THE NUMBER OF  employers found to be in breach of national minimum wage laws has more than doubled since 2019, but the number of prosecutions under the legislation has decreased. 

Data from the Workplace Relations Committee (WRC) shows a steady rise in the number of employers with a detected national minimum wage breach: 110 in 2019, 175 in 2020, 204 in 2021 and 2022 respectively, and 228 last year. 

However – the number of employers being prosecuted in the civil court for breaching the laws has decreased. 

There were four prosecutions under the laws in 2019, five in 2020, eight in 2021, two in 2022, and just three last year. 

The vast majority of inspections and recorded breaches under national minimum wage laws related to employers failing to pay the statutory minimum rate. 

Some employers have also been found to be in breach because they didn’t keep records that showed that employees had received the national minimum wage. 

From March 2019 the national minimum wage for employees over 18 in their first year of employment was €7.84, for those in their second year the minimum was €8.82. 

For an ‘experienced adult worker’, the minimum wage was €9.80. 

The minimum wage has risen in the years since. Today it is €8.89 for those under 18, €10.16 for 18-year-olds, €11.43 for 19-year-olds, and €12.70 for anyone aged 20 and above. 

The number of inspections carried out by the WRC in relation to national minimum wage laws have varied since 2019, when 4,804 inspections were carried out. 

The following year the number of inspections peaked at 7,687, before falling to 4,432 in 2021, falling further to 3,943 in 2022, and increasing again last year, when 4,727 inspections were carried out. 

Cork TD Mick Barry has expressed “serious concern” over the number of employers being paid less than the minimum wage. 

He said that there should be an increase in the number of WRC inspectors, and that low-paid workers should consider joining trade unions for support and protection. 

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