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.

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;

F1["Act of 2015" means the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015;

"Commission" means the Low Pay Commission established under section 10A (inserted by section 5 of the Act of 2015);]

“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;

F2["national minimum hourly rate of pay" means the rate of pay declared by order of the Minister under section 10D (inserted by section 8 of the Act of 2015);]

“pay” means all amounts of payment, and any benefit-in-kind specified in Part 1 of F3[Schedule 1], 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 F4[or of a health board, or a member of staff of an education and training board], shall be deemed to be an employee employed by the respective authority F4[or board].

(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 F5[a Schedule] is a reference to F5[a Schedule] to this Act.

3.—(1) The Minister may make regulations prescribing such matters as may be prescribed under this Act by the Minister, and may make such other regulations as are necessary or expedient for the purpose of giving effect to this Act.

(2) Regulations made under this section may contain such incidental, supplementary and consequential provisions as appear to the Minister to be necessary.

4.—Every order (other than an order made under section 1(2)) or regulation made by the Minister under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order or regulation is passed by either House within the next subsequent 21 days on which that House has sat after the order or regulation is laid before it, the order or regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under the order or regulation.

5.—F6[(1)] This Act does not apply to the remuneration of a person who is—

(a) the spouseF7[, civil partner within the meaning of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010], father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, step-father, step-mother, son, daughter, step-son, step-daughter, grandson, grand-daughter, brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister of an employer, employed by the employer, or

(b) an apprentice within the meaning of or under the Industrial Training Act, 1967, or the Labour Services Act, 1987.

F8[(2) This Act does not apply to any non-commercial activity or work engaged in by prisoners under the supervision of the governor or person in charge of the prison concerned, including—

(a) any cleaning or kitchen work or other work relating to the operation of the prison;

(b) activity of an educational, training or work experience nature which is intended to prepare prisoners for their re-integration into society;

(c) the production of goods or services which are—

(i) sold or provided for the purpose of raising funds for charitable purposes or providing facilities for prisoners, or

(ii) disposed of or provided without charge or for a nominal charge.]

6.—Any expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be approved of by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

7.—(1) A provision in a contract of employment (whether made or entered into before or after the commencement of this section) is void in so far as it purports to exclude or limit the operation of any provision of this Act.

(2) A contract or agreement or an enactment in force immediately before the commencement of this section that provides for the entitlement to pay for an employee less favourable than that to be provided in accordance with this Act is hereby modified to the extent necessary to provide that the employee’s entitlement after the commencement of this section shall be not less favourable than that to be provided in accordance with this Act.

(3) Nothing in this section shall prevent the inclusion in a contract of employment of a provision more favourable to an employee than an entitlement in accordance with this Act.

8.—(1) For the purpose of determining under this Act whether an employee is being paid not less than the minimum hourly rate of pay to which he or she is entitled in accordance with this Act, but subject to section 9, “working hours”, in relation to an employee in a pay reference period, means—

(a) the hours (including a part of an hour) of work of the employee as determined in accordance with—

(i) his or her contract of employment,

(ii) any collective agreement that relates to the employee,

(iii) any Registered Employment Agreement that relates to the employee,

(iv) any Employment Regulation Order that relates to the employee,

(v) any statement provided by the employee’s employer to the employee in accordance with section 3(1) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994,

(vi) any notification by the employee’s employer to the employee under section 17 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997,

(vii) section 18 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, or

(viii) any other agreement made between the employee and his or her employer or their representatives that includes a provision in relation to hours of work,

or

(b) the total hours during which the employee carries out or performs the activities of his or her work at the employee’s place of employment or is required by his or her employer to be available for work there and is paid as if the employee is carrying out or performing the activities of his or her work,

whichever, in any case, is the greater number of hours of work.

(2) “Working hours” under this section shall include—

(a) overtime,

(b) time spent travelling on official business, and

(c) time spent on training or on a training course or course of study authorised by the employer, within the workplace or elsewhere, during normal working hours,

but shall not include—

(i) time spent on standby or on call at a place other than a place of work or training provided by or on behalf of the employer for whom the employee is on standby or on call,

F9[(ii) time spent absent from work on annual leave, sick leave, protective leave, adoptive leave, parental leave, F10[leave for medical care purposes, domestic violence leave,] carer’s leave under the Carer’s Leave Act, 2001, while laid-off, on strike or on "lock-out", or time for which the employee is paid in lieu of notice, or]

(iii) time spent on travelling between an employee’s place of residence and place of work and back.

