"We have been notified by the Workplace Relations Commission that our Company is going to be subject to a WRC Inspection. We are in the hospitality sector, and we have heard that the WRC can issue on-the-spot fines if they find any breaches of certain legislation. How do we handle it?"

Introduction

Employers will of course be aware that they may be subject to an inspection by the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”) to inspect compliance with all employer statutory obligations. WRC Inspections Service carry out inspections at employers’ workplaces to check compliance with employment legislation in areas such as national minimum wage, working time, and rest breaks. They also have powers to investigate compliance with Employment permit obligations.

An Inspector can also issue a compliance notice, directing an employer to do something or to refrain from doing something for certain other contraventions. Any failure or refusal to rectify issues of non-compliance detected can result in criminal prosecution before a district court. That said, over 97% of inspections conclude without recourse to the courts.

However, employers may not be aware that such WRC inspections can result in the imposition of on-the-spot fines by the WRC and there has been a very recent and significant development in this, which is of particular relevance to the hospitality sector.

In that regard, the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Neale Richmond TD, announced new on-the-spot fines for businesses in January, detailed further below.  The Workplace Relations Act 2015 (Fixed Payment Notice) Regulations 2023 (the “Regulations”) were published on 12 January 2024.

It is very important to note that on-the-spot fines are imposed per breach, which means that large employers could be subject to significant penalties in this regard.

New Regulations

A number of offences were already the subject of a fixed payment notice in lieu of prosecution under 2015 Regulations.  However, the opportunity has been taken now to revoke the 2015 Regulations and incorporate these offences into one consolidated new set of Regulations, which also introduce new and additional on-the-spot fines.  The new fines arise from the introduction of the Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Act 2022, which came into effect in December 2022, and required to be reviewed after one year.  We understand that preparatory work on the review is underway within the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment which will then inform the effectiveness of the measures and whether further measures are warranted.

In announcing the new on-the-spot fines relating to tips and gratuities, the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Neale Richmond, stated as follows;

"While the majority of employers are in compliance with rules and regulations surrounding the treatment of tips, the introduction of these fines provides another layer of protection for hospitality workers and will help to stamp out bad practices where they exist.

The form of notice that issues with a fixed payment is prescribed by a set of 2017 Regulations.  These have also been revoked and a prescribed form has been incorporated into the Regulations.

The offences that are now subject to a Fixed Payment Notice in lieu of prosecution are as follows:

What do employers need to do on foot of these new Regulations?

Employers need to ensure that they are in full compliance with the legislative provisions outlined above.  In announcing the new Regulations, the Government confirmed that Inspectors from the WRC will continue to visit businesses across Ireland to ensure they are operating in line with all employment legislation.  If inspectors find employers in breach, they may be liable for the fines detailed above.  If the employer does not make the payment on foot of the fixed payment notice within 42 days, they are referred to the WRC’s internal legal affairs committee, who will in turn determine whether to proceed to prosecution.

Getting Ready for a WRC Inspection

The first step is to review the WRC Inspection Checklist;

In terms of the actual process, an inspector will carry out an initial interview before reviewing the relevant documentation. An inspector may then choose to interview a selection of employees, should they so wish.

Once an Inspector has completed his or her inspection, they will prepare a written report. In the cases of minor non-compliance, the relevant inspector may issue a letter to the employer highlighting the areas that need to be addressed. The WRC has noted that areas of non-compliance identified during the inspection process can often be resolved satisfactorily by communicating and cooperating with the Inspector.

Legal Island Training Resources for Your Staff

Workplace Health & Safety | eLearning Course

Are you responsible for overseeing the implementation of training for all employees in your organisation?
Health and safety legislation places certain legal duties on employers and employees to ensure a good standard of health and safety in the workplace.
Legal Island’s Workplace Health & Safety eLearning course is tailored specifically to the law in your jurisdiction and provides your employees with comprehensive training on health and safety practices in the workplace.

Click here to view our course on workplace health and safety.