Case study: Minimum wage
The national minimum wage increased to €12.70 from 1 January 2024.
Budget 2025: Minimum wage increase
Budget 2025 announced that, from 1 January 2025, the national minimum wage for people aged 20 and over will increase by 80 cents to €13.50 per hour.
Case study
Sean works 39 hours per week including 3 hours on a Saturday. He is entitled to the minimum wage of €12.70 as he is 20 years of age, (People aged 20 and above are entitled to 100% of the minimum wage) an employee and isn't on a training or study course.
He is paid a gross wage of €500 per week. Sean's pay includes a €20 premium for working Saturdays. He asked his employer about the national minimum wage and his employer gave him the following information:
- The pay reference period is weekly
- Dividing the gross pay (€500) by the hours worked (39), this gives an average hourly pay of €12.82
This is above the current national minimum wage of €12.70 per hour. Is Sean's employer correct?
Answer
No, Sean's employer is incorrect. The €20 premium for working on Saturdays should not be included for national minimum wage purposes. This means that only €480 should be divided by 39, giving an average hourly pay of €12.30 - below the national minimum wage of €12.70.
Sean's entitlement is a basic wage of €495.30 (€12.70 x 39) plus €20 Saturday premium which comes to a total of €515.30.