9.—(1) Where an employee’s working hours are assessed as provided in section 8(1) (b) but are not normally controlled by his or her employer, the following shall apply:

(a) the employee shall keep a written record of his or her working hours during every day he or she is employed during a pay reference period;

(b) the employee shall give the record to his or her employer as soon as reasonably practicable after the end of the pay reference period;

(c) if the employee fails to comply with paragraph (b), the working hours of the employee shall be calculated in accordance with section 8(1) (a) and the employer shall notify the employee of that circumstance as soon as possible after the expiration of the period, but in any case not later than at the time of receipt by the employee of his or her pay for the working hours concerned.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an employee whose average hourly rate of pay for the working hours concerned is likely to be not less than 150 per cent, or such other percentage as may be prescribed, of the national minimum hourly rate of pay.

(3) An employee who provides his or her employer with information in a record of working hours under this section that the employee knows to be false or misleading in a material respect shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500.

10.—An employer shall select as a pay reference period for the purposes of this Act a period not exceeding one calendar month.

10A.—(1) There is hereby established a body to be known in the Irish language as An Coimisiún um Pá Íseal or, in the English language, as the Low Pay Commission to perform the functions conferred on it by section 10C (inserted by section 7 of the Act of 2015).

(2) Subject to this Act, the Commission shall be independent in the performance of its functions.

(3) The provisions of Schedule 2 (inserted by section 10 of the Act of 2015) shall apply to the Commission.]

10B.—The Commission in the performance of the functions assigned to it by section 10C shall make recommendations to the Minister regarding the national minimum hourly rate of pay that—

(a) is designed to assist as many low paid workers as is reasonably practicable,

(b) is set at a rate that is both fair and sustainable,

(c) where adjustment is appropriate, is adjusted incrementally, and

(d) over time, is progressively increased,

without creating significant adverse consequences for employment or competitiveness.]

10C.—(1) Without prejudice to the generality of section 10B, the Commission shall once each year—

(a) examine the national minimum hourly rate of pay, and

(b) make a recommendation to the Minister respecting the national minimum hourly rate of pay.

(2) (a) A recommendation under this section shall be accompanied by a report on the matters considered when making the recommendation.

(b) A recommendation and report under this section shall be furnished to the Minister on or before the third Tuesday falling in July in the year to which the examination relates.

(3) When making a recommendation under subsection (1)(b), the Commission shall have regard to—

(a) changes in earnings during the relevant period,

(b) changes in currency exchange rates during the relevant period,

(c) changes in income distribution during the relevant period,

(d) whether during the relevant period—

(i) unemployment has been increasing or decreasing,

(ii) employment has been increasing or decreasing, and

(iii) productivity has been increasing or decreasing,

both generally and in the sectors most affected by the making of an order under section 10D (inserted by section 8 of the Act of 2015),

(e) international comparisons, particularly with Great Britain and Northern Ireland,

(f) the need for job creation, and

(g) the likely effect that any proposed order will have on—

(i) levels of employment and unemployment,

(ii) the cost of living, and

(iii) national competitiveness.

(4) (a) If so requested by the Minister, the Commission shall examine and report its views and recommendations on such matters, related generally to the functions of the Commission under this Act, as are specified by the Minister in that request.

(b) A request under paragraph (a) shall—

(i) be made not later than 2 months after this Act comes into operation and, thereafter, not later than 2 months after the beginning of each year,

(ii) be part of that year’s work programme of the Commission, and

(iii) specify the period within which the Commission shall report its views and recommendations to the Minister.

(c) The Minister may extend the period specified under paragraph (b)(iii).

(5) The Commission shall once every 3 years report generally on the operation of this Act and, in particular, on the impact of any orders made under section 10D on low pay, income distribution and employment costs.

(6) When preparing a report under this section the Commission shall consult with such persons, including representatives of employers and employees, as it thinks appropriate.

(7) The Minister shall cause a copy of any report or recommendation furnished to him or her in accordance with this section to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas not later than 3 months after the receipt of that report or recommendation.

(8) The Commission shall have all such powers as are necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions.

(9) In this section "relevant period" means—

(a) in the case of the first report furnished under subsection (2)(b), the period since the most recent making of an order under section 11 of the Principal Act, or

(b) in the case of a second or subsequent report furnished under subsection (2)(b), the period since the most recent making of an order under section 10D (inserted by section 8 of the Act of 2015).]

10D.—(1) Within 3 months of the date of receipt of a recommendation and report submitted to him or her under section 10C(2) and having considered the report and recommendation and having had regard to section 10C(3), the Minister shall—

(a) by order declare a national minimum hourly rate of pay—

(i) in the terms recommended by the Commission, or

(ii) in other terms,

or

(b) decline to make such an order.

