COUNTRY

Written Agreements

In Ireland, employment contracts may be written or oral. However, the Terms of Employment (Information) Act states that an employer must issue a written statement of terms and conditions to employees within 2 months of their job start date. The statement must include the employment start date, payment details, hours of work, place of work, leave terms, etc. Employees must receive the core terms of their employment in writing within five days of starting their jobs.

Employers must sign and date the written statement, but employees are not legally required to sign it. Employers must keep a copy of the written statement throughout the employment and for at least a year after it ends.

Employers can include certain clauses in employment agreements that limit the employee's ability to work in a certain sector or with certain suppliers or clients for a certain length of time. Irish courts have maintained that such covenants are enforceable if they are reasonable.

Oral Agreements

In Ireland, any person working for an employer for a regular wage or salary automatically has an employment agreement that can be written or oral. An employer must issue a written statement of terms and conditions to employees within 2 months of their job start date.

Implied Agreements

Ireland allows for both express or implied contracts. The Terms of Employment Act states that anyone working for an employer for a regular wage or salary automatically has an employment agreement, whether it was put into writing or not. An employer must issue a written statement of terms and conditions to employees within 2 months of their job start date.

Implied terms of contract are those terms which aren’t verbally agreed or set out in writing but still apply. Implied terms can come from a variety of sources. Sometimes, they are an obvious consequence of what is stated in the contract. Sometimes, they are required by legislation. Sometimes, the implied terms arise from custom and practice in a workplace (for example, a particular level of overtime pay for employees).

The maximum average number of hours an employee can work per week is 48. The workweek average is typically determined over a 4-month period. Exceptions exist for seasonal workers, work that involves predictable surge activity, and employees under collective agreements. Further, employees are entitled to a rest period of up to 11 consecutive hours for every 24 hours of work.

For night workers generally, the maximum night working time is 48 hours per week averaged over a 2 month period or a longer period specified in a collective agreement which must be approved by the Labour Court.

All employees have the "Right to Disconnect" from work. The Right to Disconnect gives employees the right to switch off from work outside of normal working hours, including the right to not respond immediately to emails, telephone calls, or other messages

• New Year's Day - January 1
• St. Patrick's Day - March 17
• Easter Monday - date subject to change annually
• The first Monday in May
• The first Monday in June
• The first Monday in August
• The last Monday in October
• Christmas Day - December 25
• St. Stephen's Day - December 26

In Ireland, all employees, whether full-time, part-time, temporary, or casual, earn annual leave entitlements from when they start work. Most employees are entitled to four weeks of paid annual leave per year, although they may be entitled to less depending on time worked.

The employer determines the timing of an employee’s annual leave, considering work and personnel requirements, and should consult the employee or the relevant union in advance. Pay for the leave must be issued in advance and calculated at the employee’s regular weekly rate.

Employees can accrue statutory annual leave when they are on long-term certified sick leave. An annual leave carryover period of 15 months after a leave year applies to employees who could not take annual leave during the relevant leave year or the normal carryover period of 6 months due to sickness.

Ireland enacted the Sick Leave Act in July 2022. From January 1, 2024, employees will have a right to paid sick leave for up to 5 days in 2024, 7 days in 2025, and 10 days in 2026. They will also be entitled to a rate of payment for statutory sick leave of 70% of normal wages to be paid by employers (up to a maximum EUR 110 per day).

Under the new scheme, employees must have worked for their employer for at least 13 weeks to be entitled to paid sick leave. They must also be certified by a GP as unfit to work. Employers are required to include their sick pay policy in employment contracts.

If employees cannot work because they are sick or injured and they have made enough social insurance contributions, they can apply to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) for a weekly illness benefit.

In Ireland, employees are entitled to maternity benefits. The government pays maternity benefits for 26 weeks (156 days). At least 2 weeks and not more than 16 weeks of leave must be taken before the end of the week in which the baby is due. Employees have the right to an additional 16 weeks of unpaid maternity leave immediately after the end of the 26 weeks’ paid leave. Maternity leave applies to birth or adoptive parents and must start within 26 weeks of birth or placement.

The Irish Maternity Benefit is EUR 250 (Euros) per week. In January 2023, the weekly rate will increase by EUR 12, with proportional increases for people on reduced payment rates.

Employers are not statutorily obligated to pay women who are on maternity leave. However, some employers may increase the amount employees get from Maternity Benefit to match the employee’s normal pay. Employees must have at least 39 weeks of PRSI contributions paid in the 12-month period before the first day of their maternity leave to be eligible for benefits. If employees have dependents, their maternity benefit is compared to the rate of illness benefit they would have received for absence due to illness, and they are paid the lower amount.

Relevant parents are provided with 2 weeks of paid paternity leave. The benefit is currently EUR 274 per week, paid by the Department of Social Protection.

The leave applies to birth or adoptive parents and must start within 6 months of birth or placement. Employees must apply to their employer in writing at least 4 weeks before taking paternity leave. Self-employed persons must apply 12 weeks before. Employees must have 39 weeks' contributions to be eligible for benefits. The leave is available to all fathers, including self-employed, same-sex couples, and adoptive parents.

