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Working life in 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.

 

2012

2022

Percentage (point) change 2012–2022

Ireland

EU27

Ireland

EU27

Ireland

EU27

GDP per capita

36,830

25,110

77,430

28,950

110.24%

15.29%

Unemployment rate – total

15.5

11.1

4.5

6.2

-11

-4.9

Unemployment rate – women

12.8

11.2

4.6

6.5

-8.2

-4.7

Unemployment rate – men

17.8

11.0

4.4

5.9

-13.4

-5.1

Unemployment rate – youth

30.8

24.4

10.1

14.5

-20.7

-9.9

Employment rate – total

71.1

70.4

76.7

74.5

5.6

4.1

Employment rate – women

64.5

64.5

71.8

69.5

7.3

5.0

Employment rate – men

77.8

76.4

81.8

79.4

4.0

3.0

Employment rate – youth

50.3

40.1

53.1

40.7

2.8

0.6

Notes: Values for real GDP per capita are chain-linked volumes (based on 2010 data; €). The unemployment rate for men and women is the annual average as a percentage of the active population aged 15–74 years, and the youth unemployment rate is the annual average as a percentage of people aged 15–24 years. The employment rate for men and women is the annual average as a percentage of the active population aged 15–64 years, and the youth employment rate is the annual average as a percentage of people aged 15–24 years. GDP, gross domestic product.

Sources: Eurostat [sdg_08_10], for real GDP per capita and percentage change 2012–2022; [une_rt_a], for unemployment rate by sex and age; [lfsi_emp_a], for employment rate by sex and age.

Economic and labour market context

Ireland is a small, open economy, heavily dependent on international trade and foreign direct investment. Between 2012 and 2022, Irish gross domestic product grew by an impressive 110.24%, over seven times the EU average for the same period (15.29%). From 2012 to 2022, total unemployment decreased by 11 percentage points, reaching 4.5% in 2022, whereas the EU average stood at 6.2% for that year. In the same period, youth unemployment decreased from 30.8% to 10.1%. Employment rates between 2012 and 2022 showed some growth, increasing from 71.1% to 76.7%.

Legal context

The industrial relations system has historically been characterised by ‘voluntarism’; this has meant minimum intervention by the law rather than non-intervention by government in collective bargaining. However, in the context of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages, the government formed a high-level group within the social partner Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) tasked with making recommendations on reforms to industrial relations and collective bargaining in Ireland. This group published its recommendations in October 2022, which are yet to be legislated for as of March 2024. Among these recommendations is a new ‘good faith engagement’ proposal, which makes it compulsory for non-union employers to engage with representative trade unions. This and other high-level group proposals serve to challenge the conventional approach of industrial relations voluntarism in Ireland.

The growth of individual employment law has led to the development of an increasingly complex system of institutions that operate in a quasi-legal fashion to adjudicate on cases. In 2015, a one-stop shop system was established, whereby all first-instance adjudication claims are handled by the Workplace Relations Commission, with a single avenue of appeal to the Labour Court.

The reform of wage-setting sectoral agreements through joint labour committees (JLCs) and registered employment agreements (REAs) was passed into law in 2015, with both JLCs and new REAs and registered employment orders permitted to be established. The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015, which included a new definition of collective bargaining and provided enhanced protection for workers against victimisation, was also passed in July 2015. It amended aspects of the 2001–2004 Industrial Relations Acts that severely limited their use. However, several attempts to utilise sectoral bargaining under the 2015 amendment act have been stopped by the courts, owing to defects in the procedure used under the law.

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 was passed in 2018. The act made the following changes:

  • prohibited the use of zero-hour contracts, except in limited circumstances
  • provided for the provision of minimum payments to low-paid employees who are required to be available to work but are not called into work
  • created a new entitlement to banded hours contracts
  • obliged employers to notify employees in writing of five core terms of employment within five days of starting employment

Industrial relations context

The industrial relations system has changed significantly since the start of the 21st century, with a concentrated period of change since 2009. There has been a gradual erosion of voluntarism and collectivism and a growing legalisation of the employment relationship – particularly the growth of individual rights-based employment law in certain areas.

The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 gave effect to the Programme for Government commitment to reform legislation on collective bargaining. The act defines collective bargaining as voluntary engagements or negotiations between any employer or employer organisation on the one hand and any trade union of workers or excepted body on the other hand, with the objective of seeking agreement regarding the working conditions or terms of employment or non-employment of workers. The definition requires that there be more than consultation or the exchange of information. The purpose of the exercise must be to seek agreement on working conditions and the terms of employment or non-employment.

The act does not impose any obligation on employers to engage in collective bargaining. However, it broadens the circumstances in which workers whose employers refuse to engage in collective bargaining can have relevant disputes addressed. Trade unions can bring a case before the Labour Court on behalf of members who are not recognised by an employer and secure a binding recommendation on terms and conditions. Where these can be shown to be out of line with similar employment in that sector, the court is likely to recommend improvements. Ultimately, such a recommendation is legally enforceable. However, since the legislation was enacted, trade unions have taken just four such cases to the Labour Court, securing benefits for members in two of them. Their reluctance to use the legislation more extensively has been explained by the fact that comparability criteria under the revised 2015 legislation are quite challenging. In addition, a case may take a long time to be concluded, and therefore use more trade union resources than traditional dispute resolution channels (see Dobbins et al, 2020).

The Competition (Amendment) Act 2017 provides that trade unions may apply to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to permit certain groups of self-employed workers to act collectively. The minister will make the decision, after consultation with other government ministers and any other person or body the minister considers ought to be consulted. As of 2024, no requests had been made by trade unions regarding this provision for self-employed groups.

Perhaps the most important trend in Irish industrial relations over the past 20 years was the introduction, evolution and subsequent breakdown, in early 2010, of national-level collective bargaining and social dialogue (social partnership). In 1987, the first of seven tripartite centralised agreements or social pacts were negotiated. These centralised pacts covered not only pay but a range of social and economic issues. Evaluations of social partnership, before it broke down, varied from seeing it as contributing to strong economic performance, growing employment, low levels of unemployment, rising real wages and decreasing levels of absolute poverty to a perception that it increased inequality in wages and resulted in higher levels of relative poverty and lower expenditure on public services than in other advanced economies. Since the end of formal social partnership, collective bargaining has taken place at company level in the private sector.

