Case law has shown that the employer may be held liable for an incident that may take place at a work related social event.

In order to ensure that an employer has the appropriate protection in place it is important that the following items are in place:

• A clear and well publicised policy in place with regard to bullying, harassment and sexual harassment
• Make sure that employees are aware that they may be subject to disciplinary action for inappropriate conduct at any work related social event
• Managers should be trained in how to deal with unacceptable behaviour
• Employers should deal with matters arising from social event efficiently and that the necessary disciplinary action is taken if required.

See also:    Employer Job Incentive Scheme

The post Regarding work barbeque season, Employers need to be aware of their responsibilities at Employee Social Events appeared first on Parfrey Murphy.

On the face of it the answer to this would normally be no.

If an employee is medically certified as sick then they should not be working for health and safety reasons and working from home is no exception.

However, employers can consider having the employee medically assessed to determine as to what extent the sickness or injury affects their ability to work.

If the only reason they cannot work is because they cannot travel to work then working from home may be an option.

However, Employers need to be mindful that they are responsible for ensuring that the employee’s home environment is fit to work in. So it is important that the organisation has an adequate working from home policy in place.

See also: Importance of Internal Communication Within the SME

The post Can an employee work from home while on certified sick leave? appeared first on Parfrey Murphy.

When filing the return the Revenue gives property owners the option to pay their LPT for 2013 in one single payment or to phase their payments over the period from July to December 2013. One of the phased payment options being made available is the deduction at source from salary or occupational pension.

Therefore employers will be required to make this facility available to their employees from July 2013 onwards. Revenue will notify the employer, via the employers’ copy of the ‘Tax Credit Certificate’ (P2C), to deduct LPT from the employee’s net salary as appropriate.  The employer must commence deductions from July 2013 and spread the deductions evenly over the pay periods occurring between July and December 2013.

The employer will be required to account for and remit the deducted LPT to Revenue on Form P30 and the deductions will also be shown on the employees P60 and P45 where appropriate.

Further information is available on the Revenue website regarding how the deductions at source will operate or you can contact the Employers helpline on 1890 25 45 65.

With the continued changes to payroll calculations and employer obligations it might now be time to look towards outsourced payroll solutions, so that you can focus more on your area of expertise, while ensuring that your payroll will be processed in a compliant and tax efficient manner.

If you need to discuss the above please call us on 021 – 4310266 or email us at pm@parfreymurphy.ie.

The post Local Property Tax – Employers Responsibility appeared first on Parfrey Murphy.

Employees currently on minimum wage

The wage rate forms part of an employee’s terms and conditions of employment. Therefore an employer cannot reduce an employee’s wage rate from €8.65 to the new minimum wage rate of €7.65 unless the employee agrees to the change.

If an employer does change the pay rate without agreement, they could find themselves subject to a claim such as a Payment of Wages claim or a Breach of Contract claim.

New employees

Employers can apply the new minimum wage rate of €7.65 per hour to new employees starting on/after 1 February 2011.

Industry specific wage rates

Certain industries have specific agreements (such as REA and JLC) on rates of pay and these will need to be applied notwithstanding the change in minimum wage.

.

Update: Minimum wage at €8.65 per hour from 1 July 2011

If you have any queries please leave a comment below or email me at blog@parfreymurphy.ie.

Remember, you can subscribe to get posts like this delivered free to you by email or RSS.

.

Related Post:

Introduction to Payroll

The post New Minimum Wage €7.65 per hour (Update €8.65 from 1 July 2011). appeared first on Parfrey Murphy.