On 25 May 2016, the Federal Labor Tribunal rejected a plea that a Christmas bonus and a holiday bonus, both of which had been scheduled for payment before the minimum wage had been made mandatory, would be in addition to and not part of calculations for the employee’s base remuneration package that is now meant to be at least the equivalent of the newly implemented minimum wage. This was a much-anticipated ruling as many disputes are waiting in the corridors of the courts over this very same issue of how to handle extra pay elements within the framework of the minimum wage. Employers can now breath a sigh of relief especially as the minimum wage is set to rise for the first time in July 2016.
In this particular case the complainant, who worked in a clinic, was being paid €8.03 an hour before tax, up until the implementation of the minimum wage regulation on 01 January 2015. The employee was also receiving additional pay elements, which following an agreement between the WC and management, had been combined and was being paid on a monthly basis (overtime pay and night shift work were however still being paid twice a year). The additional pay elements brought the employee’s monthly pa
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