Ireland 🇮🇪
Congratulations on your decision to hire employees in Ireland! With a dynamic and rapidly growing economy, particularly in sectors such as technology, pharmaceuticals, and finance, Ireland offers an environment conducive for business growth and innovation. As a member of the European Union, Ireland also presents an attractive opportunity for businesses aiming to establish or extend their operations in Europe. Plane simplifies the hiring process for you by offering automated tax document collection, payroll, benefits administration, and more, while ensuring compliance and maximum efficiency. Still, hiring in a new country can pose certain challenges, so we’ve put together the following guide on how to navigate the process of hiring in Ireland.
Currency
EUR
 Onboarding
2.5 weeks minimum
Employer Cost
12.75%
Pay Frequency
Monthly
Public Holidays
10
5 Considerations Before Hiring in Ireland
As an employer in Ireland, it is important to have a comprehensive employment contract that outlines the terms and conditions of the employment relationship. The award should include need-to-know info on compensation, benefits, vacation time, and sick leave policies. Before onboarding a new employee in Ireland, take a moment to consider the following:
Getting Started with Hiring in Ireland
Employment Contract
In Ireland, a “contract of employment” is crucial for defining the terms and conditions of employment between an employer and an employee. By law, these contracts can be “express,” or explained verbally or in writing, or “implied,” where the terms have not been specified but still apply. Plane provides all of your new hires in Ireland with express, written contracts for clarity and legal certainty. Most employees have open-ended contracts of employment where the contract continues until either the employer or employee ends it, i.e., by giving notice. Less commonly, other employees have fixed-term or specified-purpose contracts, which end on a specific date or when a specific project is completed. Fixed-term contracts through Plane are available on a case-by-case basis, subject to approval by our team.
Payroll Timelines and Dates
Pay Frequency: Employee payroll is monthly, with 12 pay periods per year. Pay is distributed on the last business day of the month.Payroll Change Cutoff Dates: To meet payroll deadlines, any changes must be submitted to support@plane.com by the cutoff date. For Ireland, the payroll change cutoff date is on the last business day of the previous month. For example, changes to June payroll would need to be received no later than May 31, if May 31 is a business day.Plane sends payroll summaries to admins at the end of the second week of the month. After that, charges are automatically debited. Payroll summaries are also available to admins in their Plane accounts. Payday may vary based on country requirements.Â
Working Hours
The maximum number of hours an employee can work in an average workweek is 48 hours. However, despite this, most employees typically work 39 hours or less per week. The average for a working week is usually calculated over a reference period of four months for most employees, but can vary up to six months for certain sectors and roles — and up to 12 months if agreed upon by employer and employee, and approved by the Labour Court. The 48-hour limit includes overtime, and employees can work more than 48 hours in some weeks as long as the average of 48 isn’t exceeded across the reference period.Breaks: Employees are entitled to a daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours per 24-hour period, and a weekly rest period of 24 consecutive hours per seven-day period. Per day, workers are entitled to a 15-minute break per 4.5 hours of work, and a 30-minute break for more than 6 hours of work (which can include the first 15-minute break.) These breaks are not required to be paid by Irish law.Sunday work: Employees who work on Sundays are entitled to a benefit such as extra pay, a reasonable allowance, a reasonable pay increase, or reasonable paid time off work. Time Tracking: Time tracking is required by law in Ireland. Employees must track their hours, and employers must keep those records for up to three years. Overtime: There are no laws around overtime pay, but many employers offer higher rates of pay for overtime. Include details in your employment contracts on whether employees must work overtime, and the rates of pay for overtime (if any).
Public Holidays
Ireland has ten national public holidays:
- New Year's Day
- First Monday in February
- Saint Patrick’s Day
- Easter Monday
- May Day
- First Monday in June
- First Monday in August
- First Monday in October
- Christmas
- Saint Stephen’s Day
- a paid day off on the holiday
- an additional day of annual leave
- an additional day’s pay, or
- a paid day off within a month of the holiday.
