Written answers

Tuesday, 30 June 2015

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

EU Directives

Photo of Richard Boyd BarrettRichard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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289. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he agrees, in view of European Directive 93/104/EC which was transposed into Irish law under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, that it is an offence under section 34 of the Act for an employer to pay an employee in lieu of that employee's entitlement to annual leave; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26251/15]

Photo of Gerald NashGerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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An employee’s entitlement to annual leave is set out in section 19 of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Section 19 transposed Article 7 of the original EU Working Time Directive (93/104/EC) – now consolidated by Directive 2003/88/EC. Article 7(2) of the Directive provides that the statutory minimum period of paid annual leave may not be replaced by an allowance in lieu, except where the employment relationship is terminated. Section 23 of the 1997 Act provides for payment in lieu of untaken statutory annual leave on termination of the employment.

Under section 19 of the 1997 Act, an employee acquires an entitlement to 4 weeks’ annual leave if he or she works at least 1,365 hours in a leave year, or one-third of a working week for each month in the leave year in which he or she works at least 117 hours, or 8 per cent of the hours he or she works in a leave year (but subject to a maximum of 4 working weeks).

Any leave entitlements in the contract of employment over and above the statutory minimum will be a matter for negotiation between the employer and employee and it may be the case that payment in lieu could be agreed for the non-statutory portion of the annual leave.

Where an employee does not receive the statutory minimum annual leave entitlement provided for in section 19 of the 1997 Act, the employee, or any trade union of which the employee is a member (with the consent of the employee), may take a case for redress to a Rights Commissioner under section 27 of the 1997 Act. However, a contravention of Section 19 of Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 is not an offence under Section 34 of that Act.

The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) provides general information on employment, equality & industrial relations legislation, through the Workplace Relations Customer Service and Information Unit. It can be contacted at Lo-call: 1890 80 80 90 or via its website www.workplacerelations.ie.

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