Employer of Record in Ireland: Hire, Manage, and Pay Talent Seamlessly

Agreements in Ireland

• It is a statutory requirement to establish a written statement of terms of employment.
• Both parties should finalize and sign it within the first five days of starting a new job.
• It is a preliminary agreement including the only core terms of employment, such as:

  • Full name of the parties
  • Address of the parties
  • Place of work
  • Date of Employment
  • Job title and nature of the job
  • Working hours and overtime
  • Payroll period

Visa in Ireland

• The European Economic Area (EEA) residents can live and work in Ireland without an employment permit. They only require an employment contract.
• Citizens outside EEA need a permit to live and work in Ireland. They also need a Green card (which needs to be renewed every two years).

Minimum Wage in Ireland

Annual Bonus in Ireland

• There is no statutory requirement or market practice for providing bonuses.
• It is usually mentioned in the employment agreement beforehand.

Health Benefits in Ireland

• In Ireland, health benefits are available for both ordinary residents and certain working visitors.
• The health benefits are either available free of cost or at a reduced price.
• A medical card is available for the workers, which includes:

  • General Physician services
  • Drugs and medicine
  • Dental and optical facility
  • maternity and infant care
  • community care
  • personal nursing facility.
• The medical card may provide free services or services at a reduced cost.

Working hours and overtime in Ireland

• Work hours: the average working hours in Ireland are 48 hours per week. It does not include leaves (paid or unpaid).
• Break: there is no statutory requirement regarding breaks, but a healthy workplace habit is around 45 minutes to 1 hour per day.
• Overtime: Overtime in Ireland is defined as any work done outside the regular work hour.

Leaves in Ireland

Social Security in Ireland

Taxes for Employers in Ireland

• Employers in Ireland deduct taxes from the employee's pay under the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) system.
• There are two funds that employers have to contribute to PRSI and USC.

  • The employers also contribute to pay Related to Social Insurance (PRSI). The contribution to PRSI is determined by the employee's earnings and allowance paid to the employee.

    Amount PRSI is 8.8% up to 395 Euro/ week and beyond that 11.05%
  • The contribution to Universal Social Change is 0.5-11%

Probation in Ireland

• The probation period in Ireland cannot exceed more than six months as per the law.
• In certain circumstances, such as sickness, it can be exceeded for up to 12 months.

Termination in Ireland

• In Ireland, termination of employment needs to be supported with a valid reason; otherwise, it will be termed unfair dismissal.

  Some of the reasonable reasons for termination are:

  • Voluntary resignation
  • Mutual termination
  • Expiration of probation period
  • Disciplinary action against the employee
  • unsatisfactory performance of the employee
  • Physical or mental capabilities
  • Expiration of work permit
• The notice period in Ireland varies as per the duration of the employment:

  Duration of the employment	Notice Period
  13 weeks - 2 years	1 week
  2 years - 5 years	2 weeks
  5 years - 10 years	4 weeks
  10 years - 15 years	6 weeks
  15 years and above	8 weeks

Severance Pay in Ireland

• The severance pay in Ireland is the amount equivalent to two weeks of payment- a statutory requirement.
• Market practice is to add another week to the severance pay.

Employees or Contractors in Ireland

• In Ireland, it is essential to rightly classify the employment type- whether a full-time employee or a contractor.
• The distinction between the employee and the contractor is crucial to determine social insurance contributions.
• The contractor has minimal statutory rights. Their services can be terminated at any time. Also, there is no maximum duration of their engagement.
• Employers (full-time, part-time) have rights during their employment. They also have protection against unfair dismissal and access to the right wages and benefits.
• Any misclassification between employment will invite a heavy penalty of 250,000 Euros and ten years of jail time.