Since 1 January 2021, the national minimum wage in Ireland is 10.20 EUR per hour. Wage rates are based on age as follows:

• Aged 20+: 10.20 EUR
• Aged 19: 9.18 EUR
• Aged 18: 8.16 EUR
• Aged under 18: 7.14 EUR

Salaries are paid either on a weekly or monthly basis. Employers should pay employees by the last day of the month.

There are no provisions in the law regarding 13th salaries.

A full-time work week is 39 hours. Employers are responsible for ensuring that employees are given adequate rest. The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 rules govern maximum working hours, daily and weekly rest breaks.

A work week cannot exceed 48 hours on average over four months. In addition, employees should get 24 consecutive hours of rest in any period of 7 days, and this should normally follow on from one of the 11-hour rest periods already mentioned. As an alternative, your employer can provide two 24-hour rest periods in a week if it follows a week in which you did not get any 24-hour rest periods. Unless your contract states otherwise, the 24-hour rest period should include a Sunday.

All work more than the standard working hours a week is to be paid as overtime and is regulated by employment contract/collective agreements.

There is no legal right to pay for working extra hours, and there are no statutory levels of overtime pay. However, many employers pay employees higher rates of pay for overtime as stipulated within the employment contract.

Specific sectors of employment have higher rates of pay for overtime than for regular hours. This is covered by Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreements.

An employee’s entitlement to annual leave or holidays from work is set out both in legislation and the employee’s employment contract.

The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 is responsible for providing the entitlement.  The Act provides a basic annual paid leave entitlement of four weeks, although an employee’s contract can provide for a bigger amount. Part-time workers’ entitlement is calculated as 8.00% of the hours worked, subject to a maximum of four working weeks per leave year.

There are 9 public holidays.

No statutory law is in place in Ireland for employers to pay an employee’s sick pay. However, many employers still choose to have a sick leave policy and enact it in the employees’ contracts or terms of employment. All employers must give you written information about their sick leave policy:

• Suppose the employee cannot work due to being sick or injured and has contributed enough PRSI contributions. In that case, (and be under the age of 66), the Department of Social Protection (DSP) will commence payment of an allowance called Illness Benefit.
• If the employee has not contributed enough PRSI contributions, the employee will need to contact the DSP at the local health centre

Regardless of the issue of payment, if an employee is off work sick during scheduled annual leave, they should obtain a medical certificate from a medical professional and send it to their employer so that the sick days will be recorded as a sick days instead of being taken from annual leave.

Mothers are entitled to 26 (156 days) weeks of maternity leave and can receive an extra 16 weeks of unpaid leave, which begins immediately after the end of maternity leave. Mothers must take at least two weeks before the expected birth and at least four weeks after. The entitlement for paid leave depends on whether the worker has contributed enough social insurance (PRSI), as employers are not obligated to pay.

Eligibility for payment from the PRSI is:

• At least 39 weeks of PRSI paid in the 12 months before the first day of the maternity leave or
• At least 39 weeks of PRSI paid since first starting work and at least 39 weeks of PRSI paid or credited in the relevant tax year or the tax year immediately following the relevant tax year or
• At least 26 weeks of PRSI paid in the relevant tax year and at least 26 weeks PRSI paid in the tax year immediately before the relevant tax year.

The weekly standard rate of maternity benefit is 245.00 EUR.

Fathers are entitled to 2 weeks of paternity leave that can start any time in the first six months after birth, or placement in the case of an adoption.

Relevant parents are the following:

• The father of the child
• The partner (spouse, civil partner, or cohabitant) of the mother of the child
• The parent of a donor-conceived child

The employer is not required to pay the employee during paternity leave, but the employee may qualify for Paternity Benefit during this time if they have contributed sufficient PRSI contributions.

Parents are entitled to up to 26 weeks of parental leave for each eligible child before 12 years old. To qualify for the leave, the employee must have been employed for at least one year and provided the employer with a written parental leave request at least six weeks before the required start date.

Adoptive leave entitles one adoptive parent to up to 24 weeks’ unpaid leave from the date the child is placed in the employee’s care.