Meanwhile, in the public sector successive bilateral national collective wage deals have been agreed between the government and the public service unions: the Croke Park Agreement (2010–2013), the Haddington Road Agreement (2013–2015), the Lansdowne Road Agreement (2015–2017) and the Public Service Stability Agreement (2018–2020). In December 2020, the parties negotiated the ‘Building Momentum’ agreement (2021–2022), which a number of large public service unions advised their members to accept. Owing to economic pressures, such as rising inflation in early 2022, this agreement was revisited and extended, and ran until the end of 2023. The Building Moment agreement will be succeeded by a new Public Services Agreement 2024–2026, following successful negotiations in early 2024.

The Lansdowne Road Agreement commenced a gradual process of pay restoration carried through in subsequent agreements. These bilateral collective bargaining agreements are viewed by some as a form of shadow social partnership in the public sector.

In 2016, the LEEF, which includes representatives of employers and trade unions as well as government ministers, was established. The aim of the LEEF is to provide a space to discuss areas of shared concern related to the economy, employment and the labour market on a thematic basis, looking at topics such as competitiveness, sustainable job creation, labour market standards, and equality and gender issues in the workplace. However, the LEEF does not deal with pay issues.

Direct social dialogue, involving government and the lead national-level employer organisation (Ibec, formerly known as the Irish Business and Employers’ Confederation) and trade union confederation (Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)), was especially useful in 2020 in respect of measures to meet some of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ICTU and Ibec were influential in the design of pandemic-related payments, such as the basic Pandemic Unemployment Payment and those provided through the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. The Pandemic Unemployment Payment was paid directly by the state to people who were laid off, or lost their jobs, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The main payment at the outset was €350 per week, which was later reduced as the economy opened back up, before being restored to a higher level as restrictions on the economy were reimposed. The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme payments subsidised workers’ income in cases where business turnover was reduced by more than 25–30%. The employer was expected to fill the gap between the state payment and the worker’s weekly earnings before the pandemic. Importantly, this measure helped to maintain the link between employers and their workers in firms where the reduction in business – in ‘normal’ times – would have led to redundancies.

The social partners played an even more direct role in devising a ‘return to work’ protocol ahead of the economy opening up temporarily in the summer of 2020, involving the Health and Safety Authority in the carrying out of inspections. The protocol also provided a role for worker representatives, in consultation with employers, in ensuring the proper application of the protocol measures at the level of the business.

Trade unions, employer organisations and public institutions play a key role in the governance of the employment relationship, working conditions and industrial relations structures. They are interlocking parts in a multilevel system of governance that includes European, national, sectoral, regional (provincial or local) and company levels. This section looks at the key players and institutions and their role in Ireland.

Public authorities involved in regulating working life

The Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) was the government department responsible for the former tripartite social partnership system from 1987 to 2009. However, the remit for the government’s involvement in industrial relations and working conditions today is under the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (formerly the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation). This department is in charge of all major legislative changes in this area (including to industrial relations laws and state dispute resolution bodies). It was also tasked with establishing the Low Pay Commission, and is responsible for discussing the national minimum wage rate. In 2019, the Low Pay Commission recommended increasing the minimum wage by €0.25 per hour, from €9.55 to €9.80.

The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform, established in 2011, is largely responsible for the public sector pay bill and pensions. It also negotiated the major public sector stability agreements (the Croke Park Agreement, the Haddington Road Agreement, the Lansdowne Road Agreement, the Public Services Stability Agreement and – in December 2020 – Building Momentum) with the Public Services Committee of the ICTU, with the assistance of the Workplace Relations Commission. These agreements also apply to non-ICTU bodies, such as associations representing the Garda Síochána (the police) and the Defence Forces, and a very small number of non-ICTU trade unions, representing hospital consultants, dentists and psychiatric nurses.

The Workplace Relations Commission was established in 2015. It is an amalgamation of four state bodies that previously regulated employment relations: the Labour Relations Commission, the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the Equality Tribunal and the National Employment Rights Authority.

The Labour Court deals with individual and collective dispute referrals.

The Health and Safety Authority is the national statutory body with responsibility for ensuring workers (employed and self-employed) and those affected by work activity are protected from work-related injury and ill health. It enforces occupational safety and health law, promotes accident prevention and provides information and advice across all sectors. It also played a role in monitoring the ‘return to work’ protocol during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, undertaking workplace inspections.

Representativeness

The ICTU is the umbrella group for the large majority of trade unions in Ireland, with 48 affiliated trade unions. At national level, the ICTU is the central negotiating body, for example facilitating bilateral public sector agreement talks. The ICTU was also a tripartite body during the formal era of social partnership (1987–2009). Trade unions do not have to be affiliated with the ICTU to be legitimate. However, in the public sector, the employer (the government) does not bargain with non-ICTU unions. A trade union must comply with the terms of the Trade Union Acts and the Industrial Relations Acts and must satisfy a list of criteria to be granted a negotiating licence.

The government, as an employer, also consults with a small number of non-ICTU unions and associations that represent the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. However, considerable dissatisfaction has been expressed by the non-ICTU groups, in particular those representing the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces, regarding their lack of direct involvement in negotiations.

Ibec is the largest representative body for employers in Ireland. It was a tripartite body involved in social partnership (1987–2009) but has not negotiated at national level since national wage agreements were terminated (it does not represent employers in public sector-wide talks, but can represent individual public sector employers, such as universities, in dispute resolution). Ibec has a policy advocacy role and represents members in day-to-day industrial relations in the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. Ibec also lobbies on behalf of small firms through its Small Firms Association.

The Construction Industry Federation represents employers in the construction industry, acting as a policy advocate and representing members in industrial relations forums.

The Irish SME Association represents companies with fewer than 250 employees. It is a lobby group and does not engage in collective bargaining.

