An Irish minimum wage worker has warned others to check their payslips after he spotted a mistake on his this month.
Ireland brought in a new hourly rate for minimum wage workers increasing it up to €10.50 from January 2022.
Although there are a number of different rates, depending on an employee’s age, most people’s payslips should have had a little boost this month.
However, one worker discovered his payslip remained the same as before, after looking into it this week.
He wrote on social media: “I work at a retailer, and when I went to check my payslip for this week, it said my hourly rate was €10.20.
“Similarly when I went to check my shifts for the coming two weeks they came with an advertised rate of €10.20.”
He eventually received a call from HR who informed him that because the company is incorporated outside of Ireland, they would be keeping €10.20 as their rate of pay.
However, according to Irish law, if you ask your employer to pay the national minimum wage you are entitled to, you are protected by law from victimisation or dismissal.
In addition, if you are fired for asking for the national minimum wage, you can claim for unfair dismissal.
“You can do this regardless of length of service or number of hours worked per week.”
After organising another call with the company's HR team he was able to switch his pay up to the new national sum of €10.50 an hour but is now warning others to check their weekly pay for any errors.
The rate of payment depends on the worker's age, and so here are all of the relevant rates as of January 2022:
- Aged 20 and over: €10.50
- Aged 19: €9.45
- Aged 18: €8.40
- Aged under 18: €7.35
If your employer tells you they cannot afford to up your pay in line with recent changes, Citizens Information states that: “the Labour Court may exempt them from paying the minimum wage rate for between three months and one year.
“The employer must apply to the Labour Court for the exemption, and they must have the consent of a majority of the employees. The employer and the employees must all agree to be bound by the Labour Court decision.
“The employer must show that they are unable to pay the national minimum wage and that if they were compelled to do so, they would have to lay off or dismiss employees."
