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The so-called “giveaway budget” has introduced a number of changes for employers, including the following:
- Minimum wage up to €9.15 per hour: the increase in minimum wage from €8.65 to €9.15 per hour will result in a substantial increase in the cost of wages for employers in Ireland. For example, an employee who works 37.5 hours per week will see their gross weekly wage increase from €324 to €343 from 1 January 2016. In light of this increase, and recent media coverage regarding the “living wage” which is currently €11.50 per hour, employers can expect that employees who currently earn just in excess of the minimum wage are also likely to seek a similar increase in hourly rates.
- Paternity leave: after lengthy discussions (see our earlier article from January 2015 Irish fathers look set to benefit from two weeks paid paternity leave), fathers will now be entitled to two weeks paternity leave from September 2016. Eligibility for paternity benefit (payable by the Department of Social Protection) will be subject to PRSI contributions and where an employee has sufficient contributions, he will be entitled to €230 per week.
A summary of the measures introduced in Budget 2016 can be viewed here.