On the spot fines for employers who breach employment law commenced in Ireland

At a glance

• New regulations have been published setting up ‘on the spot’ fines that Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) inspectors may issue to employers for certain employment law offences.
• These fines are civil in nature, however a failure to pay may initiate criminal prosecution. 

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New regulations have been published setting up ‘on the spot’ fines that WRC may issue to employers for certain employment law offences. While the individual fines may appear to not be significant, large employers may face substantial fines if they are found to be committing multiple offences in respect of multiple employees.

The new fines that the WRC can levy under this legislation are: 

Offence	Fine (EUR)
Employer fails, without reasonable cause, to provide an employee with their terms of employment within one month of their commencement date or provides false or misleading information to the employee.	1,500
Employer does not provide employees with a written statement on the distribution of tips and gratuities or fails to treat a service charge as a tip.	750
Employer does not display a ‘tips and gratuities notice’ or a ‘contract Workers Tips and Gratuities Notice’.	500

These fines are complimented by updated monetary amounts for the following pre-existing fines:

Offence	New Fine (EUR)
Employer fails in a collective redundancy situation to consult with employees’ representatives and to provide them with mandatory specified information.	2,000
Employer fails to provide an employee with a written statement of wages and the nature and amount of any deductions from wages.	1,500
Employer does not provide an employee with a statement of the average hourly rate of pay for a pay reference period at the employee’s request.	1,500

These fines are civil in nature, however if an employer fails to pay a fine within 42 days, the WRC's internal legal affairs committee may initiate criminal prosecution, with a potential summary conviction fine of EUR2,500 for each offence. 

Please contact a member of the DLA Piper Ireland employment team if you require further information on WRC inspections.