Ireland
Min. wage
(x12 payments)
€14.15 /hr
About the minimum wage
Employer tax
9-11.25%
Understand employer tax
Annual leave
20 days
Learn about annual leave
Notice period
1-8 weeks (by tenure)
Termination and notice info
Updated
Sep 2026
The standard and most common employment relationship in Ireland is an open-ended (permanent/indefinite) contract of employment with no fixed end date. It must include the core terms required under the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994-2022, provided in writing within 5 days of starting (core terms) and the full statement within 1 month.
Fixed-term and specified-purpose contracts are governed by the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003. Successive fixed-term contracts are capped at a combined maximum of 4 years; after that (or after 2 successive renewals beyond the initial contract without objective justification), the contract is deemed a contract of indefinite duration unless the employer can objectively justify continued fixed-term status. Fixed-term employees must not be treated less favourably than comparable permanent employees.
Under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, average weekly working time (including overtime) must not exceed 48 hours, calculated over a 4-month reference period (up to 6 or 12 months in specific sectors/agreements). Employees are entitled to an 11-hour daily rest period, a 24-hour weekly rest period, and a 15-30 minute break depending on hours worked. There is no statutory opt-out from the 48-hour cap.
Under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 as amended by the European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022, probationary periods may not exceed 6 months, except where extended (once) to a maximum of 12 months where genuinely in the employee's interest (e.g., extended absence during probation) or provided for in a collective agreement. Employees on probation still accrue statutory annual leave and other core protections, though certain protections (e.g., unfair dismissal claims) generally require 12 months' continuous service regardless of probation status.
Ireland has no statutory requirement for a 13th or 14th month salary or Christmas bonus. Any such payment is discretionary and governed solely by the employment contract, company policy, or collective agreement.
Ireland does not maintain a general statutory register of regulated job titles for private-sector employment; job titles are set by employer/contract. However, certain professions (e.g., medicine, law, nursing, accountancy, engineering) are regulated by specific professional bodies and statutes governing use of protected titles and practice rights.
Employer PRSI Class A (2026): 9% of gross weekly pay up to EUR 552, and 11.25% on gross weekly pay above EUR 552 (increasing to 9.15%/11.4% from 1 October 2026). This funds state benefits including Illness Benefit, Maternity/Paternity/Parent's Benefit, redundancy-related supports, and the State Pension.
Employee PRSI Class A (2026): 4.2% of gross weekly pay where earnings exceed EUR 352/week, with a tapering credit of up to EUR 12 for pay between roughly EUR 352 and EUR 424/week; no PRSI is due below EUR 352/week. The employee rate rises to 4.35% from 1 October 2026. Employees also pay PAYE income tax and USC (Universal Social Charge), both withheld by the employer.
In addition to statutory leave, employees are entitled to the following statutory benefits:
Ireland's social security system is funded through Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI), with both employer and employee (Class A, the standard class for most private-sector employees) making weekly contributions based on gross pay. Rates below reflect August 2026 levels.
Ireland does not operate a separate mandatory "workers' compensation" insurance scheme in the way some other jurisdictions do. Instead, employees injured or made ill at work may claim state Injury Benefit / Illness Benefit from the Department of Social Protection (subject to PRSI record), and may separately pursue a civil claim for employer negligence, typically first assessed by the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) before proceeding to court if not settled.
Employers are legally required under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 to maintain a safe workplace and are strongly advised (though not always statutorily obliged, depending on sector) to carry employer's liability insurance to cover claims arising from workplace accidents or occupational illness.
Statutory redundancy payments apply to employees with at least 2 years' (104 weeks) continuous service who are dismissed by reason of genuine redundancy. The formula under the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967-2022 is: 2 weeks' gross pay for every year of service, plus 1 additional bonus week's pay.
Weekly pay used in the calculation is capped at EUR 600 per week (equivalent to an annual cap of EUR 31,200), even if the employee earns more. Statutory redundancy payments are tax-free. Employers may also offer enhanced (ex-gratia) redundancy terms above the statutory minimum, which are typically taxable subject to certain exemptions.
There is no statutory requirement in Ireland for employers to pay a 13th or 14th month salary, Christmas bonus, or any other mandatory supplementary payment. Any bonus, gratuity, or additional payment is entirely at the employer's discretion and governed by the individual employment contract, company policy, or applicable collective agreement.
P.S. our team speaks multiple languages and we'd love to chat in your preferred language if requested.
Your employee's hours, time off, holidays, bonuses, and commissions are automatically calculated into payroll. RemoFirst will invoice you in either US Dollars (USD), Euros (EUR), British Pounds (GBP), Canadian Dollars (CAD), Australian Dollars (AUD), or Singapore Dollars (SGD) around the 15th of each month to make sure your employees are paid on time. To make it even easier, you can summarize your entire global team's salaries to aggregate them into one payment (instead of many individual payments).
Unlike full-time employees, contractors work on projects with multiple companies at a given time and are technically self-employed. Full-time employees are solely focused on their employer and usually receive benefits (such as health insurance, equity or stock options, and time off) as an additional form of compensation. While it can be cheaper to work with international contractors instead of paying benefits to a full-time employee, you run the risk of misclassification. It's recommended to work with an EOR for contractor onboarding and payments, so you can know that your international contractors are paid compliantly and on time.
Whenever the employee or employer has a question about, or anything else related to international employment, they can speak with our customer support team to get answers from our team of experts.
