Written answers

Tuesday, 20 March 2018

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

Employment Rights

Photo of Kevin O'KeeffeKevin O'Keeffe (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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388. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if there is a scheme that provides assistance to employers who must pay their employees when absent from work when there is a red alert climate warning in place. [11965/18]

Photo of Pat BreenPat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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During the course of the recent extreme weather event a status red alert warning was issued by Met Éireann covering a number of counties, mainly in the Leinster and Munster areas.

Under Irish employment law there is no statutory obligation for an employer to pay an employee where that employee cannot attend for work.  Payment of wages in situations where an employee is unable to attend work due to severe weather conditions is primarily a contractual matter between employers and employees. Many employers will have absence management policies in place to deal with such circumstances.

Employers and employees are encouraged to seek to resolve any issues in this regard at the level of the employment. Where issues cannot be resolved locally, the employee may make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) under either the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 or the Payment of Wages Act 1991.

This is no scheme under the remit of my Department to compensate employers for payment of wages under the circumstances outlined.

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