S.I. No. 522/2004 - Employment Regulation Order (Law Clerks) Joint Labour Committee, 2004

1. Employees will be entitled to coverage under the Sick Pay Scheme after two years’ service.

2. No payment will be made for the first three days of any absence on sick leave.

3. For entitlement to payment, a certificate signed by a medical practitioner is required on the fourth day and on a weekly basis thereafter.

4. The employee will be responsible for claiming his/her Social Welfare entitlements while on sick leave and for paying over such payments to the employer.

5. Under the Scheme, employees will be entitled to three weeks’ pay at appropriate Employment Regulation Order rates.

6. The employer will reserve the right to refer an employee for assessment by the employer's nominated doctor.

7. The Sick Pay Scheme will operate on a rolling twelve months basis.

Exclusions

The Sick Pay Scheme will not cover absences from work as a result of injury received when working for another employer.

Sick pay will be refundable to the employer under this Scheme where loss of wages can be or is re-couped from another source in respect of absence from work.

NOTE

Nothing contained in this Order shall prevent an employer and employee from continuing with or entering into a sick pay scheme, the terms and conditions of which are more favourable to the employee than the terms of this Order

SECTION VIII

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GENERAL

Nothing in this Employment Regulation Order shall be taken to exclude, limit or be in any way inconsistent with the rights of any employee under any statutory enactment.

PART III

WORKERS IN RELATION TO WHOM THE COMMITTEE OPERATES

Clerical workers and messengers whether whole-time or part-time employed by Solicitors in connection with their professional work and by Bodies Corporate in their law departments under the direction of their law agents including managing clerks, general law clerks, court clerks, cost clerks, typists, stenographers and book-keepers but excluding Solicitors’ Apprentices and Solicitors.

Given under the Official Seal of the Labour Court this 30th day of August, 2004.

L.S.

(SIGNED) KEVIN DUFFY

CHAIRMAN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.

This Instrument fixes statutory minimum rates of pay and regulates statutory conditions of employment as from

10th September, 2004

for certain workers employed in Solicitors’ Offices. It is made by the Labour Court on the recommendation of the Law Clerks Joint Labour Committee.

Statutory Instrument

S.I. No. 522 of 2004

EMPLOYMENT REGULATION ORDER (LAW CLERKS) JOINT LABOUR COMMITTEE, 2004

S.I. NO. 522 OF 2004

EMPLOYMENT REGULATION ORDER (LAW CLERKS JOINT LABOUR COMMITTEE), 2004

WHEREAS

the Labour Court (hereinafter called “the Court”), pursuant to the provisions of the Industrial Relations Acts, 1946-2001, made an Employment Regulation Order (Law Clerks Joint Labour Committee)(No. 2), 2003 dated 13th November, 2003 (

S.I. No. 543 of 2003

) (hereinafter called “the said Order”) fixing the statutory minimum rates of remuneration and regulating the statutory conditions of employment of workers in relation to whom the Law Clerks Joint Labour Committee (hereinafter called “the Committee”) operates;

AND WHEREAS

the Committee has submitted to the Court a proposal for revoking the said Order;

AND WHEREAS

the Committee has also submitted to the Court the proposals set out in the Schedule hereto for fixing the statutory minimum rates of remuneration and regulating the statutory conditions of employment of workers in relation to whom the Committee operates;

AND WHEREAS

the provisions of

Section 48

of the

Industrial Relations Act, 1990

have been complied with;

NOW, THEREFORE

, the Court, in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 43(4) of

the Industrial Relations Act, 1946

, and by Section 48(4) of

the Industrial Relations Act, 1990

hereby Orders as follows:—

(1) This Order may be cited as the Employment Regulation Order (Law Clerks Joint Labour Committee), 2004.

(2) Effect is hereby given to the proposals set out in the Schedule hereto.

(3) The provisions set out in the Schedule hereto shall have effect as from 10th September, 2004 and as from that date the said Order shall be revoked.

NOTE

Enquiries should be directed to the

Secretary, Joint Labour Committees, The Labour Court, Tom Johnson House, Haddington Road, Dublin 4

(Telephone 01-6136666 Extension Nos. 6639, 6640, 6641 and 6642. “Lo-Call” number (if calling from outside (01) area) 1890 220 228).

