A new national minimum wage is set to take effect from January 1 as employees will notice a slight increase in their pay packet.
The increase was announced in Budget 2022 and will see the minimum pay for people aged 20 and over go up by 30c to €10.50 per hour.
Those aged 19 will receive €9.45 per hour, 18-year-olds will receive €8.40 per hour, and those under 18 will be entitled to €7.35 per hour.
Board and lodging rates will also increase from January 1st 2022:
- For board: €0.94 per hour worked (calculation at hourly rate)
- For lodgings only: €24.81 per week or €3.55 per day
If you are covered by the Industrial Training Act 1967 or the Labour of Services Act 1987 as an apprentice, you are not entitled to these rates.
If an employer can’t afford minimum wage
If an employer cannot afford to pay the national minimum wage due to financial difficulty, the Labour Court may exempt them from paying the minimum wage rate for between 3 months and one year and only one exemption is allowed.
The employer must apply to the Labour Court for the exemption and must consent from a majority of the employees. In addition, the employer and the employees must all agree to be bound by the Labour Court decision.
The employer must show that they cannot pay the national minimum wage and that if they were compelled to do so, they would have to lay off or dismiss employees.
They cannot be exempt from paying the reduced rate (for example, to employees under 18).
If your employer will not pay minimum wage
If you ask your employer to pay the national minimum wage you are entitled to, you are protected by law from victimisation or dismissal.
This means if you are dismissed for seeking the national minimum wage, you can bring a claim for unfair dismissal. You can do this regardless of the length of service or the number of hours worked per week.
If you are due an increase under the National Minimum Wage Act, your employer may attempt to cut your working hours to avoid increasing the overall wage bill. However, they cannot do this without reducing your duties or the amount of work.
How to make a complaint
If you are not getting the national minimum wage, you should speak with your employer first.
If you cannot resolve the problem with your employer, you can complete an online complaint form.
This form gives you two options:
- You can request an investigation by an inspector from the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The inspector will look into your claim that the national minimum wage is not being paid.
- You can refer a dispute to a WRC adjudicator. However, you can do this only after asking your employer for a statement outlining the calculation of the average hourly pay. You must refer the dispute within six months of receiving the statement. If necessary, the time limit for referral may be extended to a maximum of 12 months. Where the employer fails to give you the statement, the time starts from the date when they should have done so (that is, within four weeks of the request).
