National minimum wage act, 2000

• Enactment Date: 31 March 2000
• Act Number: 5

Number 5 of 2000
NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ACT, 2000
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART I
Preliminary
Section 1. Short title and commencement. 2. Interpretation. 3. Regulations. 4. Laying of orders and regulations before Houses of Oireachtas. 5. Non-application of Act. 6. Expenses of Minister. 7. Provisions in agreement or legislation to pay less than national minimum hourly rate of pay are void.
PART 2
Working Hours and Pay Reference Period
8. Working hours of employee for pay reference period. 9. Certain employees to provide record of working hours to employer. 10. Pay reference period.
PART 3
National Minimum Hourly Rate of Pay
Declaration and Review of National Minimum Hourly Rate of Pay
11. National minimum hourly rate of pay. 12. National economic agreement recommending national minimum hourly rate of pay. 13. Labour Court may recommend national minimum hourly rate of pay where no national economic agreement.
Entitlement of Employee to Payment and Sub-minimum Rates
14. Entitlement to minimum hourly rate of pay. 15. Rates of pay during first 2 years of employment after entering employment after, or attaining, age of 18 years. 16. Trainee rates. 17. Pro-rata entitlement to minimum hourly rate of pay for less than full hour.
Calculation of Minimum Hourly Rate of Pay
18. Calculations for purpose of this Part. 19. Reckonable and non-reckonable pay components in calculating average hourly rate of pay. 20. Method of calculating employee's average hourly rate of pay. 21. Payment of amount owed to employee on termination of employment.
PART 4
Records and Statement of Average Hourly Earnings
22. Records 23. Employee entitled to statement of average hourly rate of pay for pay reference period.
PART 5
Disputes about Entitlement and Enforcement
Hearing of Disputes
24. Disputes about entitlement to minimum hourly rate of pay. 25. Prohibition of reduction in hours of work of an employee without a concomitant reduction in duties or amount of work. 26. Decision of rights commissioner.
Appeals
27. Appeal against rights commissioner's decision. 28. Power of Labour Court in relation to evidence. 29. Determination of Labour Court on appeal. 30. Referral or appeal to High Court on question of law. 31. Referral of decision of rights commissioner to Labour Court for determination. 32. Enforcement of determination of Labour Court.
Inspectors and Inspections
33. Inspectors and their powers. 34. Investigation of allegation or matter by inspector.
Offences and Enforcement
35. Offence to refuse or fail to pay minimum hourly rate of pay. 36. Prohibition of victimisation of employee by employer. 37. Penalties and proceedings. 38. Defence for employer in proceedings. 39. Civil proceedings. 40. Employee's entitlements not affected by conditions of contract of employment contravening certain Acts.
PART 6
Miscellaneous
41. Employer in financial difficulty. 42. Act not to derogate from certain provisions of or under Industrial Relations Acts, 1946 to 1990. 43. Repercussive claims. 44. Amendment of section 3 of Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994. 45. Amendment of section 39 of Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. 46. Change of ownership of business. 47. Extension of Protection of Employees (Employers'Insolvency) Act, 1984. 48. Service of documents. 49. Provisions relating to winding-up and bankruptcy. 50. Recovery of money due to employee.
SCHEDULE
Acts Referred to Bankruptcy Act, 1988 1988, No. 27 Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956 1956, No. 46 Companies Act, 1963 1963, No. 33 Courts Act, 1981 1981, No. 11 Employment Equality Act, 1977 1977, No. 16 Industrial Relations Act, 1946 1946, No. 26 Industrial Relations Act, 1990 1990, No. 19 Industrial Relations Acts, 1946 to 1990 Industrial Training Act, 1967 1967, No. 5 Labour Services Act, 1987 1987, No. 15 Local Government Act, 1941 1941, No. 23 Maternity Protection Act, 1994 1994, No. 34 Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973 to 1991 Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997 1997, No. 20 Payment of Wages Act, 1991 1991, No. 25 Parental Leave Act, 1998 1998, No. 30 Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851 14 & 15 Vict., c. 9 Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act, 1984 1984, No. 21 Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Acts, 1984 to 1991 Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1991 Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 1997, No. 39 Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994 1994, No. 5 Trade Union Act, 1941 1941, No. 22 Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977 1977, No. 10 Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 1993 Worker Protection (Regular Part-Time Employees) Act, 1991 1991, No. 5
Number 5 of 2000
NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE ACT, 2000
AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE DETERMINATION, DECLARATION AND REVIEW OF A NATIONAL MINIMUM HOURLY RATE OF PAY FOR EMPLOYEES, THE ENTITLEMENT OF EMPLOYEES TO REMUNERATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AT A RATE NOT LESS THAN OR CALCULATED BY REFERENCE TO THAT NATIONAL MINIMUM HOURLY RATE, THE CALCULATION OF EMPLOYEES' ENTITLEMENTS, THE SETTLEMENT OF DISPUTES RELATING TO SUCH ENTITLEMENTS, THE ENFORCEMENT AND RECOVERY OF WAGES, THE IMPOSITION OF PENALTIES FOR BREACHES OF THIS ACT, THE AMENDMENT OF THE TERMS OF EMPLOYMENT (INFORMATION) ACT, 1994, THE ORGANISATION OF WORKING TIME ACT, 1997, AND THE PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES (EMPLOYERS' INSOLVENCY) ACT, 1984, AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. [31st March, 2000]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART I Preliminary
	Short title and commencement.	1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000
	(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as, by order or orders made by the Minister under this section, may be fixed therefor, either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions.
	Interpretation.	2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
	“contract of employment” means—
	(a) a contract of service or apprenticeship, or
	(b) any other contract whereby an individual agrees with another person to do or perform personally any work or service for that person or a third person (whether or not the third person is a party to the contract),
	whether the contract is express or implied and, if express, whether or not it is in writing;
	“employee” means a person of any age who has entered into, or works or has worked under, a contract of employment;
	“employer”, in relation to an employee, means the person with whom the employee has entered into, or for whom the employee works or has worked under, a contract of employment, and includes a transferee of an undertaking referred to in section 46 ;
	“functions” includes powers and duties;
	“inspector” means a person appointed under section 33 (1) as an inspector;
	“Minister” means the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment;
	“national minimum hourly rate of pay” means the rate of pay declared by order of the Minister under section 11 ;
	“pay” means all amounts of payment, and any benefit-in-kind specified in Part 1 of the Schedule , made or allowed by an employer to an employee in respect of the employee's employment;
	“pay reference period”, in relation to an employee, means the period selected under section 10 by his or her employer;
	“premium” means any amount in excess of basic pay payable to an employee in respect of his or her work;
	“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made under this Act by the Minister;
	“working hours” has the meaning assigned to it by section 8 .
	(2) A reference in this Act to an employee of an employer shall be construed as a reference to an employee employed by that employer or to whom the employer is liable to pay wages and for that purpose a person holding office under, or in the service of, the State (including a civil servant within the meaning of the Civil Service Regulation Act, 1956 ) shall be deemed to be an employee employed by the State or the Government and an officer or servant of a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act, 1941 , or of a harbour authority, health board or vocational education committee, shall be deemed to be an employee employed by the respective authority, board or committee.
	(3) In this Act—
	(a) a reference to any other enactment shall, except to the extent that the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment, including this Act,
	(b) a reference to a section or Part is a reference to a section or Part of this Act, unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,
	(c) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended, and
	(d) a reference to the Schedule is a reference to the Schedule to this Act.
	Regulations.	3.—(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing such matters as may...