Question
I work part-time from Monday to Wednesday. This year
Christmas falls on a Thursday. Will I get paid for Christmas Day and St
Stephen’s Day, even though I don’t work on those days? What about New Year’s
Day which falls on the following Thursday?
Answer
Christmas Day, St Stephen’s Day and New Year’s Day are
public holidays. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve are not. All workers are
entitled either to paid time off or pay for a public holiday. (Your employer
can decide whether to give you time off or pay.)
Part-time workers must have worked for the employer for at
least 40 hours in the previous five-week period to have a public holiday
entitlement.
If you work part-time and the public holiday falls on a day
that you usually work you are entitled to a day’s pay or a paid day off for the
public holiday. Part-time workers who are not rostered to work on a public
holiday are still entitled to be paid or to paid time off for the public holiday.
Part-time workers get one-fifth of their normal pay for the week as
compensation for the holiday.
If you are required to work on a public holiday you are
entitled to be paid at your usual rate and you are also entitled to either an
additional day’s pay or a paid day off.
In your case you should receive one-fifth of your normal
weekly pay for each of the three public holidays, Christmas Day, St Stephen’s
Day and New Year’s Day. So you should get the additional pay or the equivalent
amount of time off. Your employer can decide which option to give you.
You can get detailed information on employment rights on
the website workplacerelations.ie.
Further information is available from the Citizens
Information Centre below.
Know Your Rights has been compiled by Dungloe Citizens
Information Service which provides a free and confidential service to the
public. Tel: 0761075430 Address: Dungloe Public Services Centre, Gweedore Road,
Dungloe.
Information is also available online at
citizensinformation.ie and from the Citizens Information Phone Service, 0761 07
4000.
Question
We borrowed a lot to pay for our children’s college fees
and weddings, when we both had good incomes. We now earn less than before and
find it very hard to cover our debts. We’re afraid to open letters or answer
the phone in case it’s another demand for payment. Is there any help for people
like us?
Answer
You are clearly in financial difficulty and struggling with
your debts. There are many people in a similar situation.
Three debt solutions have been set up to help people with
serious debt problems to sort out their situation and get protection from their
creditors. They are the Debt Relief Notice (DRN), Debt Settlement Arrangement
(DSA) and Personal Insolvency Arrangement (PIA).
The appropriate solution for you depends on the size of
your debts and whether or not you have a mortgage. You apply through an
Approved Intermediary for a DRN and through a Personal Insolvency Practitioner
for a DSA or PIA. These qualified insolvency professionals are supervised by
the Insolvency Service of Ireland (ISI).
When the solution has been put in place, your creditors
cannot contact you while you stick to the agreed arrangements. Depending on
your situation, some or all of your debt can be written off.
Many Money Advice and Budgeting Services (MABS) companies
have been authorised as Approved Intermediaries to help people on low incomes,
with debts under €20,000, through the Debt Relief Notice (DRN) process.
For a DSA or PIA, which generally cover larger debts, your
creditors must agree to the solution proposed by your Personal Insolvency
Practitioner. If they don’t agree, you then have the option of bankruptcy.
You can get further information from MABS on 0761 07 2000
(Monday to Friday, 9 am to 8 pm), from mabs.ie, from the ISI’s helpline 0761 06
4200 (Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm) and from isi.gov.ie. The ISI also has a
new website backontrack.ie for people who are struggling with debt.
Further information is available from the Citizens Information
Centre below.
Know Your Rights has been compiled by Dungloe Citizens
Information Service which provides a free and confidential service to the
public. Tel: 0761075430 Address: Dungloe Citizens Information Centre, Gweedore Road,
Dungloe.
Information is also available online at
citizensinformation.ie and from the Citizens Information Phone Service, 0761 07
4000.