MINIMUM WAGES (HOUSEHOLD ASSISTANTS)

Citation

1. This Order may be cited as the Minimum Wages (Household Assistants)

Interpretation

2. In this Order—

“full-time household assistant” means a household assistant who normally works with an employer for the period set by clause 5 as a work week;

“household assistant” means a full-time or part-time household assistant employed in the carrying out of any or all household duties;

“household duties” means all those duties that are inherent in the normal functioning of a household, such as cooking, cleaning, washing or ironing;

“medical certificate” means a medical certificate prepared by a registered medical practitioner;

“part-time household assistant” means a household assistant whose work week with an employer does not equate with the work week of a full-time household assistant;

“pay” means, in the case of a full-time household assistant, the weekly remuneration received by such an assistant and in the case of a part-time household assistant the hourly rate of pay received by such an assistant.

Minimum remuneration

3. (1) No household assistant shall be paid less than the minimum remuneration set out in the First

(2) A full-time household assistant’s pay shall not in any way be abated by reason of a public holiday falling within the work week referred to in clause 6.

Minimum remuneration for overtime

4. (1) Where a full-time household assistant works more than the work week prescribed by clause 5, the minimum remuneration payable for such overtime work shall be at the rate set out in Part I of the Second

(2) A household assistant, who by mutual agreement with his employer, works on a public holiday, shall be paid at a rate no less than that set out in Part II of the Second Schedule.

Hours of work.

5. The weekly hours of work applicable to a full-time household assistant shall be forty-four hours, exclusive of lunch or other rest period, spread over a period of six days per week.

Days off

6. (1) An employer of a full-time household assistant shall grant the said household assistant one day off each week, such day off to be the subject of agreement between

• A full-time household assistant shall not accumulate more than four weekly days
• Where a full-time household assistant has accumulated four weekly days off, his employer shall grant him and he shall take four days immediately after the end of the week in which the fourth day off was

Vacation leave

7. (1) A full-time household assistant shall be entitled to two weeks vacation leave annually with pay on completion of twelve months service from the date of his employment subject to having worked a minimum of two hundred and twenty days in that

• In the case of a part-time household assistant pay shall be calculated on the basis of the average remuneration for the preceding three months or the pay immediately preceding vacation leave, whichever is the higher
• Where a public holiday falls within the period of vacation leave of a household assistant, the household assistant shall be granted one additional day’s leave with pay for every such public holiday.
• Where a household assistant becomes sick during his period of vacation leave, then subject to clause 8 he shall be granted one additional day’s leave with pay for every such day of sick leave once the sick leave is certified by a registered medical

Sick leave

8. (1) A household assistant shall be entitled to fourteen working days sick leave per year with pay subject to—
   • his being continuously employed for a period of at least six months;
   • his production of a medical certificate in respect of any period of illness in excess of two

(2) The pay to which a household assistant is entitled shall be the difference between his pay and his entitlement to sickness benefit under the National Insurance Act.

Maternity leave

9. (1) A household assistant shall be entitled to maternity leave and to resume work after such

• At least one hundred and fifty days prior to her confinement a household assistant shall give to her employer a medical certificate stating the probable date of
• A household assistant shall be entitled to proceed on leave six weeks prior to the probable delivery date stated in the medical certificate and shall not be required to return to work sooner than seven weeks after the birth of the
• At least two weeks prior to her intended return to work, a household assistant shall give to her employer a medical certificate stating the actual date of birth of the child, certifying her fitness to return to work and indicating the intended date of
• During the period of maternity leave, a household assistant shall be entitled to pay calculated by computing the difference between her pay and any maternity benefits that she may be entitled to under the National Insurance

Duties to be set out

10. The duties, hours of work and rest periods of every household assistant shall be clearly set out in writing by his employer when the household assistant first assumes