pub-


lic holidays if they have been on sick leave for more than: n 26 weeks in the case of ordinary personal illness or accident


n because of a strike in the employees business or industry. Part-time workers on sick leave during a public holiday would


n 52 weeks in the case of an occupational accident n 13 weeks for any other authorised absence, including lay- off; or


be entitled to time off work for the public holiday provided they have worked 40 hours in the previous five-week period. Employees on maternity leave, adoptive leave, parental leave,


force majeure leave or carer’s leave (first 13 weeks) maintain their entitlement to an appropriate option for a public holiday.


PAY FOR PUBLIC HOLIDAYS


Employees who work or are normally rostered to work on a public holiday are entitled to a day’s pay for the public holiday. Employees who are not normally rostered to work on a pub-


lic holiday are entitled to one fifth of the normal weekly rate of pay for the public holiday. Annual leave and public holiday entitlements must be mon-


itored by management as there is an onus on the employer to ensure all employees receive sufficient leave. Correct record keeping and a policy on annual leave will assist firms in man- aging the issue of annual leave in an organisation.


VOL 4 ISSUE 1 2011 OWNER MANAGER 35


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