Case study: Minimum wage
Sean works 43 hours per week including three hours on a Saturday. He is entitled to the minimum wage of €8.65 as he is an experienced adult employee and isn't on a training or study course. He is paid a gross wage of €375 per week. Sean's pay includes a €20 premium for working Saturdays. He asked his employer about the national minimum wage and his employer gave him the following information:
- The pay reference period is weekly
- Dividing the gross pay (€375) by the hours worked (43), this gives an average hourly pay of €8.72
This is slightly above the current national minimum wage of €8.65 per hour. Is Sean's employer correct?
Answer
No, Sean's employer is incorrect. The €20 premium for working on Saturdays
should not be included for national minimum wage purposes. This means that only
€355 should be divided by 43, giving an average hourly pay of €8.25 - below
the national minimum wage of €8.65.
Sean's entitlement is a basic wage of €372 (€8.65 x 43) plus €20 Saturday premium which comes to a total of €392.
Related Documents
- Minimum rates of pay
Under the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 most employees are entitled to a minimum wage. - Rights of young workers
There are important rules in place in Ireland governing the employment of children and young people. Find out about the rights of employees and obligations on employers. - Redundancy payments
Describes redundancy payments and how statutory redundancy is calculated.
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