CONSTRUCTION WAGES COUNCIL WAGE REGULATION ORDER

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 452.59

CONSTRUCTION WAGES COUNCIL WAGE

REGULATION ORDER

10th March, 1980

LEGAL NOTICE 27 of 1980, as amended by Legal Notices 66 of 1989,

44 of 1990, 427 of 2007, 131 of 2010, 362 of 2012, 334, 444 of 2013, 482

of 2014, 5 of 2016, 97 and 383 of 2017, 104 and 351 of 2019, 469 of 2020,

464 of 2021, 335 of 2022, 286 of 2023, 341 of 2024 and 288 of 2025.

The title of this Order is Construction Wages Council Wage

Regulation Order.

1. In this Schedule, unless the context otherwise requires -

"customary holidays" means the days (other than Sundays)

declared for the time being to be public holidays by or under the

National Holidays and other Public Holidays Act;

"day" means a period running from midnight of one day to

midnight of the next immediately following day;

"hours of work" means the time in any day during which

employees are at the disposal of the employer, exclusive of the

intervals allowed for meals and rest;

"normal hourly wage" means the weekly wage divided by -

(a) sixty, in the case of watchmen, and

(b) forty, in the case of other employees;

"part-time employee" means an employee whose normal hours of

work, calculated on a weekly basis or on average over a period of

employment of up to one year, are less than the normal hours of

work of a comparable whole-time employee and who is not a

whole-time employee with reduced hours;

"recognised breaks" means breaks which are customary among

particular sections of the employees to whom this Schedule applies;

"time-and-a-half" and "double-time" mean respectively -

(a) in the case of a time employee, one-and-a-half times

and twice the normal rate due to him;

(b) in the case of an employee on piece-work

(i)

the piece rates being paid to the employee, and

in addition,

(ii) a time rate equal to one half, or, as the case may

be, the whole of the normal rate which would

have been payable to him if he were a time

employee;

"wages" means remuneration or earnings, payable in money by

an employer to an employee;

"week" means a calendar week;

"weekly day of rest" means a period of twenty-four consecutive

hours commencing at the time at which the worker would normally

commence his turn of duty;

"whole-time employee" means an employee who is deemed to be

a whole-time employee in terms of any recognized conditions of

employment.

2. (1) The minimum weekly remuneration for time

employees, other than watchmen, shall be related to not more than

forty hours of work calculated on an average for one calendar year

exclusive of overtime and of recognised breaks for meals and rest

spread over a five-day week.

(2) The minimum weekly remuneration for watchmen shall be

related to a week of not more than sixty hours of work, exclusive of

overtime, spread over six days.

(3) A time-schedule covering a period of a calendar year for

all categories of employees in the same establishment, as the case

may be, shall be submitted in writing by registered letter, to the

Director and shall, when so notified and provided it complies in all

respects with the provisions of this Order and the requirements of

a n y o t h e r l a w, c o n s t i t u t e t h e n o r m a l w o r k i n g h o u r s i n t h e

establishment

Provided that -

(a) until such time-schedule is submitted to the Director as

aforesaid, the normal working hours in the

establishment shall be forty hours in any one week;

and

(b) any changes to such time-schedule shall not be

effected by the employer before the prior notification

in writing of such changes to the Director.

The provisions set out in the Schedule hereto shall apply to

all employees in respect of whom the Construction Wages Council

operates.

(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph 7 of this

Schedule, the minimum weekly wages payable to time employees

shall be the following

(a)

(i)

Watchmen whose duties are mainly performed

indoors ............................................ €234.10

(ii) Watchmen whose duties are mainly performed

out of doors ..................................... €236.43

(b)

Other time employees

(i) aged 18 years or over ....................... €234.10

(ii) aged 17 years ................................... €223.29

(iii) aged under 17 years .......................... €220.71

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2 of this

Schedule, an employee shall be entitled to the full contracted

weekly remuneration if -

(a) he works for not less than thirty-seven hours in any

one week, exclusive of overtime work, if he works in a

quarry;

(b) he works for not less than forty-five hours in any one

week, exclusive of overtime work, if he works as a

watchman;

(c) in the case of any other employee, he works for less

than forty hours, but not less than thirty hours, in any

one week, exclusive of overtime work

Provided that a proportionate reduction may be

made in respect of such number of hours during which

the employee shall absent himself at his own request.

In the case of employees employed on piece-work the

minimum piece rates of wages shall be such that no employee will

earn, when employed on such work, less than the appropriate time

pro rata specified in paragraph 3 hereof.

Employees other than watchmen shall be allowed intervals

of not less, in the aggregate, than one hour for meals and rest in any

day on which the hours of work exceed five and one half hours.

All employees shall be allowed a weekly day of rest in

every week.

Subject to the provisions of this paragraph and of

paragraph 1 of this Schedule, minimum overtime rates shall be paid

to all employees, other than watchmen, as follows

(1)

(a) On any day, other than Saturday and Sunday or

customary holidays, for any hours in excess of the

normal working hours of the establishment which shall

not exceed nine hours on any day ...... time-and -a-half;

(b) for all hours of work on Saturdays ..... time-and-a-half;

(c) for all hours of work on Sundays ............. double-time;

(d) for all hours of work on a customary holiday

............................................................. double time in

addition to a

normal hourly

wage.

The provisions of this paragraph apply to an employee on

piece work only when he is required to work overtime by his

employer.