SCHEDULE

PART I

STATUTORY MINIMUM REMUNERATION FOR WORKERS EMPLOYED IN ALL AREAS

From 10th September, 2004

Per Week

€

SECTION I

MANAGING CLERK

A Managing Clerk

is a legal assistant (not being a Solicitor) who is fully experienced in all branches of a Solicitor's work conducted in the office in which he/she is employed and who is able to, and habitually does, conduct legal cases including the interviewing of clients, in that office, without constant supervision.

438.05

SECTION II

CONVEYANCING CLERK/COST CLERK

1st year of employment

366.64

2nd year of employment

380.94

3rd year of employment & above

390.45

A Conveyancing Clerk

is a person who is wholly or mainly engaged in title work in all its branches, including the preparing of contracts, investigation of title, drawing and completion of conveyances, mortgages and other deeds.

A Cost Clerk

is a person who is wholly or mainly engaged in the drawing and taxation of his employer's costs, and who is not remunerated on a commission basis by his/her employer.

SECTION III

GENERAL LAW CLERK 17 YEARS OF AGE AND OVER

First six months of employment

288.22

Second six months of employment

288.22

2nd year of employment

288.22

3rd year of employment

288.22

4th year of employment

288.22

5th year of employment

301.00

6th year of employment

311.31

7th year of employment

322.17

8th year of employment

339.34

9th year of employment

352.90

10th year of employment & above

366.64

A GENERAL LAW CLERK

is a person other than a managing clerk, a conveyancing clerk, a cost clerk, a shorthand typist or a typist but who may be a court clerk or a book-keeper and who is wholly or mainly engaged on clerical or book-keeping duties.

SECTION IV

SHORTHAND TYPIST/TYPIST

First six months of employment

288.22

Second six months of employment

288.22

2nd year of employment

288.22

3rd year of employment

288.22

4th year of employment

288.22

5th year of employment

294.21

6th year of employment

304.42

7th year of employment

314.82

8th year of employment

326.10

9th year of employment & above

339.34

A Shorthand Typist or Typist

is a person who is wholly or mainly employed on one or more of the following duties, viz: shorthand, typing, dictaphone, reception, copying, scrivenery, filing, post work, despatch and telephone operation.

Where a Shorthand Typist/Typist has been trained and is performing duties appropriate to a law clerk, such a person shall be paid the rate appropriate to a law clerk.

SECTION V

MESSENGER

1st year of employment

288.22

2nd year of employment

288.22

3rd year of employment

288.22

A Messenger

is a person wholly or mainly engaged in post work, collection and delivery.

N.B. It should be noted that the scales as specified in the Order apply, having regard to previous employment experience in a Solicitor's Office and whether or not there has been a break in service due to domestic situations or otherwise.

SECTION VI

-

OVERTIME RATES

The minimum hourly rates for all hours of overtime shall be as follows:—

One-and-a-half times the hourly rates as defined in Section II, Part II below, i.e., time-and-a-half.

PART II

CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

The following conditions of employment shall apply to all workers referred to in Part I above.

SECTION I

-

NORMAL WORKING WEEK

The normal number of hours to be worked by workers in relation to whom the Committee operates shall be 38 hours per week.

Where the normal working hours prescribed by an employer are 38 or less in any one week of not less than five working days, a worker who works the normal working hours so prescribed shall be entitled to the appropriate weekly wage set out in Part I.

In relation to workers under the age of 18, the provisions of

the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act, 1996

shall apply.

SECTION II

-

THE HOURLY RATE

For full-time workers or for part-time workers the hourly rate shall be the appropriate weekly wage divided by the appropriate normal number of hours worked per week.

SECTION III

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MEAL INTERVALS

Meal intervals shall not be reckoned as time worked.

SECTION IV

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OVERTIME

All hours worked in excess of the normal hours in any week shall be overtime and shall be paid for at the overtime rates as outlined in Section VI of Part I of this Order.

SECTION V

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SUNDAYS AND PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

All hours worked on Sunday or on a statutory Public Holiday shall be paid for at twice the hourly rate as defined in Section II above, i.e. at Double Time.

SECTION VI

-

ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

All employees are entitled to annual leave in accordance with the provisions of

the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997

.

SECTION VII - SICK PAY SCHEME