Compensation
You can use Plane's Remote Compensation Tool to check remote salary data in Ireland by job title.As of January 1, 2023, the minimum wage in Ireland is €11.30 per hour for people aged 20 and over. This rate will increase to €12.70 on January 1, 2024.
Health Insurance Benefits
Ireland’s national healthcare system, funded through general taxation, is accessible to anyone who legally resides in Ireland for one year or more or can demonstrate intent to remain in Ireland for at least one year. Through the healthcare system, a wide range of healthcare services are available to all residents with a medical card, either free of charge or at a subsidized cost.Generally, employers in Ireland are not required to provide direct healthcare services or health insurance to employees. However, while not a legal requirement, some Irish employers choose to offer private health insurance as part of their employee benefits package. Plane offers supplemental health insurance to employees in Ireland via Vhi Healthcare.
Sick Leave
As of January 1, 2023, employees are entitled to three days of statutory sick pay per year, paid at 70% of an employee’s normal pay rate to a maximum of €110 a day. The amount of statutory sick pay covered per year is set to increase to five days in 2024, seven days in 2025, and 10 days in 2026.In order to be eligible for statutory sick pay, an employee must work at least 13 weeks for their employer and be certified by a general practitioner as unable to work. Employees must provide a medical certificate from a GP for each day of sick pay claimed. Employees on probation or undergoing training are still eligible for sick pay.Employers may offer more generous sick pay schemes, but cannot offer less than the statutory sick pay amount. If the employer’s sick pay scheme is more favorable, employees cannot receive statutory sick pay in addition to their company sick pay.The sick pay year is the calendar year, from January 1 to December 31.
Carer's Leave
Employees who have worked continuously for at least one year for an employer may take unpaid carer’s leave to provide care for another person who requires full-time support. This person doesn’t need to be a relative or member of the employee’s household. Carer’s leave is usually between a minimum of 13 weeks and a maximum of 104 weeks, though it can last less than 13 weeks if employer and employee agree upon a shorter time frame. It can be taken all at once in one block, or in multiple blocks with at least six weeks in between each bock. During carer’s leave, the employee may work for up to 18.5 hours and earn a maximum of €350 after taxes and deductions. They may also be eligible for a Carer’s Benefit or Carer’s Allowance payment, as well as a Carer’s Support Grant.Employees must apply to the Department of Social Protection first to ensure that their taking carer’s leave is necessary and appropriate. If approved, the employee and employer should sign a written agreement confirming the terms of the carer’s leave, with each party keeping a copy of the document.
Force Majeure Leave
Employees are entitled to take force majeure leave to assist a close relative who is injured or ill. The maximum length of this leave is three days in any 12-month period, or five days in any 36 consecutive months. Force majeure leave is paid and job-protected. If an employer allows employees to take additional force majeure leave, they may or may not elect to pay for it.
Vacation Leave
All employees are entitled to paid annual leave. Most employees are entitled to a minimum of four weeks’ annual leave. This leave is not affected by other types of statutory leave — time spent on these forms of leave is treated as though employees are in employment, which means that annual leave still accrues during these leave periods.The statutory leave year runs from April 1 to March 31, though many employers use the calendar year from January 1 to December 31 instead for administrative purposes. Employers can calculate an employee’s annual leave entitlement via three different methods, choosing the one that grants the most entitlement:
- If an employee has worked at least 1,365 hours in a leave year, they are entitled to the maximum of four working weeks' paid annual leave.
- Calculate 1/3 of a working week for each calendar month in which the employee worked at least 117 hours.
