• Question:  

  My employer has recently undergone a change of ownership which has resulted in a new employer registration number being issued by Revenue. What process should be followed to transfer the employees to the new employer registration number?

  Answer:  

  This is a cessation of employment under the old employer registration number and a commencement under the new employer registration number.

  A P45 (Part 1) should be filed for each employee under the old employer registration number to inform Revenue that the employees ceased to be employed by that employer.

  A P45 (Part 3) should also be filed to register each employee under the new employer registration number and Revenue will issue updated Tax Credit Certificates (P2Cs) for each employee under the new registration number.

  To ensure the employee has a complete PRSI record for the year, P45 (Part 4) should be given to the employee as the P60 issued at the end of the year will only contain the PRSI information relating to the new employer registration number. The P60 will contain the total taxable and gross pay, tax and USC, with a breakdown between the current and previous employment.

  Taxation of Illness Benefit

  Revenue has updated the Employer's guide to PAYE in relation to the taxation of Illness and Occupational Injury Benefit 

  Particular attention should be given to the section relating to Illness Benefit which is paid at the end of the tax year. Details of the taxable Illness Benefit received prior to the closing off of the final payroll for 2015 should be recorded in this final pay period.

  An employer is not required to deal with the taxation of Illness Benefit relating to 2015 which is received by the employer following the closure of the final 2015 payroll. Revenue will deal with the taxation of these amounts directly with the employees concerned.

  Only Illness Benefit relating to 2016 should be included in 2016 payrolls. Employers should not tax 2015 Illness Benefit in a 2016 payroll, however employers may need to take the amount of Illness Benefit into account in determining the amount of sick pay to be paid to an employee.

  Zero Hours Contracts

  Minister Nash has also published a report entitled "A Study on the Prevalence of Zero Hours Contracts among Irish Employers and their impact on Employees". Some of the key findings of the report are as follows: 

• Zero hours' contracts as defined in law are not extensively used.

• There is evidence of "if and when" contracts being used. 

The main difference is that workers on zero hours' contracts are obliged to make themselves available for work whereas workers on "if and when" contracts are not obliged to make themselves available for work.

The report found that the main advantage of "if and when" contracts to employers is flexibility and reduced cost. Trade unions argued that some of the negative impacts for workers on these contracts included: 

• Unpredictability of hours,

• Unstable income and difficulty accessing credit,

• Insufficient notice when called to work, and

• Difficulty in accessing Social Welfare benefits. 

Some of the recommendations made in the report are as follows:

• Employees should receive a written statement of terms and conditions of employment on their first day of employment,

• There should be a minimum of 3 consecutive hours where an employee is required to work or he should be paid for the 3 hours,

• Employers should give at least 72 hours' notice of work unless it is due to exceptional circumstances,

• If an employee undertakes the work without the minimum notice he should be paid 150% of the rate they would have been paid,

• Employees should receive a minimum of 72 hours' notice of cancellation of hours and if they don't they should be paid for the scheduled hours, and

• Periodic reviews should be carried out so that a contract reflects the reality of working hours. 

A consultation process on "if and when" contracts will now be undertaken with recommendations to be made in 2016.