F15[(1A) Where the Minister—

(a) having received a recommendation and report submitted to him or her under section 10C(2), having considered the report and recommendation and, having had regard to section 10C(3), has declined to make an order in accordance with subsection (1) (b), and

(b) has, in accordance with subsection (2) (b), prepared and laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas a statement of his or her reasons for declining to make such order,

the Minister may by order declare a national minimum hourly rate of pay in the terms recommended by the Commission or in other terms.]

(2) Where the Minister—

(a) by order declares a national minimum hourly rate of pay in terms other than terms recommended by the Commission, F16[…]

F15[(ab) by order declares a national minimum hourly rate of pay in accordance with subsection (1A), or]

(b) declines to make an order declaring a national minimum hourly rate of pay,

the Minister shall prepare and lay before both Houses of the Oireachtas a statement of his or her reasons for so doing.

(3) The national minimum hourly rate of pay declared by order under this section may include an allowance in respect of board and lodgings, board only or lodgings only at such rates as are specified in the order.

(4) Where the Commission fails to make a recommendation or submit the report required in accordance with section 10C(2)(b) the Minister may, by order, having had regard to section 10C(3), declare a national minimum hourly rate of pay.]

10E.—(1) The Minister shall advance to the Commission out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas such amount or amounts as the Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, determine for the purposes of expenditure by the Commission in the performance of its functions.

(2) The Minister shall make available to the Commission such officers of the Minister and reasonable facilities and services as the Minister, after consultation with the Commission, may determine.]

11.—F18[…]

12.—F19[…]

13.—F20[…]

F21[14.—Subject to sections 15, 17, 18 and 41, an employee shall be remunerated by his or her employer in respect of the employee’s working hours in any pay reference period, at an hourly rate of pay that on average is not less than the national minimum hourly rate of pay.]

15.—(1) The Minister shall prescribe a percentage of the national minimum hourly rate of pay in relation to employees—

(a) who have not attained the age of 18 years,

(b) who are 18 years of age, and

(c) who are 19 years of age.

(2) Subject to sections 17, 18 and 41, an employee to whom subsection (1) relates shall be remunerated by his or her employer in respect of the employee’s working hours in any pay reference period at an hourly rate of pay that on average is not less than the percentage of the national minimum hourly rate of pay prescribed under that subsection in relation to that employee.

(3) In prescribing percentages under subsection (1), the Minister shall have regard to the condition of the labour market, the costs of employment, levels of youth employment and levels of youth unemployment.

(4) In prescribing percentages under subsection (1), the Minister shall not prescribe a percentage that is—

(a) in the case of employees who have not attained the age of 18 years, less than 70 per cent,

(b) in the case of employees who are 18 years of age, less than 80 per cent, and

(c) in the case of employees who are 19 years of age, less than 90 per cent,

of the national minimum hourly rate of pay.]

16.—F23[…]

17.—The rate of pay that a person is entitled to in accordance with this Part shall be calculated pro-rata in respect of any time that is less than a full hour.

18.—(1) Nothing in this Part prevents the deduction from any pay to which an employee is entitled in accordance with this Act, or the payment by an employee to an employer, of any amount permitted in accordance with section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1991, or any other enactment or instrument made under an enactment.

(2) No such deductions shall be made or payment allowed for in calculating the hourly rate of pay of an employee for the purpose of determining under this Act whether the employee is being paid not less than the minimum hourly rate of pay to which he or she is entitled in accordance with this Act.

19.—(1) Subject to section 18, all the pay of an employee in a specific pay reference period shall be included in calculating the employee’s average hourly rate of pay in that period for the purposes of determining under this Act whether an employee is being paid not less than the minimum hourly rate of pay to which he or she is entitled in that period.

(2) Any payments or benefits-in-kind listed in Part 2 of the F24[Schedule 1] are not included as pay of an employee for the purposes of subsection (1).

(3) The Minister may, by regulation, add an item to, delete an item from, or otherwise amend, the F24[Schedule 1] but only after consultation with such representatives of employers and employees in the State as the Minister considers appropriate.

(4) An employer shall not, for the purposes of this Act, change a payment or benefit-in-kind listed as a non-reckonable component of pay as set out in Part 2 of the F24[Schedule 1] so that its status becomes that of a reckonable component of pay as set out in Part 1 of the F24[Schedule 1].

(5) For the purposes of this section, the amount, if any, that shall be allowed for board with lodgings, board only, and lodgings only in calculating the hourly rate of pay of an employee in a pay reference period shall be the amount declared as such under F25[section 10D].

20.—For the purpose of determining under this Act whether an employee is being paid not less than the minimum hourly rate of pay to which he or she is entitled under this Act in a pay reference period, the gross remuneration of the employee calculated in accordance with section 19 shall be divided by the total working hours of the employee in the pay reference period calculated under section 8.