The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland (AmCham) articulates members’ interests in the formulation of EU and Irish employment law, keeping its membership informed of changes in law ‘which may directly affect the way they do business’. It does not engage in collective bargaining.

Trade unions

About trade union representation

The right to form a union is enshrined in Article 40(6)(1)(iii) of the Constitution of Ireland. Trade union members are protected against discrimination under various laws. These include the Unfair Dismissals Act, 1977, which makes dismissal for reasons of trade union membership or activity automatically unfair. Some public servants are currently excluded from the ability to form trade unions, and instead form representative associations, which are subject to restrictions around striking. These include members of the Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces.

Trade union membership and density, 2012–2020

 201220132014201520162017201820192020Source
Trade union density in terms of active employees (%)*30.128.526.325.423.424.324.125.126.2OECD and AIAS, 2021
3029262523242425n.a.CSO Labour Force Survey
Trade union membership (thousands)**469456431433416448461494498OECD and AIAS, 2021
469456431433416448461494n.a.CSO Labour Force Survey

Notes: * Proportion of employees who are members of a trade union. ** Trade union membership of employees derived for the total union membership and adjusted, if necessary, for trade union members outside the active, dependent and employed labour force (i.e. retired workers, self-employed workers, students, unemployed people). CSO, Central Statistics Office; n.a., not available.

Overall, trade union density has continued to decline since the end of the 20th century, even though trade union membership has increased since 2019. The density has decreased owing to a record level of employment in Ireland, with over 2.5 million people in employment. Female trade union membership is increasing, and women now constitute 75% of all trade union members in Ireland.

Main trade union confederations and federations

There is just one trade union confederation in Ireland, the ICTU.

Main trade union confederations and federations

NameAbbreviationMembersInvolved in collective bargaining?
Irish Congress of Trade UnionsICTU45 affiliated unions (2021), with a combined 521,004 membersYes

In 2011, a report by the Commission on the Trade Union Movement was published. This report recommended that affiliate unions of the ICTU working in common sectors should cooperate more closely and explore possible amalgamations and mergers, in order to increase their capacity to deliver for members and also their wider impact. In 2013, at the ICTU’s two-yearly conference, union realignment was formally adopted, with exploratory talks between some unions taking place in 2014. A major merger between three public service trade unions – the Irish Municipal, Public and Civil Trade Union (Impact), the Public Service Executive Union (PSEU) and the Civil and Public Services Union (CPSU) – took effect from 1 January 2018. This led to the formation of a new trade union with 80,000 members, known as Fórsa. Following this merger, a number of craft unions merged to become Connect Trade Union. Trade union rationalisation is likely to become a topical issue again, and some level of amalgamation involving smaller trade unions, for practical and financial reasons, is likely to be a focal point.

Employer organisations

About employer representation

Employer organisation membership and density, 2012–2019

 201220132014

2015

2016201720182019Source
Employer organisation density in terms of active employees (%)*n.a.n.a.n.a.n.a.n.an.a.71.2n.aOECD and AIAS (2021)
Employer organisation density in the private sector (%)**n.a.23n.a.n.an.a.n.a.n.a.10European Company Survey 2019

Notes: * No national administrative data available; Ibec indicates that the density is 70% of employees in employment.** Percentage of employees working in an establishment that is a member of any employer organisation that is involved in collective bargaining.

Main employer organisations

The main employer organisation in Ireland is Ibec, which lists some 7,500 companies as members, and has 60 sub-branches specialising in specific sectors. Part of Ibec is the Small Firms Association, which specialises in representing firms employing 50 people or fewer.

The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) specialises in representing businesses in and associated with the construction industry. It has around 3,000 members.

The Irish SME Association (ISME) is a representative body for companies with fewer than 250 employees. It is a lobby group and does not engage in collective bargaining.

AmCham represents over 500 US-headquartered multinational companies in Ireland, acting as a lobby group.

Main employer organisations and confederations, 2022

NameAbbreviationMembersInvolved in collective bargaining?
IbecNot applicable7,500 firmsYes
Small Firms AssociationSFA8,000 firmsNo
Irish SME AssociationISME8,750 firmsNo
American Chamber of Commerce IrelandAmCham570 firmsNo
Construction Industry FederationCIF3,000 firmsYes

Sources: Organisations and confederations’ websites

Tripartite and bipartite bodies and concertation

Tripartism is not part of collective bargaining. This has been the case since the end of 2009. However, with continued momentum in the Irish economy since 2013 there is pressure to create some form of national system to coordinate policy on employment-related factors and on broader social and economic issues. The ICTU and Ibec have called for the LEEF process to be enhanced and expanded to involve both actors in areas of mutual concern. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic provided the backdrop for the involvement of both representative bodies to engage directly with government on devising the ‘return to work’ protocol and developing pandemic payment support for workers and businesses. Ibec and the ICTU continue to press for deeper social dialogue. The new three-party coalition government (comprising Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party), with Micheál Martin elected as Taoiseach in June 2020, promised to develop social dialogue further, committing to establish a new social dialogue unit within the Taoiseach’s department. Both social partners, Ibec and the ICTU, have expressed a desire for enhanced social dialogue structures, with Ibec seeking the LEEF’s involvement on a broader set of issues, such as housing. To formalise and bolster social dialogue, they will require government approval, which they have not yet received.

A bipartite body, approved by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, is the Low Pay Commission. This commission is tasked with looking at the major issues around low-paid work and determining if the national minimum wage merits an increase. It comprises an independent chair; three people representing the interests of low-paid workers; three people representing the interests of employers (to whom the national minimum wage is relevant); and two people with an economics, labour market economics, statistics or employment law background.

The social partners sit on the National Economic and Social Council (NESC). The NESC concentrates on environmental and housing issues; however, it played a major role in establishing the social and economic backdrop for successive social partnership agreements (1987–2009). It remains active despite the collapse of social partnership in 2009.

In 2015, the government instituted the National Economic Dialogue. The dialogue is a formalised process of consultation and debate involving a wide range of organisations representing societal interests, including Ibec and the ICTU, to enhance the whole-of-year budget development process.

