Based on the data used in response to Parliamentary Question No. 238 of 1 May 2024, the estimated cost to employers of raising the current ERO minimum pay rates by 1 cent per hour is approximately €350,000 per year, inclusive of employer-related costs (PRSI, etc).
The estimated cost breakdown by role is approximately;
Educator, €175,000
Lead Educator, €55,000
Graduate Lead Educators, €76,000
Managers, €22,000
Graduate Managers, €22,000
In relation to this estimate, the following should also be noted:
• The cost estimates do not attempt to account for the potential cost implications for the wages of staff who are currently earning more than 1 cent per hour above current ERO minimum rates, therefore the 1 cent cost cannot be proportional extrapolated to estimate other additional costs e.g. a 2 cent cost would not be simply calculated by doubling the €350,000 1 cent cost.
• The cost estimates are based on staff who had an hourly wage recorded in service providers’ submissions for Core Funding based on role titles in Core Funding, in the estimates above the Core Funding data has been extrapolated to provide an estimate for all staff working in the sector in said roles.
• Current wage data was provided by service providers and may contain inaccuracies, but the has been adjusted upward on the assumption that all staff should earn at least the legally-binding minimum rates of pay specified in the EROs. The cost estimates are for the additional cost to employers of bringing staff from their current wage or the minimum pay rates set out in the EROs, whichever is higher, up to a pay rate of 1 cent more per hour for each of the minimum pay rates in the EROs.
• The cost estimates only relate to staff and managers covered by the current EROs, i.e. the estimates exclude the cost of ancillary staff.