21.—To avoid doubt, where the employment of an employee is terminated, the employee shall be paid at not less than the minimum hourly rate of pay to which he or she is entitled in accordance with this Act in respect of the period commencing on the beginning of the pay reference period in which his or her employment was terminated and ending on the date of that termination.

22.—(1) An employer shall keep, at the premises or place where his or her employee works or, if the employee works at 2 or more premises or places, the premises or place from which the activities that the employee is employed to carry on are principally directed or controlled, such records as are necessary to show whether this Act is being complied with in relation to the employee and, subject to section 23 (5), those records shall be retained by the employer for at least 3 years from the date of their making.

(2) An employer who, without reasonable cause, fails to comply with subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500.

(3) Without prejudice to subsection (2), where an employer fails to keep records under subsection (1) in respect of his or her compliance with a particular provision of this Act in relation to an employee, the onus of proving, in proceedings before a rights commissioner or the Labour Court, that the provision was complied with lies on the employer.

23.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), an employee may request from his or her employer a written statement of the employee’s average hourly rate of pay for any pay reference period (other than the employee’s current pay reference period) falling within the 12 month period immediately preceding the request.

(2) An employee shall not make a request under subsection (1) in respect of any pay reference period during which the hourly rate of pay of the employee was on average not less than 150 per cent calculated in accordance with section 20, or such other percentage as may be prescribed, of the national minimum hourly rate of pay or where the request would be frivolous or vexatious.

(3) A request under subsection (1) shall be in writing and identify the pay reference period or periods to which it relates.

(4) The employer shall, within 4 weeks after receiving the employee’s request, give to the employee a statement in writing setting out in relation to the pay reference period or periods—

(a) details of reckonable pay components (including the value of all forms of remuneration) paid or allowed to the employee in accordance with Part 1 of F26[Schedule 1],

(b) the working hours of the employee calculated in accordance with section 8,

(c) the average hourly pay (including the value of forms of remuneration other than cash payments) actually paid or allowed to the employee, as determined in accordance with section 20, and

(d) the minimum hourly rate of pay to which the employee is entitled in accordance with this Act.

(5) A statement under subsection (4) shall be signed and dated by or on behalf of the employer and a copy shall be kept by the employer for a period of 15 months beginning on the date on which the statement was given to the employee.

(6) An employer who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with this section or a request under this section, or who provides false or misleading information to an employee in a statement under subsection (4) knowing it to be false or misleading, shall be guilty of an offence and be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500.

24.—F27[(1) For the purposes of this section, a dispute between an employee and his or her employer as to the employee’s entitlements under this Act exists where the employee and his or her employer cannot agree on the appropriate entitlement of the employee to pay in accordance with this Act resulting in an alleged underpayment to the employee.]

(2) F27[The Director General of the Workplace Relations Commission shall not entertain a dispute in relation to an employee’s entitlements under this Act and, accordingly, shall not refer the dispute to an adjudication officer under section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015]—

(a) unless the employee—

(i) has obtained under section 23 a statement of his or her average hourly rate of pay in respect of the relevant pay reference period, or

(ii) having requested the statement, has not been provided with it within the time limited by that section for the employer to supply the information,

and a period of 6 months (or such longer period, not exceeding 12 months, as the rights commissioner may allow) has not elapsed since that statement was obtained or time elapsed, as the case may be,

or

(b) where, in respect of the same alleged under-payment, the employer is or has been—

(i) the subject of investigation by an inspector under section 33 or 34, or

(ii) prosecuted for an offence under section 35.

(3) F28[…]

(4) An inspector shall advise F27[an adjudication officer], on request by the F27[adjudication officer], as to whether the inspector has investigated or is investigating an alleged under-payment the subject of the dispute.

(5) F28[…]

(6) F28[…]

(7) F28[…]

25.—(1) Where an employee alleges that he or she is being prejudiced by a reduction in his or her hours of work without a concomitant reduction in duties or amount of work, because of an increased liability of the employer resulting from the passing of this Act or the declaration of a national minimum hourly rate of pay, and the employer, within 2 weeks of being so requested by the employee or the employee’s representative with the employee’s consent, does not restore the employee’s working hours to those obtaining immediately before the reduction, the employer and employee shall, for the purposes of section 24(1), be deemed not to be able to agree on the appropriate entitlement of the employee to pay in accordance with this Act resulting in an alleged underpayment to the employee F29[…].

(2) F29[…]

F30[(3) In proceedings under Part 4 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 in respect of a matter that, by virtue of subsection (1), is a dispute for the purposes of section 24, it shall be presumed unless the contrary is proved on the balance of probabilities that any reduction in hours of work was for the purpose of avoiding the alleged increased liability referred to in subsection (1).]