Main tripartite and bipartite bodies

NameTypeLevelIssues covered
Low Pay CommissionBipartiteNationalWages
National Economic and Social CouncilTripartiteNationalHousing, the environment
Labour Employer Economic ForumTripartiteNationalEconomy, employment, the labour market

Workplace-level employee representation

Regulation, composition and competencies of the bodies

BodyRegulationCompositionInvolved in company-level collective bargaining?Thresholds for/rules on when the body needs to be/can be set up
Works councilTransnational Information and Consultation of Employees Act, 1996 (for European works councils)Employees of the relevant undertakingNo

For 1996 Act to apply, employer must have at least 150 employees in Member State.

For the 2006 Act to apply there must be > 50 employees in the undertaking. 10% of employees must ‘trigger’ the Act.

Trade unionTrade Union Acts and Industrial Relations ActsThe relevant workers (criteria decided by the trade union)YesNone

The central concern of employment relations is the collective governance of work and employment. This section looks at collective bargaining in Ireland.

Bargaining system

Collective bargaining in the private sector currently occurs at enterprise/local level. National-level bargaining in the private sector was abandoned in 2009 after the breakdown of social partnership, yet the social partners annually agree on a protocol (covering the private sector) for conducting collective bargaining. In the public sector, two major cost reduction agreements – the Croke Park Agreement (2010) and the Haddington Road Agreement (2013) – and four pay increase agreements – the Lansdowne Road Agreement (2015) and the Public Services Stability Agreement (2018–2020), Building Momentum (2021–2022) and the revised Building Momentum agreement (2021–2023) – were reached followed negotiations between the Public Services Committee of the ICTU and government representatives.

Collective agreements in the private sector accord with the voluntarist approach to industrial relations in Ireland, in that they are not strictly legally binding or enforceable. However, disregard for collective agreements is consistently and strongly advised against by the Labour Court. Non-adherence to agreement terms could give rise to industrial action or disciplinary measures.

The public sector agreements, similarly, are not legally enforceable. However, workers have generally accepted them as preferable to the more severe, legally enforceable agreements that apply to those groups of workers who choose to remain outside public service agreements. The less favourable terms were enforced through the emergency financial measures in the 2009–2015 public interest laws.

Wage bargaining coverage

Wage bargaining coverage in the private sector, although not calculated specifically, will be higher than trade union density, given that collective bargaining can be conducted without union involvement. However, gathering data on non-union company-level bargaining is difficult, and a recent national-level survey of such scope is not in place.

Wage bargaining in the public sector covers the entire sector.

Collective wage bargaining coverage of employees

Level% (year)Source
All levels34 (2017)OECD and AIAS (2021)
All levels58 (2013)European Company Survey 2013
All levels27 (2019)European Company Survey2019
All levels100 (2010)Structure of Earnings Survey2010
All levels100 (2014)Structure of Earnings Survey 2014
All levels100 (2018)Structure of Earnings Survey2018

Sources: Eurofound, European Company Survey 2013/2019 (including private sector companies with establishments with more than 10 employees (Nomenclature of Economic Activities codes B–S), with multiple responses possible); Eurostat [earn_ses10_01], [earn_ses14_01], [earn_ses18_01] (including companies with more than 10 employees (Nomenclature of Economic Activities codes B–S, excluding O), with a single response for each local unit); OECD and AIAS (2021).

Bargaining levels

Collective bargaining in the private sector at present mainly occurs at local level. However, the early stages of reformed sectoral bargaining are well under way, following the ministerial orders to re-establish JLCs in early 2014. A new sectoral employment order (SEO) covering rates of pay, sick pay and pensions across the construction sector was signed into legislation on 19 October 2017, following acceptance by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation of a recommendation from the Labour Court. The SEO places a legally binding floor on rates and obligations in the construction sector throughout the country. A further SEO application for about 10,000 mechanical craft workers was brought to the Labour Court in October 2017. In other sectors, such as hotels, there is stronger resistance to SEOs. Two other sectors, electrical contracting and mechanical engineering building services, have experienced more resistance from smaller, non-signatory employer groups.

In the public sector, since 2010 successive major agreements have provided the national framework for industrial relations for the whole of the public sector: the Croke Park Agreement (2010), the Haddington Road Agreement (2013), the Lansdowne Road agreements (2015 and 2017), the Public Service Stability Agreement (2018) and the Building Momentum agreements (2021 and 2022).

In the private sector, only local/enterprise-level bargaining is in play, although, there is sectoral bargaining in some sectors, such as construction, security and contract cleaning.

In the public sector, bargaining on public sector agreements was conducted at national level (involving the relevant government department and the Public Services Committee of the ICTU).

Levels of collective bargaining, 2022

 National level (intersectoral)Sectoral levelCompany level
 WagesWorking timeWagesWorking timeWagesWorking time
Principal or dominant levelX (public sector)X  X (private sector) 
Important but not dominant level  X (public sector)X (public sector)  
Existing level  X   

Timing of bargaining rounds

As there are no national wage agreements in force in the private sector, there are no bargaining rounds. Company-level agreements cover periods of between one and three years.

In the public sector, each national bilateral agreement normally lasts approximately three years.

Coordination

The largest union, the Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU), had used a moderate but steady 2–3% per annum pay increase strategy in local bargaining in its manufacturing division. This approach is not rigid and depends on other localised factors. Other unions, such as the retail union Mandate, seek the same measures across different types of employment, namely banded hours arrangements (this is where part-time workers can gain access to a greater number of minimum working hours with longer service). As inflation rose significantly in 2022, there was pressure to seek and agree higher per annum pay increases. The average per annum pay increase in 2022 was above 3%. The ICTU’s private sector pay guidance for 2023 outlined a per annum range of between 4% and 7.5%.

Ibec and other employer representative bodies continue to provide advice to members in respect of local bargaining, following the collapse of national social partnership agreements, from which Ibec withdrew in 2009.

Extension mechanisms

The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 reformed the existing JLC wage-setting mechanisms. The act provides for the Labour Court to adopt employment regulation orders (EROs) drawn up by JLCs. These orders set out minimum legally binding terms and conditions for the relevant sector and are extended beyond the bargaining parties to all employees/employers in the sector. The ERO is then given statutory effect by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The act’s provisions include the following.

