Tens of thousands of Irish workers are waking up to a smaller paycheque today. This is the first public sector pay-day since pay cuts were introduced as part of the new pay arrangements by government.

Workers earning over €65,000 a year will face cuts to their salary but lower-paid workers also face some losses.

Today is pay-day for most of the 383,500 people who work in the public sector. Not all of those workers will face immediate pay cuts but almost all face some sort of change to their terms and conditions.

Staff earning over €65,000 a year will face pay cuts starting at 5.5% rising to 10% for anyone earning over €185,000 a year.

The standard working week now extends to a minimum of 37 hours and up to 39 hours for those who already work longer shifts. There are other issues for workers whose unions have not signed up to the Haddington Road pay deal.

Workers earning over €35,000 will face delays in their next annual pay rise, while some sectors will have to make do with lower rates for overtime and special premia.

The system aims to save €300 million from the public pay bill this year and €1 billion by the middle of 2015.