26.—(1) A decision of an adjudication officer in relation to a dispute in respect of the entitlements of an employee under this Act referred to the adjudication officer under section 41 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 may contain—

(a) a direction to the employer to pay to the employee—

(i) an award of arrears, being the difference between any amount paid or allowed by the employer to the employee for pay and the minimum amount the employee was entitled to be paid or allowed in accordance with this Act in respect of the period to which the dispute relates, and

(ii) reasonable expenses of the employee in connection with the dispute,

(b) a requirement that the employer rectify, within a specified time (not being later than 42 days after the date the decision is communicated to the employer) or in a specified manner, any matter, including the payment of any amount, in respect of which the employer is in contravention of this Act, or

(c) both such direction and such requirement, as the adjudication officer considers appropriate.

(2) An adjudication officer shall maintain a register of all decisions made by him or her under this section and shall make the register available for inspection by members of the public during normal office hours.]

27.—F32[…]

28.—F33[…]

29.—(1) A decision of the Labour Court under section 44 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 on appeal from a decision of an adjudication officer referred to in section 26 shall either—

(a) affirm the decision of the adjudication officer, or

(b) contain—

(i) a direction to the employer to pay to the employee—

(I) an award of arrears, being the difference between any amount paid or allowed by the employer to the employee for pay and the minimum amount the employee was entitled to be paid or allowed in accordance with this Act in respect of the period to which the dispute relates, and

(II) reasonable expenses of the employee in connection with the dispute,

(ii) a requirement that the employer rectify, within a specified time (not being later than 42 days after the date the decision is communicated to the employer) or in a specified manner, any matter, including the payment of any amount, in respect of which the employer is in contravention of this Act, or

(iii) both such direction and such requirement, as the Labour Court considers appropriate.]

30.—F35[…]

31.—F36[…]

32.—F37[…]

33.—F38[…]

34.—(1) Where an employee alleges that his or her employer has failed to remunerate the employee to an extent required in accordance with this Act, the employee or the employee’s representative with the consent of the employee, may request an inspector to investigate the allegation.

(2) An inspector may, on the request or on behalf of an employee under subsection (1), or of the inspector’s own motion if the inspector believes that an under-payment of pay to an employee has been made, investigate the allegation or matter and, where the investigation is on the request or behalf of an employee, advise the employee of the outcome of the investigation.

(3) Subject to subsection (5), an inspector shall, on the request for advice under section 39 by the Minister, investigate the matter on which the advice is sought and advise the Minister accordingly.

(4) Where after investigating an allegation or matter under this section an inspector is satisfied that an offence under this Act has been committed, or when so requested by the Minister, the inspector shall furnish a report on his or her investigation to the Minister.

(5) An inspector shall not investigate an allegation or matter—

(a) in relation to a dispute which has been referred to a rights commissioner under section 24 (and shall cease any investigation he or she has commenced on becoming aware of any such referral); or

(b) involving payments made or alleged entitlements arising more than 3 years before the date of the inspection or proposed inspection.

(6) A rights commissioner shall, at the request of an inspector, inform the inspector as to whether a particular dispute has been referred to the rights commissioner under section 24.

F39[F40[(7)] In this section "inspector" has the same meaning as it has in the Workplace Relations Act 2015.]

35.—(1) An employer who refuses or fails to remunerate an employee for each working hour or part of a working hour in any pay reference period at an hourly rate of pay that on average is not less than the employee’s entitlement to the minimum hourly rate of pay in accordance with this Act shall be guilty of an offence.

(2) Where the employer charged is found guilty of an offence under this section, evidence may be given of any like contravention on the part of the employer in respect of any period during the 3 years immediately preceding the date of the offence.

(3) In proceedings against a person under subsection (1), it shall lie with the person to prove that he or she has paid or allowed pay of not less than the amount he or she was required to pay or allow in accordance with this Act.

36.—(1) An employer shall not cause or suffer any action prejudicial to an employee for the employee having—

(a) exercised or having proposed to exercise a right under this Act,

(b) in good faith opposed or proposed to oppose by lawful means an act which is unlawful under this Act, or

(c) become, or in future will or might become, entitled in accordance with this Act to remuneration at an hourly rate of pay that on average is not less than the national minimum rate of pay, or a particular percentage of that rate of pay.

(2) Dismissal of an employee in contravention of subsection (1) shall be deemed to be an unfair dismissal of the employee within the meaning and for the purposes of section 6(1) of the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 to 1993 (but without prejudice to sections 2 to 5 of the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977, except that it is not necessary for the employee to have at least one year’s continuous service with the employer and that Act shall apply as if the Worker Protection (Regular Part-Time Employees) Act, 1991, were repealed in relation to the number of hours an employee is normally expected to work for the purposes of that Act) and those Acts, with the necessary modifications, shall apply accordingly.