  1. JLCs have the power to set a basic adult wage rate and two additional higher rates.
  2. Companies may seek exemption from paying ERO rates owing to financial difficulty.
  3. JLCs can no longer set Sunday premium rates. A new statutory code of practice on Sunday working is to be prepared by the Workplace Relations Commission.
  4. When setting wage rates, JLCs will have to take into account factors such as competitiveness and rates of employment and unemployment.

New EROs in the security and contract cleaning sectors have been established since the 2015 legislation was introduced. The Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 also provides for REAs on pay and conditions of employment in individual enterprises. The effect of registering an REA with the Labour Court is to make its provisions binding.

Derogation mechanisms

Under the reformed sectoral wage-setting system, a detailed process is established by which individual employers can seek temporary derogation from the sector-level minimum pay and conditions set by both SEOs and EROs, on grounds of financial difficulty.

The derogation provisions are identical for both EROs (which cover low-paid sectors) and SEOs (which cover more skilled workers and tend to have higher pay rates). An exemption is to be for a maximum of 24 months and a minimum of 3 months, with employers barred from seeking exemptions if they have already been granted an exemption for the same workers in the previous five years.

An exemption can be sought not only if the employer has entered into an agreement with the majority of its workers or their representatives, but also without agreement if the Labour Court is satisfied that the employer cannot maintain the terms of the ERO/SEO and compliance would result in considerable lay-offs and adverse effects on the survival of the employer’s business.

Trade unions have argued consistently that such individual exemptions undermine EROs/REAs, by creating an uneven playing field and allowing employers with exemptions to undercut their competitors who are bound by the ERO/SEO norms.

To guard against this, the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2015 requires the Labour Court to consider whether an exemption would have an adverse effect on employment levels and distort competition in the sector to the detriment of other employers. The court also has to have regard for the implications of an exemption for the long-term sustainability of the employer’s business.

In addition, exemptions cannot allow an hourly wage that is less than the national minimum wage and must not reduce the pension contributions paid by the employer.

Currently, three EROs and two SEOs exist, so derogation mechanisms are not widely used.

Expiry of collective agreements

In practice, generally, terms of a collective agreement continue to apply after they have expired until the a new agreement starts. Regarding wage bargaining in between pay deals, the parties may agree on a pay freeze or a pay pause.

Peace clauses

During the social partnership era, a number of peace clauses were incorporated in national wage agreements, and many industrial relations observers associated them with relatively high levels of industrial peace. In the public sector, the public service stability agreements contain industrial peace clauses. They stipulate that the maintenance of industrial peace is an essential requirement of the agreements. Accordingly, all forms of industrial action are precluded in respect of any matters covered by the agreements, where the employer, trade union or staff association are acting in accordance with the provisions of the agreements. An oversight body oversees the compliance of these groups with industrial peace requirements across sectors, in conjunction with sectoral oversight bodies. The oversight body is responsible for proactively addressing matters of implementation and interpretation of an agreements during its period of validity, including:

  • addressing any anomalies that may arise under the agreement
  • addressing any major disputes that arise
  • making the final decision on whether a dispute should be resolved in accordance with the procedures set out in the agreement
  • deciding on any matter associated with the correct operation of dispute resolution procedures, including the issue of timelines, cooperation with a disputed change, etc.
  • determining the correct operation of those procedures in any case where that matter is disputed
  • adjudicating in the event of a dispute regarding compliance with the outsourcing provisions of the agreement

At local level, some company-level collective agreements contain explicit peace clauses. However, they are not very common at this decentralised level.

Other aspects of working life addressed in collective agreements

Since the start of this century, a number of collective agreements have focused on reforming company pension schemes. Many schemes have switched from defined benefit to defined contribution, usually for new entrants and/or future service, while those with defined contribution schemes sometimes increase the level of employer contributions. Other fringe benefits agreed as part of local pay agreements include improvements in sick pay, private health insurance benefit, annual leave (often related to length of service) and tax-efficient vouchers (vouchers up to €500 per annum are tax free).

In the retail industry, which is marked by a high prevalence of part-time working hours, successful company–union negotiations have resulted in banded hours arrangements. This requires employees to be guaranteed more weekly working hours, depending on their length of service. It reduces the potential for inconsistency in working hours. Examples of companies that have agreed on these arrangements include Tesco, Penneys and Marks & Spencer. These deals have been largely negotiated by the Mandate Trade Union and the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union. Banded hours became a statutory right in 2019.

Legal aspects

Industrial action is any action taken by a trade union, workers, or by an employer in the course of a dispute. The term is sometimes used to mean ‘strike’, but in fact it encompasses a significant number of other forms of action, including a ‘go-slow’, overtime ban, ‘work to rule’, and so forth.

In Section 8 of the Industrial Relations Act, 1990, a strike is defined as:

a cessation of work by any number or body of workers acting in combination or a concerted refusal or a refusal under a common understanding of any number of workers to continue to work for their employer done as a means of compelling their employer, or to aid other workers in compelling their employer, to accept or not to accept terms or conditions of or affecting employment.

Industrial action is defined as:

any action which affects, or is likely to affect, the terms or conditions, whether express or implied, of a contract and which is taken by any number or body of workers acting in combination or under a common understanding as a means of compelling their employer, or to aid other workers in compelling their employer, to accept or not to accept terms or conditions of or affecting employment.

There is no explicit ‘right to strike’ in Ireland; rather, workers are immune from penalisation if the industrial action they engage in is lawful, in accordance with the Industrial Relations Acts.

A strike must meet the following criteria for it to be included in Central Statistics Office (CSO) industrial dispute statistics: (1) it must involve a stoppage of work lasting for at least one day; and (2) the total time lost must be 10 or more person-days.

In the last decade, official strike action has been most frequent in the public transport sector, with high-profile disputes at tram company Luas and Bus Éireann, and among secondary teachers. Overall, however, strike action in Ireland remains at a relatively low level.

