Ireland PEO & Employer of Record

WeHG provides an International PEO and global Employer of Record service in Ireland to companies willing to enter the Irish market or hire local/expat employees in this country.

Traditional approach requires establishing a subsidiary in Ireland.  However our solution allows you to start the operations in Ireland within days hence save time and money.  WeHG would hire candidates on your behalf while you maintain full operational control of their work. So legally they would be our employees, on our local payroll, 100% compliant but will work on your behalf. 

Ireland fast facts

Population, million: 4.9

Land area, sq. km: 70,273 km2

Capital: Dublin

Local currency: EUR

Hiring, Negotiating and Doing Business in Ireland

Necessity of written employment contract

A contract of employment is governed by the common law principles of contract law. Employment legislation provisions cannot be contracted out of in the employment contract. The Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 to 2014 impose an obligation on employers to provide their employees, within two months of commencing employment, with a written statement of certain terms and conditions of their employment. This is not an obligation to provide a written contract but most employers comply by providing a written contract. The following particulars must be contained in the written statement:

• Full name of the employer and employee.
• Address of the employer and place of work.
• Job title and nature of the work.
• Date of commencement of employment.
• Expected duration of the contract (if temporary contract) or the date on which the contract will expire (if fixed-term contract).
• Rate or method of calculation of pay.
• Hours of work and overtime.
• Sick leave or payment due to incapacity as a result of injury.

Ireland Employment Contract

Types of employment agreements

Temporary workers

The Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 applies to most employees on fixed-term contracts. Fixed-term employees are entitled to be treated no less favourably than a comparable permanent employee, unless this treatment can be justified on both of the following objective grounds:

• Its purpose is to achieve a legitimate objective of the employer.
• It is appropriate and necessary to achieve that purpose.

There are some exceptions in relation to pension entitlements. An employer cannot employ an employee on a series of fixed-term contracts indefinitely.

The Unfair Dismissal Acts apply to fixed-term employees unless their contract of employment expressly excludes their application.

Agency workers

Agency workers are not entitled to all the employment rights afforded to regular workers; however, they do have the right to equal treatment and equal basic employment conditions provided for by the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012. The Act does not cover employees of contractor companies and limited liability companies where the worker is the beneficial owner.

Part-time workers

The Protection of Employees (Part-Time) Work Act 2001 governs the treatment of part-time employees. Part-time employees have the right not to be treated less favourably than a comparable full-time employee regarding conditions of their employment, unless objectively justified. The two objective grounds are:

• Where its purpose is to achieve a legitimate objective of the employer and such treatment is appropriate and necessary for that purpose.
• Pensions.

Ireland working hours

The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (OWTA) provides the maximum average working week is 48 hours, subject to certain exceptions. The average work hours may be taken over a four- (most common), six- or 12-month period (this is exceptional and applies to the security industry, hospitals, prisons, gas/electricity, airport/docks, agriculture and employees in businesses which have peak periods at certain times of the year such as tourism).

Vacation leave in Ireland

Holiday entitlement is governed by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (OWTA). All employees earn holiday entitlements from the time work is commenced. Holiday pay is earned against time worked. Employees are entitled to the greater of one of the following paid annual leave entitlements:

• Four working weeks in a leave year in which the employee works at least 1,365 hours (unless it is a leave year in which the employee changes employment).
• One-third of a working week for each month in the leave year in which the employee works at least 117 hours.
• 8% of the hours the employee works in a leave year (but subject to a maximum of four working weeks).

Additional annual leave may be provided at the discretion of an employer. If an employee has worked for their employer for less than the full holiday year, holidays are granted on a pro rata basis.

Sick leave: 

Entitlement to paid time off

There is no obligation for employers to pay employee sick pay. It is at the discretion of an employer to provide their own policy on sick leave and sick pay. An employer must include terms or conditions relating to an employee’s incapacity for work due to sickness or injury in their written statement (Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 to 2014). If sick pay is included in the contract, there is often a limit on the period of sick pay entitlement. If there is no express or implied term in the contract of employment, the employee has no entitlement to sick pay and must rely wholly upon social welfare benefits.

