A study of those on probation orders in the workforce has shown that they earn 30% less than other employees, and that female probationers earn less than their male counterparts.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) looked at the earnings of those who received probation orders in 2017, and were active in the labour market.

It used data provided by Revenue to examine their earnings from 2014 to 2020 – three years before and after their probation orders.

Re-offenders worse off

A probationer’s median weekly earnings, one year after receiving probation supervision, was €406, compared with €554 for all employees.

The median figure for weekly earnings for female probationers (€309) was just under two-thirds of that of male probationers (€484) in 2020.

The CSO found that probation re-offenders tended to have lower weekly earnings than those who did not re-offend. For the latter, the median earnings figure was €482 in 2020, compared with €452 for those who re-offended within three years.

Sectoral gap ‘less pronounced’

The construction sector provided the highest level of employment for probationers, accounting for 16% of employed probationers in 2020. The median weekly earnings of probationers working in construction was €606 per week.

A breakdown showed that the earnings of those on probation were closest to other employees in the sector that included accommodation and food services. Employees in this area received median weekly earnings of €329 in 2020, compared with probationers’ earnings of €319.

“What the analysis shows at the overall level is that, while probationers typically earned less than employees in the labour market, these differences were more related to where probationers typically worked compared to all employees,” said the CSO’s Felix Coleman.

“At the sectoral level, the earnings gap was less pronounced, particularly for those working in the accommodation-and-food sector, and in construction," he added.