With St. Patrick’s Day just gone and Easter around the corner, our Payroll department have been busy fielding questions from clients enquiring as to their obligations in relation to public holiday entitlements of their employees.

The system can be complicated at times, particularly when it comes to part-time employees and dealing with their entitlements.

The following is a brief outline as to how the system operates

Public Holidays

• There are 9 Public Holidays in Ireland – New Year’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter Monday, the 1^st Mondays  in May, June & August, the last Monday in October, Christmas Day & St. Stephen’s Day.
• Good Friday, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are not public holidays and most employers treat them as annual leave unless an employee does not normally work on these days.
• The phrase ‘bank holiday’ has no legal meaning.  When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the public holiday remains on that day. i.e. it does not change to the following Monday.

Qualification for Public Holiday Benefit

• All full-time employees immediately qualify for a public holiday benefit.
• Part-time/casual employees qualify for public holiday benefit as long as they have worked a minimum of 40 hours in the 5 weeks ending on the day before the public holiday.
• An employee who is absent from work immediately before a public holiday will not be entitled to a public holiday benefit, if the absence is in excess of 52 consecutive weeks by reason of occupational injury, in excess of 26 consecutive weeks by reason of illness or injury, in excess of 13 consecutive weeks by reason of an absence authorised by the employer (including lay off), in excess of the first 13 weeks of carer’s leave for each relevant person being cared for, or because they are out on strike.
• An employee absent on either maternity, additional maternity, paternity, adoptive, additional adoptive, parental or force majeure leave, maintains their normal public holiday benefits during such periods of absence. 

Benefits

• An employee is entitled to their employer’s choice of the following, in respect of a public holiday - a paid day off on that day, a paid day off within a month of that day, an additional day of annual leave or an additional day’s pay. If an employer does not nominate one option 21 days before the holiday, the employee automatically receives a paid day off on that public holiday.
• Where a public holiday falls on a day on which an employee is not scheduled to work, a full time employee is entitled to a public holiday benefit equal to 1/5^th of his/her normally weekly pay in respect of the normal weekly hours last worked by the employee before the public holiday and a part-time employee is entitled to a public holiday benefit equal to 1/5^th of his/her normal weekly pay, based on the average weekly pay (including any regular bonus or allowances, but excluding overtime) in the 13 weeks worked immediately prior to the public holiday.
• Where an employee works 6 days per week and a public holiday falls on a day which they are normally scheduled to work, they are entitled to one of the benefits listed above.  Where the public holiday falls on a day on which they are not normally required to work, they are entitled to 1/5^th of their normal weekly pay, provided that the benefit amount does not exceed the amount that would have been paid if it was a day they normally worked.
• Where an employee ceased to be employed at any time during the 7 day period immediately preceding the public holiday and the employee worked for his employer during the previous 4 weeks, the employee is entitled to be paid a public holiday entitlement for the public holiday, calculated at the appropriate daily rate.  

If you have any queries on any of the above don't hesitate to contact us on 021 4641400 or email info@quintas.ie