The Family Leave and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2021 has just passed all the stages of the Oireachtas; the new legislation will influence both Adoption and Parent’s leave in Ireland, is effective from April 2021, and will apply in relation to all children born since November 2019. This payment is available to both parents.

Effect on Adoption Leave

This new legislation will rectify the loophole in the Adoption Leave Act regarding adoption by male same-sex couples. It will also give adoptive parents more flexibility to decide which parent will avail of adoptive leave and benefit.

Extension of Parent’s Leave and Benefit

It will also increase Parents Leave and Benefit from 2 weeks to 5 weeks for each parent. The period in which the leave can be taken will also be extended to the first two years after a child’s birth or adoptive placement.

Depending on the collective agreement/employment contract terms, an employee may be allowed additional leave types, once approved between the employer and employee, for the following:

• Bereavement leave: it is common practice for an employee to be entitled to three days of paid leave in the event of the death of an immediate member of the family; however, this is a contractual agreement rather than a statutory leave entitlement.
• Jury Service Leave: Employers to provide their full-time, regularly employed employees, job-protected and unpaid leave for their duty as jurors or as a witness in a case or acting as a plaintiff or defendant in the courts. Employees must provide a copy of the jury summons to the employer as evidence of requirement. The court will provide a specific amount of payment, and the employer can choose to provide any additional payment.

Employers can terminate a fix term contract by giving the following reasons – business, personal, or workers misconduct. It requires notice and a written explanation for the termination. If the cause is misconduct, a warning needs to be given with the employee given a chance to explain his/her actions.

When employment ends, employees shall receive any money owed and a payslip.

Revenue Payroll Notifications (RFNs) are available in real-time for new employees (following the implementation of real-time information, the issuing of P45’s & P46 forms are no longer required)

In accordance with the contract terms, the notice period is dependent on the length of employment.

Notice should be made by both an employee and employer as follows:

• 13 weeks-2 years:  1 week
• 2-5 years: 2 weeks
• 5-10 years: 4 weeks
• 10-15 years: 6 weeks
• 15+ years:  8 weeks

Payment can be made in lieu of notice.

When dismissed they have the right to receive wages owed to them for work completed. They are also to receive payment for annual leave earned but not taken. 

Employers are not required to pay severance to employees who have been terminated.  

For cases of redundancy employees are eligible to receive: 

• two weeks’ pay 
• extra bonus week 

Redundancy pay is set to a maximum limit of 600 per week. A worker with 5 years of consecutive employment is eligible for 11 weeks redundancy pay.

The probationary period can last from 6 to 12 months.

Non-residents of Ireland are classified into two primary groups, European nationals (EEA) and non-European nationals (Non- EEA). EEA nationals can seek work without requiring a work permit, and non-EEA nationals must apply and pay for a work permit or Green Card. The permit is initially granted for two years.

Foreign workers in Ireland must have a valid work permit if their salaries exceed a certain threshold and are subject to Irish taxation on incomes earned in Ireland and abroad.

Further changes may come into force in 2021 following Brexit implementation.

Short Stay Visas

All applicants for a short stay ‘C’ visa (whether for a single entry or multiple entries) must show that they have a sufficiently strong family, social or economic ties to a place of residence in a country other than Ireland to assure the visa officer assessing the application that the projected stay in Ireland will be temporary and in accordance with the duration and conditions of the permission granted by the immigration authorities on arrival in Ireland.

Types of stay include Business, Conference or event, Tourist, and Internship.

The maximum stay allowed under a short stay ‘C’ visa is 90 days.

Long Stay Visas

Individuals wishing to travel to Ireland for more than three months, for example, to pursue a course of study, for work or to settle permanently in Ireland with family members who are already resident in Ireland, then they can apply for a long stay ‘D’ visa for a single entry.

If they are granted a long stay ‘D’ visa and wish to remain in the State for longer than three months or beyond the period of leave given to them by an Immigration Officer at an Irish port of entry, they will be required to register and obtain a residence permit.

23.00% standard rate.