Minimum Wage

The current minimum wage rates are as follows:

• Employees aged under 18 – EUR 9.45 per hour
• Aged 18 – EUR 10.80 per hour
• Aged 19 – EUR 12.15 per hour
• Aged 20 and over – EUR 13.50 per hour

If the employee receives board or lodgings (i.e., food or accommodations from the employer), those amounts are included in the minimum wage calculation:

• For meals, EUR 1.21 per hour worked
• EUR 31.89 for accommodation per week or EUR 4.55 per day

There are no statutory guidelines on payroll frequency in Ireland. Individual or collective agreements determine it. Employees who consistently get paid late can make a formal complaint or even resign and claim constructive dismissal.

Overtime, Holiday & Vacation Pay

The weekly 48-hour limit may be exceeded in exceptional circumstances or emergencies beyond the employer’s control. There is no legal right to pay for working extra hours, and there are no statutory levels of overtime pay. Overtime pay can be decided in individual employment contracts or collective agreements.

Public holidays are considered paid rest days in Ireland. If the business is closed on a public holiday, and that day would be an employee's regular workday, the employee is entitled to their regular day's wages. If the business is open and the employee works, they are entitled to paid time off or an additional day's pay (equal to the amount paid for regular daily hours last worked before the public holiday). In the case when the employee is not normally scheduled to work, they are entitled to an extra one-fifth of their regular weekly pay.

All employees, whether full-time, part-time, temporary, or casual, earn annual leave entitlements from when they start work. Pay for the leave must be issued in advance and calculated at the employee’s regular weekly rate.

Notice Period

In Ireland, persons continually employed for at least 13 weeks must give their employer 1 week's notice to terminate employment. Employment contracts may specify a longer notice period.

Employers must give continuously serving employees a notice between 1 and 8 weeks, depending on the duration of their service.

If the employee is not required to work for any part of their notice, the employer must pay them for that period. No notice is required if either party terminates an employment contract due to misconduct. Employees and employers can also agree to waive their right to notice.

Severance Benefits

Employees aged 16 or over with 104 weeks (2 years) of continuous service at a job are entitled to a statutory redundancy payment, a lump-sum amount based on the employee's salary.

All eligible employees are entitled to:

• If over age 16, 2 weeks' pay for every year of service, and
• 1 additional week's pay, also known as a bonus week

The payment amount is subject to a maximum earnings limit of EUR 600 per week.

Pension

In Ireland, there is no single fixed retirement age. A person’s retirement age is designated in their contract of employment. Some employment contracts have a mandatory retirement age, but they also provide for earlier retirement generally and/or on grounds of illness. The usual retirement age in contracts of employment is 65. Many provide for early retirement starting at age 60 or, in some cases, starting at age 55.

There are two types of pensions: contributory and non-contributory. The State Pension (Contributory; SPC) is a social insurance-based payment presently payable to people starting at age 66, and the mandatory retirement age is 70. It is a basic flat-rate benefit to retirees who meet the contribution conditions and is not a means-tested benefit. The amount of benefits depends on the number of contributions, number of dependents, and age of the employee when accessing their retirement savings. Individuals who do not qualify for a contributory State pension, with income below a certain level, may be entitled to a non-contributory State pension (SPNC). It is a means-tested benefit for individuals who have not contributed at all or have not contributed a sufficient amount. The rate of payment depends on the outcome of the means test.

Ireland's Department of Social Protection will begin implementing an automatic enrollment retirement savings system. The pension program will be implemented by 2023 and operational by 2024. Employees aged 23 through 60 who earn a minimum of EURO 20,000 and are not participating in a pension plan will be auto-enrolled.

Employees and employers will each contribute 1.5% to fund the individual accounts, and employers are limited to contribute to the first EUR 80,000. Contribution rates will increase by 1.5 every three years until they reach 6% by 2034, and the government will match 33% of an employee's contribution on annual earnings up to EUR 80,000.

Dependents/Survivors Benefits

In Ireland, survivors of a deceased person are entitled to the following types of benefits, depending on their insurance condition:

• Contributory Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Pension - Benefits depend on the number of contributions made
• Non-Contributory Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's Pension - Means test benefits based on cash income, the value of capital, and income from property personally used
• Guardian and Orphan Payments - Benefits for children under 18 or 22 years of age whose parents have died
• Death Benefit due to occupational injury - If a person dies in a work-related accident or disease, his or her surviving spouse/partner or dependent child can be eligible for Death Benefit

Invalidity Benefits

In Ireland, the State provides benefits for insured persons who have been injured or incapacitated by an accident, whether in the workplace or while traveling directly to or from work. The Occupational Injuries Scheme also covers employees who have contracted a work-related disease. The following benefits are available under this scheme:

• Injury Benefit
• Disablement Benefit
• Incapacity Supplement
• Constant Attendance Allowance
• Medical Care Scheme

Disability Allowance is a weekly allowance paid to people above 16 years of age with a disability.