Summer Staff Cover 2024

As we approach Summer 2024, we look forward to the normal seasonal influx of summer workers to the Hardware Industry.

Many will be students who are either starting a job for the first time or may be returning to a previous workplace during the seasonal break from their studies.

As always, employers should be aware of their obligations with regard to seasonal colleagues and we have included some items below for consideration.

Preliminaries
In the first instance, employers should ask for employment and/or character references for any new team member. Where necessary, an up to date, valid work permit that the employer must keep on file should also be obtained.

Contract of Employment
Core terms of employment must be provided in writing to an employee within the first five days of their employment. Within these core terms, the expected duration of the employment should be clearly stated. A full contract of employment must also be provided to the employee within 30 days of their start date and, for fixed-term contracts, the reason for the contract should be outlined, e.g. seasonal work. Please take care to ensure you are fully aware of and meet the requirements regarding these documents.

In the event that you select any seasonal employee(s) for further employment once the summer period has ended, but you do not keep on other seasonal employee(s) you should be able to provide sufficient reasoning for this decision.

Training
It is important to note that employers must pay for any mandatory training such as Manual Handling, Forklift Training or Safe Pass, which is required for the role being filled, and this training must be conducted on company time. Of course, you should also consider a wider induction or onboarding process. As part of this, be conscious of both general and refresher training for new employees or returning seasonal workers. This can include
appropriate safety training, product knowledge, use of systems, customer service etc.

Wage
In January 2024, the minimum wage was increased to €12.70. Minimum wage is be paid to all employees, however, in certain instances, some younger employees may receive sub-minimum rates listed as follows:

• Employees who are 19 years of age can receive 90% of the minimum wage rate.
• Employees who are 18 years of age can receive 80% of the minimum wage rate.
• Employees under 18 years of age can receive 70% of the minimum wage rate.

Technically the above rates can be paid to the list of employees mentioned above, but the appropriateness of this can depend on the locality and what competitors are doing.

It is also important to note that all employees are entitled to receive a payslip that outlines their total pay before tax which includes details of Sunday Premium, Holiday Pay, Public Holiday Pay, Overtime (if applicable) and any other deductions.

Employing Workers under the age of 18
In some instances, employees that will be working for you under the age of 18 may be 16 or 17 years of age. With this being the case it is important to be mindful of the following:

Age Limits – for a regular job, the general minimum age is 16 years old, however, employers may take on a person aged 14 or 15 years old for light work.

Wage – As mentioned above, employees under the age of 18 years of age can be paid 70% of the minimum wage but again the employer should reflect on this and take other possible factors into consideration.

Hours – A young person aged 16 or 17 years old can work a maximum of 8 hours per day, between the hours of 6am and 10pm, up to 40 hours a week.

Rest Breaks – For any employees under the age of 16 and 17 years old, a different break regime must be in place. These employees are entitled to receive a 30-minute break after 4.5 hours of work, 12 consecutive hours off between shifts and two days off (consecutively if possible) each week.

Work tasks – Be careful from a risk assessment perspective not to give excessively heavy loads to any employees under the age of 18 years old.

It is essential that employers become familiar with regulations surrounding the employment of a person under 18 years old. If an employer has already hired, or plans to hire, a person that is under the age of 18 years that employer is required to display a poster in the premises containing information regarding the rules and regulations on employing young people under the age of 18. This poster also contains further details of age limits, maximum hours of work, early morning and night work and rest breaks and is available to download from www.workplacerelations.ie

Concluding Comments
Seasonal workers play a key role in summer rosters within the Hardware Industry. Employers should take care to ensure that all employees are treated fairly and equally. All employees, regardless of their tenure with the business, should receive a contract of employment and full training that enables them to complete tasks efficiently, effectively and safely. When done correctly, this will in turn be beneficial to your business. When employing summer workers, be mindful that you may want or need them for further work arrangements after their initial period of employment. While sometimes employers may feel they hold the power in deciding if someone is offered further work, remember it is not a one-way street. You also need to prove yourself to be an employer that someone wants to return to and would recommend to a friend!

Tommy Smyth, Tom Smyth & Associates

For further information please visit www.tsaconsultants.ie

This Business Support article featured in the May/June 2024 issue of The Hardware Journal.