Working life country profile for Ireland
This profile describes the key characteristics of working life in Ireland. It aims to provide the relevant background information on the structures, institutions, actors and relevant regulations regarding working life.
This includes indicators, data and regulatory systems on the following aspects: actors and institutions, collective and individual employment relations, health and well-being, pay, working time, skills and training, and equality and non-discrimination at work. The profiles are systematically updated every two years.
‘Individual employment relations’ refers to the relationship between the individual worker and their employer. This relationship is shaped by legal regulation and by the outcomes of social partner negotiations over terms and conditions. This section looks at the start and termination of the employment relationship and entitlements and obligations in Ireland.
Requirements regarding an employment contract
The 1994–2012 Terms of Employment (Information) Acts require employers to provide written terms and conditions for an employee within two months of the employment relationship beginning. There is no statutory obligation to provide a written employment contract.
The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 provides that core employment terms must be provided to employees within five days of starting work, including the name and address of their employer, their rate of pay and their hours of work. If an employer fails to specify to an employee, in writing, these core terms of employment within one month of the date of commencement of employment, an employer could be liable on summary conviction (in the District Court) to a fine of up to €5,000 or up to 12 months’ imprisonment.
Dismissal and termination procedures
The Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973, provides a minimum period of notice of employment termination for employees depending on their length of service.
The 1967–2012 Redundancy Payment Acts provide for statutory obligations in respect of redundancy scenarios, such as a minimum severance payment of two weeks’ pay per year of service, plus one week’s wages. Statutory redundancy applies to employees with two years’ service with the employer who are over the age of 16.
The 1977–2007 Protection of Employment Acts oblige employers to enter a 30-day period of consultation in respect of redundancies.
The Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Act 2006 requires employers to consult with employees on substantial workplace changes (in companies with 50 employees or more).
The Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 is the core protective legislation for employees against unfair dismissals.
Parental, maternity and paternity leave
The 1998–2019 Parental Leave Acts provide for a period of unpaid parental leave for parents; they include a limited right to paid leave in circumstances of serious family illness (force majeure).
The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019 provides for seven weeks’ paid parent’s leave within two years of a child being born or adopted. The leave and benefit amounts will be increased to nine weeks by 2024, under the requirements of the Work Life Balance Directive.
Maternity leave includes 26 weeks’ paid leave, with a further 16 weeks’ unpaid leave (that is, a mother can take at least 10 months off work after the birth of her child). Paternity leave includes two weeks’ paid leave for fathers. Parent’s leave includes seven weeks’ non-transferable paid leave that can be taken by mothers and fathers within two years of the child’s birth/adoption. Parent’s leave will be extended to nine weeks in 2024. Parental leave is unpaid leave that can be taken within the first 12 years of a child’s life.
Statutory leave arrangements
| Maternity leave | |
| Maximum duration | Total of 42 weeks. Two weeks of leave have to be taken before the end of the week of the baby’s expected birth and four of the weeks have to be taken after the birth. |
| Reimbursement | 26 weeks’ paid leave, plus a further 16 weeks’ unpaid (if certain social insurance contribution conditions are met). |
| Who pays? | Maternity benefit is paid by the state if the worker has made sufficient social insurance contributions. Employers are not obliged to pay employees who are on maternity leave but some may do so. |
| Legal basis | 1994–2004 Maternity Protection Acts. |
| Parental leave | |
| Maximum duration | 26 weeks’ unpaid leave. Both parents have an equal and separate entitlement to 26 weeks’ unpaid parental leave per child (for a child up to the age of 12). |
| Reimbursement | Unpaid. |
| Who pays? | Unpaid. |
| Legal basis | 1998–2006 Parental Leave Acts. |
| Paternity leave | |
| Maximum duration | 7 weeks. |
| Reimbursement | A worker may qualify for paternity benefit from the Department of Social Protection if they have made sufficient pay-related social insurance contributions. |
| Who pays? | The state pays paternity benefit if the worker has made sufficient social insurance contributions. Employers are not obliged to pay employees who are on paternity leave but some may do so. |
| Legal basis | Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2019 (as amended). |
Sick leave
Statutory sick leave and pay were enacted in 2022 and introduced on 1 January 2023. The duration and level of sick pay are determined by regulations. In 2023, it was set at 3 days per annum, at 70% of normal pay (with a cap of €110 per day). In 2024, it has risen to 5 days per year. In 2025, it will be 7 days per year, and in 2026 it will increase to 10 days per year.
Employees in the public sector have access to the state’s sick pay scheme, outlined in the Public Service Management (Sick Leave) Regulations 2014. These regulations provide for sick leave with full pay for three months, followed by leave on half pay for another three months over a four-year rolling period. Within the regulations, there is provision for a critical illness protocol to permit those suffering from serious illness/injury (according to certain criteria) to receive six months’ full pay and six months’ half pay.
Retirement age
There is no general automatic retirement age in Ireland. The state pension age is now paid at age 66, and this had been planned to rise to 67 in 2021 and to 68 in 2028 for both women and men. The rise to 67 has been suspended, however, amid strong political backlash. A new Pensions Commission examined a variety of issues around state pensions and recommended a pathway to increase the state pension age over time. This pathway has not yet been adopted by the government. Some occupations have set retirement ages, such the Garda Síochána (age 60) and firefighters. The statutory minimum retirement age in the public sector (for those who have joined since 2004) is 65 (except for the Garda Síochána and firefighters). Judges must retire at 70 or 72, depending on how long they have served.
The Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Act 2018 was enacted in December 2018. The act provides for an increase in the compulsory retirement age of most public servants recruited prior to 1 April 2004, from age 65 to 70. Under the act, any public servant who had not reached compulsory retirement age before 26 December 2018 has a new compulsory retirement age of 70.
Most public servants recruited before 1 April 2004 previously had a compulsory retirement age of 65. Public servants who were recruited between 1 April 2004 and 31 December 2012 (‘new entrants’) have no compulsory retirement age and are not affected by this legislation. Public servants who were recruited on or after 1 January 2013 are members of the Single Pension Scheme and already had a compulsory retirement age of 70. With the enactment of the Public Service Superannuation (Age of Retirement) Act 2018, no public servant, other than a member of the uniformed fast-accrual group has a compulsory retirement age of less than 70.
The following groups are not covered:
Uniformed pension fast accrual group: There are certain groups of employees in the public service sector that, for operational reasons, are required to retire early. This group comprises members of the Garda Síochána, members of the Permanent Defence Force, firefighters and prison officers.
Groups that, by convention, have no compulsory retirement age: The President of Ireland, members of either the Houses of the Oireachtas or the European Parliament, holders of qualifying offices as defined in the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004 (for instance, members of the government, ministers of state, the Ceann Comhairle, the Attorney General).
Members of the judiciary and others whose compulsory retirement age is the responsibility of the Minster for Justice and Equality under court and court officer legislation: This includes judges, the Master of the High Court and county registrars.
Public servants who have retired and have been rehired on contract: Their fixed-term contract terms continue to apply.