- Calculate 8% of the hours worked in the leave year, subject to a maximum of four working weeks.Â
Maternity / Paternity / Parental Leave
There are several different types of leave for employees in Ireland who are parents. Below are just the statutory requirements; remember, you can and often should offer more extensive benefits than these to employees. For example, though employers don’t need to pay employees during any maternity, paternity, or parental leave, you may choose to do so or to top up employees’ pay from the social welfare benefits they receive.Employees must give written notice to their employer usually four weeks before planning to take one of these forms of leave.Maternity Leave: Employees who become pregnant are entitled to take 26 weeks of maternity leave, with the right to take another 16 weeks of additional leave. All employees, regardless of full-time status or tenure, are eligible for maternity leave. Parents who give birth must take maternity leave at least two weeks before the baby is due, and at least four weeks after the baby is born. These parents also have the right to take paid time off during medical visits and prenatal classes. Parents who are breastfeeding may be eligible to take some time off or work fewer hours without loss of pay for up to two years after birth. Fathers are eligible to take maternity leave if the mother or birthing parent dies within 40 weeks of birth. Paternity Leave: Fathers, or partners of parents who are giving birth, may take two weeks of paternity leave in the first six months after a baby is born or adopted. Parent’s Leave: Parents can take 7 weeks of unpaid parent’s leave during the first two years of a child’s life, or during the first two years of an adopted child’s placement with the family.Parental Leave: Parents can take 26 weeks of unpaid parental leave to look after children under the age of 12. Employees must give at least six weeks’ notice to their employer, and take the leave all at once or in two separate blocks of at least six weeks. It’s up to employers whether they want to allow employees to take parental leave in other ways, e.g., one day per week until the whole 26-week allowance is used up. Generally, employees must work for their employer for at least a year before being able to take parental leave.Adoptive Leave: Parents adopting a child may take 24 weeks of leave from work. However, only one parent of an adopting couple or a parent who is adopting alone may qualify for adoptive leave. The parent who doesn’t take adoptive leave is entitled to paternity leave instead.
Employment / Termination
In most cases, employers may only terminate an employee for cause if they’ve worked for that employer for at least one year. There are several acceptable causes for dismissal, including lack of qualifications, unacceptable conduct, redundancy, and more. Any unfair dismissal claims are subject to the judgment of the Workplace Relations Commission, where employers must prove they had fair grounds for dismissal.Plane employs the practice of Mutual Termination Agreements (MTAs) for involuntary offboarding, which enable employers to terminate employees while minimizing costs and the risk of litigation. This agreement covers unused leave, notice periods, severance, and negotiated terms, in exchange for the employee waiving their right to challenge the termination. It is important to note that Plane does not facilitate unilateral terminations or dismissals, due to risk of litigation that can expose employers to increased damages. Also, the grounds for these terminations may not be valid for an employer of record. We ask that you give us as much notice as possible and involve us right from the beginning of the process (i.e., at least 30 days beforehand) so we can better support and guide you through the process. Involuntary termination can take time to negotiate with employees to mutually agree and end on good terms. You can find additional information here on how to terminate an employee.Notice Periods: The minimum notice period employees are entitled to depends on how long they’ve been working for their employer. It ranges from one week to eight weeks, as follows:
- Employees in probation: One week
- 13 weeks to two years of service: One week
- Two to five years of service: Two weeks
- Five to 10 years of service: Four weeks
- 10 to 15 years of service: Six weeks
- More than 15 years of service: Eight weeks.
- final pay for the work they’ve done
- a payslip
- holiday pay for unused annual leave
- pay in lieu of notice if applicable, and
- information about their pension scheme (if applicable)
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Annual cost of employment*
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| Salary | Taxes (32.65%) | Total | |
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| Monthly | 0BRL | 0BRL | 0BRL |
| Annual | 0BRL | 0BRL | 0BRL |
*rates for: October 2, 2024
Once you have sorted out the details mentioned above, you can add the employee to the Plane platform. We provide a step-by-step workflow that shows what tasks need to be completed, as well as real-time updates and notifications. This way, you can stay on top of the hiring process at all times. With Plane, you can confidently hire, knowing that you have a powerful platform at your disposal to manage the entire process from start to finish. Here are the instructions for adding a new employee to the platform:
How to hire and onboard an employee
Plane offers a guided process for administrators and managers to hire and onboard their new employees...
Learn moreHiring an employee in a new country can be a complex process, but with the right guidance and resources, it can be a smooth and successful transition. At Plane, we're committed to helping you navigate the process of hiring an employee in Ireland. We'll keep you informed and up-to-date with the latest regulations and employment laws.Good luck with your new hire, and welcome to Ireland!
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