Unofficial action is some other form of industrial action that either is not formally sanctioned by a union or is not approved by the union (also known as a ‘wildcat’ strike). This type of strike is highly unusual in Ireland. Unofficial action has occurred in the public transport sector, at Dublin Bus and Irish Rail, over the last ten years.

Occurrences of workplace ‘sit-ins’ were more common during and just after the financial crisis and ensuing recession. These usually occur where working has already stopped (for instance, when a business has ceased trading) but where workers involved have not received redundancy pay or due wages. High-profile examples in Ireland of companies whose employees have participated in sit-ins include Vita Cortex, Lagan Brick and Paris Bakery.

Developments in industrial action, 2018–2021

 2018201920222021
Disputes10973
Workers involved1,81442,65622,076548
Working days lost4,050n.a.21,7041,540

Note: n.a., not available.

Source: CSO, Industrial disputes statistics

Dispute resolution mechanisms

Collective dispute resolution mechanisms

The Workplace Relations Commission was established on 1 October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. It has taken over the functions of the National Employment Rights Authority, the Labour Relations Commission and the Equality Tribunal. It has also taken over some of the functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal. However, the appeal functions of the Employment Appeals Tribunal have been transferred to the Labour Court, which is now the single appeal body for all workplace relations appeals.

Conciliation Service: The Conciliation Service helps employers and their employees to resolve disputes when they have failed to reach agreement during their own negotiations. An industrial relations officer of the Workplace Relations Commission acts as chairperson during meetings to negotiate an agreement. The majority of the cases referred to the Conciliation Service are settled. If no agreement is reached, if the parties wish, the dispute may be referred to the Labour Court.

Labour Court: The Labour Court investigates collective trade disputes under the 1946–2015 Industrial Relations Acts. It can also investigate – at the request of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment – trade disputes affecting the public, or conduct an enquiry into a trade dispute of particular importance and report on its findings.

Individual dispute resolution mechanisms

Mediation: Mediation is a voluntary process in which both sides must agree to participate and to work towards resolving the problem. It ensures that all the sides are heard and that the participants are involved in finding an agreed solution. The Workplace Relations Commission has increased its mediation service capacity over the last five years and continues to promote it as an avenue for dispute resolution.

Adjudication Service: The Adjudication Service (formerly the Rights Commissioner Service) investigates disputes, grievances and claims that individuals or small groups of workers make under the employment legislation listed in Schedule 5 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015. Adjudicators are independent in the performance of their duties and have a wide range of functions under this employment legislation.

Under the Workplace Relations Act 2015, the Labour Court is the single appeal body for all workplace relations appeals, including those previously heard by the Employment Appeals Tribunal. A party may appeal the decision of the adjudicator through the Labour Court.

Use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms

Since the 1990s, a growing number of firms in Ireland have begun to adopt alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practices to resolve both individual and collective forms of workplace conflict. However, the most recent survey data on the extent of ADR are from 2019. The overall prevalence and workforce penetration of individual and group ADR practices in 2019 are outlined in the following two tables. Individual forms of ADR, other than the use of external experts acting as mediators, as facilitators or in other related capacities, remained uncommon. However, the prevalence and penetration of various forms of group ADR were significantly higher than in previous years. Large proportions of firms reported having adopted, or resorted to, one or more forms of group ADR, including assisted negotiations, brainstorming or related problem-solving techniques and interest-based bargaining. These forms of ADR were found to have covered significant sections of the workforce.

Practices for handling individual grievances in firms in Ireland, 2019

 Percentage of firmsPercentage of employees
Conventional dispute resolution practices
Formal written grievance and disciplinary procedures involving progressively higher levels of management in resolving disputes62.078.5
ADR practices
Use of external experts (other than rights commissioners, the Labour Relations Commission or the Labour Court)16.319.0
Use of review panels comprising employees’ peers2.93.1
Use of review panels comprising managers5.94.9
Use of an employee hotline or email-based ‘speak up’ service3.68.6
Use of a company ombudsperson1.62.9

ADR practices for handling group disputes in firms in Ireland, 2008

 Percentage of firmsPercentage of employees
Conventional dispute resolution practices
Formal written grievance and disciplinary procedures involving progressively higher levels of management in resolving disputes50.871.2
Resort, at the final stage of the procedure, where a deadlock remains, to resolving disputes through the Labour Relations Commission or the Labour Court40.663.9
ADR practices
Use of external experts to assist in reaching an agreement or to prevent deadlock in discussion or negotiation with the company30.942.5
Use of brainstorming, problem-solving and related techniques to resolve disputes29.826.2
Use of formal interest-based (win–win) bargaining techniques to resolve disputes17.228.3

Source: Based on a representative sample of 505 firms in the private and commercial state-owned sectors in Ireland, employing 20 or more employees, in 2008. For details of the survey, see Hann et al (2009)

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.

Start and termination of the employment relationship

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.

Entitlements and obligations

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 durationTotal 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.
Reimbursement26 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 basis1994–2004 Maternity Protection Acts.
Parental leave
Maximum duration26 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).
ReimbursementUnpaid.
Who pays?Unpaid.
Legal basis1998–2006 Parental Leave Acts.
Paternity leave
Maximum duration7 weeks.
ReimbursementA 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 basisPaternity 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.

For workers, pay is a reward for their work and their main source of income; for employers, it is a cost of production and a focus of bargaining and legislation. This section looks at minimum wage setting in Ireland and guides the reader to further material on collective wage bargaining.

Average pay trends from 2012 to 2017

According to the CSO Earnings and Labour Costs Quarterly survey, in the five years from Q3 2014 to Q3 2019 average weekly earnings rose by 13.4%, from €677.13 to €768.14. There were large differences in the changes in average weekly earnings across individual sectors over this period, ranging from +3.8% in the education sector to +23.1% in the information and communication sector.
 

