In last week's Budget announcement, the Government confirmed that the minimum wage for an experienced adult employee will increase from €8.65 to €9.15 per hour from 1 January 2016, an increase of 50c per hour.

Employer PRSI thresholds have also changed, so that the lower rate of employer PRSI (8.5%) will increase to cover workers earning up to €376 per week (previously €356 per week) from 1 January 2016.

Employers will therefore benefit from the lower PRSI threshold for the new minimum wage. The PRSI changes, do not however offset any of the direct costs associated with an increase in the national minimum wage, for further details visit the SFA website.

National minimum wage increases sometimes cause a domino effect to take place, where employees earning above the previous minimum wage - but not a lot more than the new minium wage - seek higher pay on the basis that they are entitled to an increase in line with their minimum wage colleagues. It is important to note that such relativity claims are expressly prohibited under the National Minimum Wage Act.  For more see the SFA guideline.

For any queries around these changes, or for advice on how to implement wage changes in your business, contact Jonathan Callan, SFA Executive, tel: 01 605 1668. Email: jonathan.callan@sfa.ie