Employment Law

This page explains your employment law rights during the current Covid19 outbreak. As this is an evolving situation, this information is subject to change.

This document is for information purposes only and should not be considered as legal advice on your individual circumstances.

Updated by FLAC on 18 May 2021. This document is for information purposes only, it is not to be construed as legal advice. FLAC accepts no responsibility for actions taken on foot of this document or for the content of external websites or information sources referred to within.

You are an employee working from home

You should continue to be paid as normal.

You are unable to work (either from home or in the workplace) due to lack of childcare

Paid Force Majeure Leave
It may be possible to claim Force Majeure Leave and, if so, you should be paid as normal by your employer.

Force Majeure Leave is usually only available “for urgent family reasons owing to accident/illness of an immediate relative, or of a person in a relationship of domestic dependency” with an employee. During the Covid-19 crisis employers
are being urged by the Government to permit employees to take Force Majeure
Leave even where they do not technically qualify under the legislation.

A maximum of 5 days Force Majeure Leave is allowed over a three-year period,
with a maximum of 3 days in any one year. Employers may be willing to allow
employees to take the full 5 day entitlement during this crisis.

Note that if you claim the full entitlement now, your employer may refuse a
request for Force Majeure Leave if a dependant becomes sick over the next 3
years.

Paid Annual Leave
You could ask your employer to allow you take annual leave. It is often at your
employer’s discretion when you take it, but there is an obligation on an employer
to recognise the need for the employee ‘to reconcile work and any family
responsibilities’ when deciding on leave – this is important in the current situation.

If you work full time you are entitled to a minimum of 4 weeks paid annual leave
per year, but you may have additional contractual entitlements and may have
carried over unused annual leave from previous years that you can use now Employees earn annual leave over the time they have worked e.g. after three
months of work you will have accrued (and should be able to take) at least one
week of your annual entitlement. Your employer may also let you take “future”
annual leave now.

Your employer may require you to take annual leave at particular times.
Normally, employers should consult with employees 1 month prior to requiring
this. However, in the current circumstances if you don’t want to take your annual
leave your employer may give you the option of taking unpaid leave instead of
paid annual leave.

It is worth noting that you may cancel the leave if you are sick and this is
medically certified.

Unpaid Parental Leave
If you are a parent, you are entitled to take unpaid leave from work to spend time
looking after your children. You can take up to 26 weeks’ parental leave for each
eligible child before their 12th birthday.

In principle, you must have one year’s service by the date it is proposed to take
parental leave, but if you have a minimum of three months service by that date,
you will be entitled to one week’s leave for each month of service.

It is worth noting that you may cancel the parental leave if you are sick.

Unpaid Leave
Your employer may, at its discretion, permit you to take general unpaid leave if
you do not want to take paid annual leave to cover your absence.

Discretionary Paid leave
There is nothing to stop employers continuing to pay employees who are not in
work. However, this would be a discretionary benefit and may just be a temporary
measure meaning your employer could stop paying you at any time.

Government Income Supports

Paid Parent’s Leave and Benefit
Parent’s Leave is a new statutory entitlement for parents to take 5 weeks leave in
the first 2 years after the birth or adoption of their child. It is available for children
born or adopted after 1 November 2019. These 5 weeks can be taken separately
or together.

Each parent of a child may be entitled to be paid Parent’s Benefit for the 5 weeks while on Parent’s Leave.

You are medically certified not to go to work due to COVID-19

You cannot work due to caring for person with Covid-19

You are not medically certified, but: do not want to risk going to work; or practical reasons mean you cannot go to work

Continue pay as normal
If your employer directs you not to attend work (for reasons unrelated to a
downturn in business i.e. they are not placing you on lay off) and you are willing
and able to work, it is your employer’s decision so they should continue to pay
you.

Government Income Supports

Pandemic Unemployment Payment
If you are asked to stay at home on a permanent basis due to Covid-19 and your employer is not paying you, you may be eligible for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).

The PUP is a payment of up to €350 per week for the duration of the pandemic
and is designed for employees and self-employed people who have lost their jobs
due to Covid-19. The rate of payment is linked to your previous average gross
weekly earnings:
Average weekly earnings Current rate
€400 or over €350
€300 – €399.99 €300
€200 – €299.99 €250
Less than €200 €203

To be eligible for PUP, you must have:

been in employment or self-employment on or after 13 March 2020
Have lost your job or be temporarily laid off from work or asked to
stay at home from work due to the pandemic
Stopped trading as self-employed due to the pandemic.

You cannot claim the PUP if you are continuing to receive any income from your employment (e.g. if you are working reduced hours or if your employer is topping up your wages or availing of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme) or if you voluntarily left your employment.
It is important to note that the PUP is taxable. The amout of tax you are required
to pay will depend on your overall income during the year. In 2021 the PUP is
taxed in real time, but you may have received PUP payments in 2020 in respect
of which tax had not been deducted which means you may have an outstanding
tax liablity.

You should contact Revenue if you have any quries about this.
You can apply online for the benefit at www.mywelfare.ie. Alternatively, the
Department of Social Protection can provide you with a paper application form
which you can post for free to: Free Post to PO BOX 12896, Dublin 1.