Entitlement to unpaid time off

There is no statutory entitlement for employee sick leave in Ireland. Equality legislation obliges employers to provide employees with reasonable accommodation in respect of disabilities. Consequently, employers must provide a reasonable period of sick leave for employees with disabilities. The Workplace Relations Act 2015 provides that statutory annual leave accrues during periods of certified sick leave up to a maximum of 15 months from the end of the leave year in which it was accrued.

Ireland Maternity Leave

The Maternity Protection Acts 1994 and 2004 provide an entitlement of 42 weeks’ maternity leave for pregnant employees, composed of 26 weeks’ “ordinary maternity leave” and 16 weeks’ “additional maternity leave”. At least two weeks of maternity leave must be taken before the baby’s expected date of birth and at least four weeks’ leave taken after the birth. An employee must notify her employer in writing of her intention to take maternity leave no later than four weeks before commencing maternity leave. Pregnant employees and employees who have recently given birth are entitled to time off work without loss of pay for ante-natal and post-natal care. Certain women in employment who are breastfeeding are entitled to take time off work each day in order to breastfeed. The provision applies to all women in employment who have given birth within the previous six months. Employers are not obliged to provide facilities in the workplace to facilitate breastfeeding if the provision of these facilities would give rise to considerable costs. At the choice of her employer, the woman may therefore opt to:

• Breastfeed in the workplace or express breast milk, where facilities are provided in the workplace by the employer.
• Have their working hours reduced (without loss of pay) to facilitate breastfeeding where facilities are not made available.

The entitlement applies to mothers of babies under six months old.

Ireland Severance Laws

Notice periods

The contract of employment must contain an agreed notice period. In the absence of a contractual notice period, an employer must give “reasonable” notice prior to the termination of an employee’s contract. If the notice period given is less than the statutory notice period, the statutory notice period prevails. The Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1974 to 2005 apply to employees who have completed 13 weeks’ continuous service with their employer. The following minimum notice periods apply:

• 13 weeks’ to less than two years’ service: one week.
• Two years’ to less than five years’ service: two weeks.
• Five years’ to less than ten years’ service: four weeks.
• Ten years’ to less than 15 years’ service: six weeks.
• More than 15 years’ service: eight weeks.

The Acts do not preclude either party from waiving their right to notice or accepting payment in lieu of notice. The employment may be legitimately terminated without notice due to the misconduct of either party.

Severance payments

A contract of employment may provide for a severance payment in the event of a termination by consent. Most employers require the employee whose contract is being voluntarily terminated to sign a severance agreement relinquishing the employee’s right to take any future legal action against their employer. Severance packages are distinct from redundancy situations.

Ireland Tax

Personal income tax rates

Universal Social Charge (USC)

The USC is a tax payable on gross income, including notional pay, after relief for certain capital allowances but before deducting pension contributions.

The rates for the USC (from 2021 onwards) are as follows for an individual below the age of 70:

Additional Benefits in Ireland 

In Ireland, benefits-in-kind, such as private use of a company car, free or subsidized accommodation and preferential loans received from an employer are taxable if the employee earns more than €1,905 per tax year. Where the employee receiving such benefits is a director of the company, the benefits are taxable regardless of the annual earnings.

Ireland Holidays

• New Year’s Day (1 January).
• St. Patrick’s Day (17 March).
• Easter Monday.
• First Monday in May, June, August.
• Last Monday in October.
• Christmas Day (25 December).
• St. Stephen’s Day (26 December).

Why Choose WeHireGlobally

WeHG takes care of all the onboarding hurdles, payroll, compensation and benefits, tax filing, and termination of employment. Our Employer of Record solution allows you to manage your overseas teams efficiently while minimizing cost and risk.