The Government has recently introduced new fines for breaches of certain important employment laws. The Workplace Relations Act 2015 (Fixed Payment Notice) Regulations 2023 (the Regulations) set out a series of on-the-spot fines called fixed payment notices for failing to comply with some important parts of Irish employment law. The Regulations also prescribe the form of fixed payment notices in lieu of prosecution and the amount of the fine in each case.
The Fines
The Regulations prescribe the following fines:
€2,000 where an employer fails to consult with employees’ representatives and to provide them with mandatory information in the context of a collective redundancy.
€1,500 where an employer fails to provide an employee with their terms of employment within one month of the commencement of their employment or provides false or misleading information to the employee.
€1,500 where an employer fails to provide an employee with a written statement of wages and the nature and amount of any deductions from wages.
€1,500 where an employer does not provide an employee with a statement of their average hourly rate of pay for a pay reference period on request by the employee.
€750 where an employer fails to provide employees with a written statement on the distribution of tips and gratuities or fails to treat a service charge as a tip, and
€500 where an employer does not display a ‘tips and gratuities notice’ or a ‘contract workers tips and gratuities notice’.
While these fines seem relatively small, they are potentially cumulative in nature. So, for example, if an employer fails to provide all employees with their terms of employment within one month, then the employer will be fined for each employee. The same applies to other fines.
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