Employee Entitlements
• Paid Force Majeure Leave
It may be possible to claim Force Majeure Leave and, if so, you should be paid
as normal by your employer.
Force Majeure Leave is usually only available “for urgent family reasons owing to
accident/illness of an immediate relative, or of a person in a relationship of
domestic dependency” with an employee. During the Covid-19 crisis employers
are being urged by the Government to permit employees to take Force Majeure
Leave even where they do not technically qualify under the legislation.
A maximum of 5 days Force Majeure Leave is allowed over a three-year period,
with a maximum of 3 days in any one year. Employers may be willing to allow
employees to take the full 5 day entitlement during this crisis.
Note that if you claim the full entitlement now, your employer may refuse a
request for Force Majeure Leave if one of your children/a dependant becomes
sick over the next 3 years.
• Paid Annual Leave
You could ask your employer to allow you take annual leave. It is often at your
employer’s discretion when you take it, but there is an obligation on an employer
to recognise the need for the employee ‘to reconcile work and any family
responsibilities’ when deciding on leave – this is important in the current situation.
If you work full time you are entitled to a minimum of 4 weeks paid annual leave
per year, but you may have additional contractual entitlements and may have
carried over unused annual leave from previous years that you can use now.
Employees earn annual leave over the time they have worked e.g. after three
months of work you will have accrued (and should be able to take) at least one
week of your annual entitlement. Your employer may also let you take “future”
annual leave now.
Your employer may require you to take annual leave at particular times.
Normally, employers should consult with employees 1 month prior to requiring
this. However, in the current circumstances if you don’t want to take your annual
leave your employer may give you the option of taking unpaid leave instead of
paid annual leave.

It is worth noting that you may cancel the leave if you are sick and this is
medically certified.
• Unpaid Leave
Your employer may, at its discretion, permit you take general unpaid leave if you
do not want to take paid annual leave to cover your absence.
• Discretionary Paid leave
There is nothing to stop employers continuing to pay employees who are not in
work. However, this would be a discretionary benefit and may just be a temporary
measure meaning your employer could stop paying you at any time.
• Unpaid Carer’s Leave
Carer’s Leave may be available if you need to leave your employment
temporarily to provide care for someone certified as in need of full-time care and
attention for at least 13 weeks. This could include a person who has contracted
COVID-19.
An employer is entitled to refuse a proposed period of less than 13 weeks, but
only on reasonable grounds and must set out those reasons in writing. In the
current uncertainty, it might be difficult for an employer to show that it is
reasonable to refuse you a period of less than 13 weeks Carer’s Leave.
You need approval from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social
Protection and you must have 1 years’ service with your employer to avail of the
full leave period.
Government Income Supports
A welfare payment – Carers Benefit – is available to employees taking Carer’s
Leave, subject to a number of conditions. If you do not qualify for Carer’s Benefit
you may qualify for Carer’s Allowance which is a means-tested payment.

You are not medically certified, but your employer has instructed you not to come into work

Your workplace remains open, but business is reduced

Employee Entitlements
Reduced Hours

Your employer may seek to temporarily reduce your working hours if there is less
work available for you to do. Usually your employer would need to have included
a clause in your employment contract to allow them to do this. However, if the
current public health emergency of COVID-19 has led to an immediate downturn
in business, your employer may use this to justify a reduction in your hours and
pay, and indeed, you may be willing to consent to the reduction in the short term.
Note that if you continue to work more than half of your normal hours each week
you do not have any entitlement to Short Time Work Support, a welfare payment
that is set out in more detail below.
You may be able to supplement reduced hours by taking paid annual leave or
parental leave on days you are not working.

Short Time
If there is a decrease in your work so that your pay is less than 50% of your
normal weekly pay, this is known as “Short Time”. If the Short Time is due to
Covid-19 you may be entitled to a number of Government supports (see below).
 Government Income Supports
Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme
If you have been placed on layoff or short time due to Covid-19, the Government
may subsidise your wages, on a temporary basis and subject to a number of
conditions, as follows:
Gross pay per week Current Subsidy rates
Less than €151.50 No subsidy applies
€151.50 – €202.99 €203
€203 – €299.99 €250
€300 – €399.99 €300
€400 – €1,462 €350
Over €1,462 No subsidy applies
There are also a number of eligibility requirements for your employer and they must
be able to show that their business has been adversely affected by Covid-19. They
are not obliged to top up your salary as part of this scheme.

Your employer will apply for this benefit on your behalf and should pass it to you
(after deducting relevant taxes). They must keep you on payroll and you will
receive the payment directly from your employer.
You should contact your employer directly to discuss your potential eligibility.

Short Time Work Support
If you are ineligible for the Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme, you may be eligible
for Short Time Work Support.
This is a form of Jobseeker’s Benefit. It is an income support payment if you have
been temporarily placed on a shorter working week.
The payment is made in respect of your regular salary for the days that you are
no longer working. For example, if your working week has been reduced from a 5
day work pattern to a 3 day work pattern, you can receive support for the other 2
days.
Short Time Work Support is paid for a maximum of 234 days. Your entitlement
will depend on the number of social insurance contributions you have.
Claiming Redundancy lump sum when on lay off or short time
If you are placed on layoff or short time as result of COVID-19 you may only
make a claim for redundancy after the expiry of the “emergency period” which is
currently set to end on 30 June 2021 (though we expect this will be extended
again by the Government).

In such a case the onus is on you to claim a redundancy payment after the expiry
of the emergency period or not later than 4 weeks after the end of the lay-off or
short-time. If your employer disputes the claim for redundancy, they must issue a
notice stating that they will be able to provide at least 13 weeks work for you
within 4 weeks of receipt of the claim from you. You must receive that notice
within 7 days of the date of your claim for a redundancy payment.

Your workplace is closed and employees cannot work from home

Your place of work decides to permanently let people go

You are preparing for for a return to the workplace

Your workplace remains open, but you cannot work from home and: You do not want to risk going to work; or there are other practical reasons you cannot go to work

Your Legal Rights

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