Most employers are aware of The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, but few know about the supplemental provisions of section 14 of the Act and what it means for their workforce.

Firstly, any employee who is required to work on a Sunday and, his or her having to work on that day has not been taken account of in the determination of pay, shall be compensated as follows:

  • by the payment to the employee of a reasonable allowance having regard to all the circumstances, or
  • by increasing the employee’s rate of pay by a reasonable amount having regard to all the circumstances, or
  • by granting the employee reasonable paid time off from work having regard to all the circumstances, or
  • by a combination of two or more of the above means.

However, where there is no collective agreement in place, employers should be taking the following additional entitlements into account:

  1. A premium payment to the employee applies to Sunday working. The nature and value of this premium rate should be negotiated and agreed between the employer and the trade union representing employees or between the employer and the employees who are affected by Sunday trading, in circumstances where employees are not unionised.
  2. Existing employees should have the option to volunteer to opt into working patterns, which include Sundays on a rota basis and form part of a regular working week )i.e. being required to work no more than 5 days out of 7). Newly recruited employees may be contracted to work Sundays as part of a regular rostered working pattern.
  3. Employees who have a minimum of two years’ service on a Sunday working contract should have the opportunity to seek to opt out of Sunday working, for urgent family or personal reasons, giving adequate notice to the employer.
  4. Meal breaks on Sundays should be standardised in line with the other working days of the week.
  5. All employees should have the opportunity of volunteering to work on the peak Sunday trading days prior to Christmas, in addition to their normal working week. In these circumstances length of service will not be the overriding criteria for selection for Sunday working.

ESA are more than happy to help employers ensure that they are meeting their obligations. If you would like a review of your current policies or need policies developed please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01 8774608 or [email protected]

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