Austin Deasy
Question:18 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Labour if bonuses and/or productivity payments, excluding overtime payments, are included in the calculation of holiday pay, under the terms of the Holiday Employees Act, 1973.
Written Answers. - Holiday Pay.
The Holidays (Employees) Act, 1973, requires that holiday pay be given in advance of leave and that it should be at the "normal weekly rate" of pay.
"Normal weekly rate" is defined in section 1 of the Act. The definition provides for two separate modes of calculation of holiday pay depending on the nature of the normal weekly rate of pay. If the normal weekly rate of pay is calculated wholly by a time rate or a fixed salary or if the payment does not vary in relation to the work done, the definition provides that any regular bonus or allowance which does not vary in relation to work done must be included in holiday pay. If the normal weekly rate of pay is calculated by any other method, holiday pay must be based on average weekly earnings for normal working hours over the 13 weeks ending on the day before the annual leave. Such average weekly earnings would include any bonus, allowance or productivity payment etc. earned during normal working hours.
Overtime payments are specifically excluded from the definition of "normal weekly rate".
The Deputy will, of course, appreciate that while I have endeavoured to outline the relevant provisions of the Act, I am unable to give an authoritative legal interpretation of those provisions. Definitive interpretations of the legislation and of its application to an individual case would be matters for the courts to determine.