(2)

Overtime shall be payable to watchmen -

(a) at the rate of time-and-a-half for all time worked in

excess of sixty hours in a period of six consecutive

days, and

(b) at the rate of double-time for all time worked on the

seventh day and/or on any customary holiday.

(1) Whole-time employees shall be entitled, in every

calendar year, to -

(a) all customary holidays with full pay, and

(b) after three months in employment, vacation leave of

such number of working days with full pay as is

equivalent to the number of working days as that

particular employee should normally attend to work

during a period of four weeks

Provided that whole-time employees who have been in

employment for less than one year shall be entitled to such part of

the said vacation leave as is in proportion to the number of months

in employment.

(2) For the purpose of this paragraph, a break in employment of

not more than thirty days shall not interrupt the continuity of

service.

(1) After the completion of one year’s continuous service,

a whole-time employee shall in every calendar year be entitled to

the equivalent in hours of fifteen days sick leave on full pay, less an

amount equal to the sum set for sickness benefit entitlement at the

rate established under the Social Security Act, and part-time

employees shall have a pro rata entitlement to sick leave in hours

on full pay, less an amount equal to the sum set for sickness benefit

entitlement at the rate established under the Social Security Act,

which amount is also to be calculated on a pro rata basis

Provided that -

(a) the first three days of any claim for sick leave shall be

paid in full by the employer;

(b) a medical certificate covering the period of absence is

produced to the employer on the day of return to work

or, if such period of absence is longer than seven days,

within seven days of the onset of sick leave absence;

(c) employees in receipt of a social security pension in

respect of retirement or widowhood in terms of the

Social Security Act shall, for the purpose of

calculating the sick leave pay due, be deemed to have

received an amount equal to the sum set for sickness

benefit entitlement at the rate established under the

Social Security Act.

(2) After the completion of one year’s continuous service, a

whole-time employee shall in every calendar year be entitled to the

equivalent in hours of a further fifteen days sick leave on half pay,

less an amount equal to half the sum set for sickness benefit

entitlement at the rate established under the Social Security Act,

and part-time employees shall have a pro rata entitlement to sick

leave in hours on half pay, less an amount equal to half the sum set

for sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established under the

Social Security Act, which amount is also to be calculated on a pro

rata basis

Provided that -

(a) the first three days of any claim for sick leave shall be

paid at half pay by the employer;

(b) a medical certificate covering the period of absence is

produced to the employer on the day of return to work

or, if such period of absence is longer than seven days,

within seven days of the onset of sick leave absence;

(c) employees in receipt of a social security pension in

respect of retirement or widowhood in terms of the

Social Security Act shall, for the purpose of

calculating the sick leave pay due, be deemed to have

received an amount equal to half the sum set for

sickness benefit entitlement at the rate established

under the Social Security Act.

(3) The employer may require a medical certificate by his own

physician to certify incapacity for work during the period of

absence.

(4) For the purpose of this regulation, a break in employment

of not more than thirty days shall not interrupt the continuity of

service.

(5) The sick leave entitlement granted by virtue of this

paragraph shall be calculated on the basis provided for annual leave

as specified in regulation 8(1) of the Organisation of Working Time

Regulations.

Whole-time employees shall be allowed two days paid

leave on the occasion of the death of any of the following relations

the wife, husband, mother, father (or the person who at the time

was in fact acting as the mother or father of the employee), son or

daughter, brother or sister.

A whole-time employee shall be allowed three days leave

on full pay on the occasion of his marriage and two days leave on

full pay on the occasion of the birth of a child to his wife.

A whole-time employee shall be entitled to one year injury

leave on full pay, less the full amount of any injury benefit to which

such employee may be entitled under the Social Security Act, if he

is injured during the actual discharge of his duty and such injury is

not due to any contributory negligence on his part or to the

contravention by him of safety rules laid down by the management.

A whole-time employee shall, if called upon to serve as

juror, be allowed all time off as shall be necessary, without any

deduction from pay to which he would otherwise have been

entitled, to enable him to attend to such duty in Court.

An employee is entitled to the payment of the minimum

remuneration applicable to him for all time during which he is

present on the premises of his employer or in any other place in

connection with his employment unless he is present thereon in any

of the following circumstances -

(a) without the employer’s consent, expressed or implied;

(b) for some purpose unconnected with his work and other

than that of waiting for work to be given to him to

perform;

(c) by reason only of the fact that he is resident thereon;

(d) during normal meal times in a room or place in which

no work is being done, and he is not waiting for work

to be given to him to perform.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Schedule but is intended to indicate

its applicability).The above Order operates in respect of all

employees engaged in building, in civil engineering, and in

mechanical or electrical engineering or work and also in respect of

all employees engaged in marble works and lime kilns.

In this Explanatory Note -

(a) the phrase "building, civil engineering and mechanical

or electrical engineering or work" includes

construction, reconstruction, maintenance, repair,

alteration, painting, decoration or demolition of any

building, road, harbour, dock, pier, bridge, viaduct,

sewer, drain, well or other work of construction, the

preparation for or laying the foundation of any work or

structure, the extraction from the earth of stone, clay,

sand or gravel, the manufacture of precast concrete

masonry and concrete units, the manufacture of

cement tiles, and any plumbing work or electrical

wiring; and

(b) the phrase "marble works" includes the cutting,

dressing, setting and laying of marble blocks or slabs

to make ornamental or protective surfaces, and the

preparation and setting of all marble objects whether

for ornamental purposes or not.

This Order does not apply to employees employed by woodwork

contractors.