(3) Where an employee alleges he or she has suffered an action prejudicial to the employee in contravention of subsection (1) and the employer, within 2 weeks of being so requested by the employee or the employee’s representative with the employee’s consent, does not restore the employee to conditions of employment he or she enjoyed immediately before suffering the alleged prejudicial action, the employer and the employee shall, for the purposes of section 24(1), be deemed not to be able to agree on the appropriate entitlement of the employee to pay in accordance with this Act, resulting in an alleged underpayment to the employee, and sections 24 to 32 (except section 24(2)), with the necessary modifications, shall apply accordingly.

(4) A dispute cannot be referred to a rights commissioner in pursuance of subsection (3) if a period of 6 months (or such longer period not exceeding 12 months, as the rights commissioner may allow) has elapsed since the employer’s alleged prejudicial action referred to in subsection (1).

37.—(1) A person guilty of an offence under this Act for which no penalty, other than under this section, is provided shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months, or to both the fine and the imprisonment, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £10,000 or, at the discretion of the court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years, or to both the fine and the imprisonment.

(2) If the offence of which a person was convicted is continued after conviction, the person shall be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the act or omission constituting the offence continues, and for each such further offence the person shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £200 or on conviction on indictment to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

(3) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate or by a person acting on behalf of a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent, connivance or approval of, or to have been attributable to any neglect on the part of, a person who, when the offence was committed, was a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, that person (as well as the body corporate) shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if guilty of the offence committed by the body corporate.

(4) Proceedings in relation to a summary offence under this Act may be prosecuted by the Minister.

(5) Notwithstanding section 10(4) of the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, proceedings for an offence under this Act may be instituted within 12 months from the date of the discovery of the offence.

38.—It shall be a defence in proceedings for an offence under this Act by an employer if the employer proves that he or she exercised due diligence and took reasonable precautions to ensure that this Act and any relevant regulations made under it were complied with by the employer and any person under his or her control.

39.—(1) Where an employer has not paid to an employee an amount of pay to which the employee is entitled in accordance with this Act and, in respect of that amount no dispute has been referred to a rights commissioner under section 24 or allegation referred to an inspector under section 34 for investigation, and, in the opinion of the Minister, it is not reasonable in the circumstances to expect the employee, or the representative of the employee with the employee’s consent, to either refer a dispute or allegation, or to institute civil proceedings for the recovery of the amount, the Minister may request an inspector to advise the Minister whether or not, in the inspector’s opinion, civil proceedings should be instituted by the Minister on behalf and in the name of the employee.

(2) After considering the advice of an inspector requested under subsection (1), the Minister may, in his or her absolute discretion, institute or refrain from instituting civil proceeding in the name of the employee for the recovery of the amount.

(3) In proceedings under subsection (2) the employee shall not be liable for costs but the court before which the proceedings are brought may order that any costs that might otherwise have been awarded against the employee shall be paid by the Minister.

(4) The power given by subsection (2) shall not be in derogation of any right of an employee to institute civil proceedings on the employee’s own behalf.

40.—(1) Where a term or condition of the contract of employment concerned contravenes the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, or the Social Welfare Acts, the employee concerned shall, notwithstanding the contravention, be entitled to redress under this Act for any under-payment of an amount of pay to which he or she would otherwise be entitled under this Act.

(2) Where, in proceedings under this Act, it is shown that a term or condition of a contract of employment contravenes the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, or the Social Welfare Acts, the rights commissioner, the Labour Court, an inspector or the Circuit Court, as the case may be, shall notify the Revenue Commissioners or the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, as may be appropriate, of the matter.

41.—(1) The Labour Court may, in accordance with this section, exempt an employer from the obligation to pay an employee or number of employees entitlements otherwise payable to them in accordance with section 14, not being entitlements to which section 14(b), 15 or 16 apply.

(2) An exemption under subsection (1) shall be for a period not exceeding one year and not less than 3 months, and while it remains in force the employer accordingly need not so comply.

(3) The Labour Court shall not exempt an employer under subsection (1) if the employer has previously ever been granted an exemption under that subsection.

(4) An employer or employer’s representative with the employer’s consent may, in the manner and form approved by the Labour Court, apply to the Labour Court for an exemption under subsection (1).

(5) On receiving an application under subsection (4) the Labour Court shall convene a hearing of parties to the application and shall give its decision on the application in writing to the parties.