Average weekly earnings, by economic sector, quarter and other characteristics (preliminary estimates)

NACE principal activity2017201820192020202120222022Quarterly changeAnnual change
Q2Q2Q2Q2Q2Q1Q2
  %%
B–EIndustry853.06887.23898.55900.64942.391,023.03993.31-29.72-2.950.925.4
FConstruction722.73773.10789.40769.12834.24877.24907.1729.933.472.938.7
GWholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles567.52574.89593.43600.41634.07654.39660.776.381.026.704.2
HTransportation and storage781.47808.36846.43807.64794.61820.92870.1049.186.075.499.5
IAccommodation and food services340.69350.06365.97406.41377.67391.46404.8013.343.427.137.2
JInformation and communication1,074.841,173.821,198.521,267.261,299.981,510.011,442.80-67.21-4.5142.8211.0
K–LFinancial, insurance and real estate1,050.891,108.821,151.371,162.281,219.281,380.761,280.09-100.67-7.360.815.0
MProfessional, scientific and technical activities873.54914.95952.94921.641,028.221,096.601,072.82-23.78-2.244.604.3
NAdministrative and support services547.57548.02618.19610.42694.92736.88717.42-19.46-2.622.503.2
OPublic administration and defence954.43968.83972.60998.271,023.15989.241,023.8634.623.50.710.1
PEducation813.81838.68852.77886.39929.30930.66913.96-16.70-1.8-15.34-1.7
QHuman health and social work698.42717.70749.62763.16783.19813.52808.19-5.33-0.725.003.2
R–SArts, entertainment, recreation and other service activities473.94483.19498.42582.46557.28622.07588.71-33.36-5.431.435.6
All sectors 720.52745.09771.63817.55850.81885.33871.62-13.71-1.520.812.4
Public/private sector           
Private sector659.48683.58711.04753.43791.13841.40819.36-22.04-2.628.233.6
Public sector936.29962.16980.011,008.761,030.851,024.761,043.5718.811.812.721.2
Size of enterprise           
Fewer than 50 employees564.55586.23610.80647.17675.22695.46690.30-5.16-0.715.082.2
50–250 employees663.60698.17715.70740.76805.57826.41816.90-9.51-1.211.331.4
More than 250 employees853.59875.75903.40936.19970.251,008.43995.64-12.79-1.325.392.6

Note: NACE, Nomenclature of Economic Activities.

Source: CSO, 2022.
 

Minimum wages

Ireland’s statutory minimum wage was established under the National Minimum Wage Act, 2000.

The following national minimum wage rates have applied in Ireland since 1 January 2023:

  • aged 20 and over: €11.30 per hour
  • aged 19: €10.17 per hour
  • aged 18: €9.04 per hour
  • aged under 18: €7.91 per hour

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 abolished training rates and simplified subminimum rates based solely on age, with effect from 4 March 2019.

Minimum wage (€)

 201520162017201820192020202120222023
Rate per hour8.659.159.259.559.8010.1010.2010.5011.30

Under the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015, the Low Pay Commission must make recommendations to the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation that are designed to set a minimum wage that is fair and sustainable, that is adjusted incrementally when appropriate and that is progressively increased over time to assist as many low-paid workers as is reasonably practicable without creating significant adverse consequences for employment or competitiveness.

In 2022, it was confirmed that the national minimum wage would be replaced incrementally with a national living wage, which would be set at 60% of median earnings. This new marker ties in with the recommended calculations for adequate minimum wages, as per the 2022 Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages.

Wage-setting mechanisms, such as JLCs, EROs and REAs, can also set legally binding minimum pay rates.

Working time is ‘any period during which the worker is working, at the employer’s disposal and carrying out his activity or duties, in accordance with national laws and/or practice’ (Directive 2003/88/EC). This section briefly summarises the regulation of and issues regarding working time, overtime, part-time work and working time flexibility in Ireland.

Working time regulation

The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, specifies that the average maximum working week cannot exceed 48 hours. The average is calculated over a reference period of, usually, four months. There are specific exemptions for trainee doctors and road transport workers from the working time provisions, including those on rest breaks, under select statutory instruments (S.I. No. 494/2004 and S.I. No. 20/1998, respectively).

In the public sector, the minimum working week is 37 hours, as per the Haddington Road Agreement. This was set to change in the public sector over the course of the 2021–2022 Building Momentum agreement, which envisaged the restoration of unpaid hours conceded by the trade unions in 2013. An independent body was to be established by the end of March 2021 to assess issues pertaining to the increased (unpaid) working hours under the Haddington Road Agreement (2013) and ‘make appropriate recommendations to be applied equitably across all affected grades, groups, categories and sectors’. The body’s recommendations were to be initiated within the lifetime of the agreement. To enable the commencement of the recommendations during 2022, the Building Momentum agreement stated: ‘an envelope of €150m will be made available … across all affected grades, groups, categories and sectors’. The parties to the agreement would ‘engage proactively in relation to such provisions as are necessary to roll out any remaining recommendations’. In 2022, the independent body recommended the rollback of the extra hours of unpaid work agreed on in 2013, which meant most public servants had to work two fewer hours per week than they had to between 2013 and 2021.

Overtime regulation

There are statutory regulations for overtime and its inclusion in the maximum working week. Overtime provisions vary from company to company. The standard working week was defined as 39 hours in 1987 Programme for National Recovery agreement, but there is no rule/law that states that overtime is defined as working in excess of 39 hours in one week. Neither is there a statutory obligation on the part of an employer to pay an overtime rate. Overtime rates, if applicable, are detailed either in employment contracts or in collective agreements. A common overtime rate, at least for the first few hours of overtime working, is 1.5 times the hourly basic rate.

Part-time work

Part-time working is regulated by the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act, 2001. This provides protection for part-time workers against unfavourable treatment compared with full-time workers. A part-time worker is defined in law as ‘an employee whose normal hours of work are less than the normal hours of work of an employee who is a comparable employee in relation to him or her’. Part-time work accounts for around 25% of all work.

Ireland has a high proportion of female workers that work part time. According to Ibec (2016):

While working part-time can reflect personal choices, the high share of female part-time employment may also stem from multiple constraints, including family and care-related reasons. There is also an additional divergence between females who are married and those who are single. Currently, participation rates of married women are 3.5% lower than those who are single. While the pattern of gender imbalance in labour market participation is sustained across Europe, Ireland features among the lowest performers for females in the age group ‘thirty and above’, six percentage points lower than their UK counterparts for women aged 25, and 26th out of 32 OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] economies. This time period coincides with key childbearing years (30.2 being the average age for women having their first child in 2013 and 32.1 being the average age of women giving birth). When the impact of children on the labour market participation of men and women is examined the difference is quite evident.

