Employment Law

[TheAngryDog]

I work in the UK but I am employed by a company based in the Republic of Ireland.

What Employment Law do I fall under? UK? EU?

[anonymous-user]

The statutory employment law of the part of the UK in which you work applies to your employment. The home country of your employer is irrelevant. Your contractual rights could by agreement be subject to Irish law, but you must always have rights at least equivalent to those available to workers in the jurisdiction where you work (the latter point is an EU rule).

[TheAngryDog]

Breadvan72 said:

The statutory employment law of the part of the UK in which you work applies to your employment. The home country of your employer is irrelevant. Your contractual rights could by agreement be subject to Irish law, but you must always have rights at least equivalent to those available to workers in the jurisdiction where you work (the latter point is an EU rule).

Thanks, I wasnt sure. I do not recall anything in my contract about being covered under Irish employment law. I guess I need to do some reading up on minimum holiday entitlements (I currently get 21 days a year, but I work shifts, so I get approximately half of the year off, but as I work 12 hour shifts it pretty much equates to a normal working week in hours over the course of a year, as well as other things.

[anonymous-user]

PM me your contract if you wish.

[TheAngryDog]

An update to this - I've just been told I can only get my over time paid at pro-rata and have to change my working hours on my time sheets before it will be authorised.

Breadvan, I will see if I can find my contract.

If I change my hours from 1.5 to pro-rata, do I lose my claim over the extra half?

[TheAngryDog]

Bugger, just found my contract, no mention of overtime rate in it. I guess I will just have to accept being paid at time. Its the last time I do overtime though, I get paid less as a result as I am on a shift allowance that doesn't get taken into account.

[anonymous-user]

Was there an established practice of paying overtime at 1.5?

[TheAngryDog]

It was more just what I was told when I joined the company in December 2012, but I moved from one part of the business (out sourced) to another (in house) which had resulted in the rate change.

I have even been paid at 1.5 rate while in this current part of the company, just in a different role. It is only a recent thing that I have been told I am on pro rata.

[anonymous-user]

If you have always been paid 1.5 time for overtime, you have an argument that you have a contractual entitlement to this, inferred from consistent conduct.

[TheAngryDog]

I have made my manager aware of this so I am awaiting his reply on the matter.

Is this something worth pushing? I am effectively losing a days pay because I did two days o/t and considering i still haven't been paid it when I did the o/t on the first weekend of October, and may not get it until December24th.

Thanks again Breadvan72.

[anonymous-user]

It's probably worth a push. How far you want to push it must be a matter of judgment based on the overall working relationship.

[TheAngryDog]

I have quite a decent working relationship, and they haven't sacked me yet

I'll see what my manager says when he replies to my email tomorrow. If I can't get paid a 1.5 then I'll simply not make myself available for over time.

Cheers again.