(6) Before granting an exemption under subsection (1), the Labour Court must be satisfied that—

(a) where the employer employs more than one employee-

(i) the employer has entered into an agreement with the majority of the employees or the representative of the majority of the employees, or

(ii) there is a collective agreement covering the majority of the employees in respect of whom the exemption is sought,

whereby the employees or their representative consent to—

(I) the employer making the application, and

(II) abide by any decision on the application that the Labour Court may make,

(b) where the employer makes an application in respect of a single employee, the employer has entered into an agreement with the employee or the representative of the employee whereby the employee or his or her representative consents to the employer making the application and to abide by any decision on the application that the Labour Court may make,

and that, in either case, the employer cannot pay an entitlement under section 14 to an employee to whom the agreement relates due to the employer not having the ability to pay or being unlikely to be able to pay, to the extent that, if the employer were compelled to pay—

(i) the employee would be likely to be laid-off employment with the employer, or

(ii) the employee’s employment would be likely to be terminated.

(7) A decision of the Labour Court to exempt an employer under subsection (1) shall specify

(a) the name and employment positions occupied by employees to whom the exemption applies;

(b) the duration of the exemption; and

(c) the average hourly rate of pay to be paid to the employee or employees during the period of the exemption, and the employee or employees shall be entitled to be paid at not less than that rate accordingly.

(8) Where during the period of an exemption under this section a new employee replaces an employee to whom the exemption relates, the employer may pay the new employee the hourly rate of pay specified by the Labour Court in respect of the former employee and shall, as soon as practicable, notify the Labour Court in writing of the employment of the new employee.

(9) The Labour Court shall establish its own procedures for the hearing of applications, and in relation to incidental matters to be dealt with, under this section.

(10) The Labour Court shall maintain a register of all decisions under this section and shall make the register available for examination by members of the public at such place and reasonable times as it thinks fit.

(11) No appeal shall lie from a decision of the Labour Court under this section except to the High Court on a question of law.

(12) For the purposes of calculating an employee’s entitlement to a redundancy payment under the Redundancy Payments Acts, 1967 to 1991, any exemption under this section shall be ignored and the calculation made as if the employee had been paid the national minimum hourly rate of pay to which he or she was otherwise entitled under this Act, for the period of the exemption.

(13) A payment in lieu of notice to an employee in accordance with the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973 to 1991, shall not have regard to any exemption under this section and the payment in lieu of notice shall be made to the employee as if the employee had been paid the national minimum hourly rate of pay to which he or she was otherwise entitled under this Act, for the period of the exemption.

(14) A payment from the Social Insurance Fund in accordance with section 6(2)(a)(i) of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Acts, 1984 to 1991, shall not have regard to any exemption under this section and any such payment shall be made to the employee as if the employee had been paid the national minimum hourly rate of pay to which he or she was otherwise entitled under this Act, for the period of the exemption.

42.— The provisions of this Act are in addition to and not in derogation of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1946 to 1990, or—

(a) Employment Regulation Orders, and the enforcement of such Orders, made under those Acts, or

(b) Registered Employment Agreements, and the enforcement of such Agreements, on the register under those Acts on the commencement of this section,

except that where a minimum hourly rate of pay in accordance with this Act is a greater amount than the minimum rate of pay prescribed under an Employment Regulation Order or such a Registered Employment Agreement, the employee’s entitlement to pay in accordance with this Act shall prevail.

43.—(1) The Labour Relations Commission or the Labour Court shall not recommend in favour of or endorse a claim or a part of a claim for the improvement in the pay of an employee who has access to any of its services if in the view of the Labour Relations Commission or the Labour Court, as the case may be, the claim or part of the claim is based on the restoration of a pay differential between the employee and another employee who has secured or is to secure an increase in pay as the result of the passing of this Act.

(2) The Labour Court shall not by Employment Regulation Order give effect to a proposal which could be submitted to it by a Joint Labour Committee under section 42 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946, or section 48 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990, if, in the view of the Labour Court, the proposal is based on or partly on the restoration of a pay differential between an employee and another employee who has secured or is to secure an increase in pay as the result of the passing of this Act.

(3) The Labour Court shall not register an employment agreement under section 27 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1946, or vary such an agreement under section 28 of that Act if, in the view of the Labour Court, the agreement or variation, or part of the agreement or variation, is based on or partly on the restoration of a pay differential between an employee and another employee who has secured or is to secure an increase in pay as the result of the passing of this Act.

(4) No conciliation or arbitration scheme in the public sector shall recommend in favour or endorse a claim or a part of a claim for the improvement in the pay of an employee who is subject to the scheme if the claim or part of the claim is based on the restoration of a pay differential between the employee and another employee who has secured or is to secure an increase in pay as the result of the passing of this Act.

44.— Section 3(1) of the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994, is amended by the substitution of the following for paragraph (g):

“(g) the rate or method of calculation of the employee’s remuneration and the pay reference period for the purposes of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000,

(ga) that the employee may, under section 23 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, request from the employer a written statement of the employee’s average hourly rate of pay for any pay reference period as provided in that section,”.

45.—Section 39 of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, is hereby amended by the insertion in the table to subsection (2) of the following after “Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973 to 1991”:

“National Minimum Wage Act, 2000

Parental Leave Act, 1998”.

46.— Without prejudice to the generality of the European Communities (Safeguarding of Employee’s Rights on Transfer of Undertakings) Regulations, 1980 (S.I. No. 306 of 1980), on the transfer of an undertaking within the meaning of those regulations the transferee shall become liable to an employee in the undertaking to whom this Act applies in respect of any matter under this Act, in the same manner and to the same extent as the transferor immediately before the transfer, as if the transferee has originally entered into the relevant contract of employment or other agreement with the employee.

47.—Section 6 of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) Act, 1984, is hereby amended—

(a) in subsection (2)(a)—

(i) by the deletion of “and” from the end of subparagraph (x),

(ii) in subparagraph (xi), by the substitution for “Employment Equality Act, 1977.” of “Employment Equality Act, 1977,”, and

(iii) by the insertion of the following after subparagraph (xi):

“(xii) any amount which an employer is required to pay by virtue of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, being an amount by reference to which proceedings have been instituted against the employer for an offence under section 35 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, and

(xiii) any amount which an employer is required to pay by virtue of—

(I) a decision of a rights commissioner under section 26 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, or

(II) a determination of the Labour Court under section 29 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000,

and made, in any case, not earlier than the commencement of the relevant period.”,

(b) in subsection (4)(c), by the insertion of the following after subparagraph (vi):

“(vii) A payment shall not be made under this section in respect of an amount to which a decision of a rights commissioner under section 26 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, relates unless—

(I) in case an appeal from the decision to the Labour Court is brought under section 27 of that Act, the appeal is withdrawn, or

(II) in case there is no such appeal, the time for bringing such an appeal has expired.

(viii) A payment shall not be made under this section in respect of an amount to which a determination under section 29 of the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000, relates unless—

(I) in case an appeal from the determination is brought to the High Court under section 30 of that Act, the appeal is withdrawn, or

(II) in case there is no appeal, the time for bringing an appeal has expired.”,

and

(c) in subsection (9), in the definition of “the relevant date”, by the substitution for “(x) or (xi) of subsection (2)(a)” of “(x), (xi) or (xiii) of subsection (2)(a)”.

48.—(1) The service of a notice or other document on a person for the purpose of or in relation to a proceeding under this Act may be effected by delivering it to the person or by sending a copy by prepaid registered post in an envelope addressed to the person at his or her last known residence or place of business in the State.

(2) In the case of a company to which the Companies Act, 1963, applies, service may be effected by delivering the document to, or by sending it by registered prepaid post in an envelope addressed to the company at its registered office.

(3) In the case of a body corporate to which subsection (2) does not apply or an unincorporated body of persons, the service may be effected by sending a copy of the notice or other document by registered prepaid post in an envelope addressed to the body at any place in the State where the body conducts its business or in such other manner as an originating summons may be served on such a body under the Rules of the Superior Court.

49.—(1) There shall be included amoung the debts which, under section 285 of the Companies Act, 1963, are, in the distribution of the assets of a company being wound-up, to be paid in priority to all other debts, all arrears of pay payable under this Act by a company to an employee, and that Act shall have effect accordingly

(2) There shall be included amoung the debts which, under section 81 of the Bankruptcy Act, 1988, are, in the distribution of the property of a bankrupt or arranging debtor, to be paid in priority to all other debts, all arrears of pay payable under this Act by the bankrupt or arranging debtor.

(3) Formal proof of the debts to which priority is given under subsection (1) or (2) shall not be required except in cases where it may otherwise be provided by rules or general orders made under the respective Act.

50.—(1) Without prejudice to section 39, any amount of money due to an employee from his or her employer under or in accordance with this Act shall be recoverable by the employee as a simple contract debt in a court of competent jurisdiction and action for its recovery may be instituted and maintained on behalf of the employee by the employee’s trade union, if the employee is a member.

(2) Where in a prosecution for an offence under this Act it appears to a court that money is due by an employer to an employee, and the employer is convicted of that offence, the court may, if it is satisfied that the employer is liable to pay to his or her employee an amount of money, order, in addition to any penalty which it may impose pursuant to this Act, that the employer pay the amount to the employee.