Night work

The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, states that night work is work carried out between 00:00 and 7:00. A night worker is an employee who normally works at least three hours of his or her daily working time during night-time and whose number of hours worked during night-time, in each year, equals or exceeds 50% of the total number of hours worked by him or her during that year.

Shift work

The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, specifies that shift work is any method of organising work in shifts whereby workers succeed each other at the same work station according to a certain pattern, including a rotating pattern, which may be continuous or discontinuous, entailing the need for workers to work at different times over a given period of days or weeks. A shift worker is any worker whose work schedule is part of shift work.

Weekend work

The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, sets out special arrangements for Sunday working. If an employee works on a Sunday, they are entitled to extra pay to be agreed between them and their employer. Under the act, if there is no agreement about pay, the employer must give one or more of the following for Sunday working:

  • a reasonable allowance
  • a reasonable pay increase
  • reasonable paid time off work

Rest and breaks

The Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997, includes the following provisions on rest and breaks.

Breaks

Employees are entitled to a break of 15 minutes after a 4.5-hour work period. If they work more than 6 hours, they are entitled to a break of 30 minutes, which can include the first 15-minute break. Employees are not entitled to be paid for these breaks and the breaks are not considered part of working time.

Shop employees who work more than six hours and whose hours of work include 11:30–14:30 are entitled to a one-hour consecutive break that must occur during those hours.

Rest periods

The definition of a rest period is any time that is not working time. The statutory rest periods provided for in the act are as follows.

  • 11 consecutive hours rest in any period of 24 hours. In addition, an employee should get 24 consecutive hours’ 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, the employer can give two 24-hour rest periods in the week that follows one in which the employee did not get the entitlement described above.

Unless the contract provides otherwise, the 24-hour rest period referred to above should include a Sunday.

Working time flexibility

In the private sector, working time flexibility arrangements are agreed and conducted at company level. The public service sector has its own arrangements, such as flexitime in the Civil Service.

In 2023, a new right to request flexible working was introduced for parents and carers, incorporating obligations from EU law.

Maintaining health and well-being should be a high priority for workers and employers alike. Health is an asset closely associated with a person’s quality of life and longevity, as well as their ability to work. A healthy economy depends on a healthy workforce: organisations can experience loss of productivity through the ill health of their workers. This section looks at psychosocial risks and health and safety at work in Ireland.

Health and safety at work

The recession period in Ireland between 2008 and 2012 was associated with a significantly lower probability of accidents at work, occupational injury and illness than 2013 onwards, when the economy was in recovery. The number of days lost to accidents at work by far exceeds the number of days lost through industrial action, which tend to be more prominent in the media and public debate. During the recession, the highest injury rates were found in five economic sectors: agriculture, forestry and fishing; industry; construction; transportation and storage; and human health and social work activities. For example, fluctuations in accidents at work in the construction sector can largely be explained by the rapid shrinkage in the construction industry during the financial crisis and the subsequent recession during 2008–2012 (employment in the construction industry fell by 37% between 2008 and 2009, and the decline in construction employment continued through to 2012 but not as sharply). However, employment in construction has been growing year on year since 2013, with the economy recovering from its deep slump.

Psychosocial risks

The 1998–2011 Employment Equality Acts provide that employers must prevent harassment in the workplace. The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 outlines an extensive array of workplace measures that are designed to maintain the health of employees in the workplace. Section 8 of the act sets out measures that employers must observe as part of their duty of care towards employees.

The Health and Safety Authority provides guidance for employers on work-related stress and has produced a code of practice on the prevention and resolution of bullying at work. An updated version of this code, combining the Health and Safety Authority code with a separate one from the Workplace Relations Commission, was made effective in December 2020.

Skills are the passport to employment; the more highly skilled an individual, the more employable they are. People with good skills also tend to secure better-quality jobs and better earnings. This section briefly summarises the Irish system for ensuring skills and employability and looks at training provision.

National system for ensuring skills and employability

The National Competitiveness Council was established in 2000, under the national agreement Partnership 2000, to ensure ongoing national competitiveness in Ireland. National competitiveness encompasses ‘education and training, entrepreneurship and innovation, Ireland’s economic and technological infrastructure and the taxation and regulatory framework’. The council reports to the Department of the Taoiseach (Prime Minister). It comprises representatives of employers and trade unions, and one representative from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

The Expert Group on Future Skills Needs was established in 1997 and ‘advises the Irish Government on current and future skills needs of the economy and on other labour market issues that impact on Ireland’s enterprise and employment growth. It has a central role in ensuring that labour market needs for skilled workers are anticipated and met.’ It comprises civil servants and representatives of employers and trade unions.

Training

SOLAS (formerly Foras Áiseanna Saothair) is the further education and training authority in Ireland. It is responsible for funding, planning and coordinating training and further education programmes.

Quality and Qualifications Ireland is responsible for maintaining the 10-level National Framework of Qualifications. It is also an awarding body and sets standards for awards in the framework. Quality and Qualifications Ireland validates education and training programmes and issues extensive awards in the further education and training sector, including to those in the education and training boards.

The principle of equal treatment requires that all people – and, in the context of the workplace, all workers – have the right to receive the same treatment, and will not be discriminated against on the basis of criteria such as age, sex, disability, nationality, race and religion.

The 1998–2011 Employment Equality Acts outlaw discrimination on nine grounds: gender, civil status, family status, age, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and membership of the Traveller community.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is the state body responsible for ensuring equality and non-discrimination at work (formerly the Equality Authority).

Equal pay and gender pay gap

The 1998–2015 Employment Equality Acts outlaw pay discrimination based on gender.

The Gender Pay Gap Information Act was introduced in 2021, requiring large employers (with at least 250 employees) to report their gender pay gap by December 2022. This requirement will be extended to companies with at least 150 employees in 2024, and to companies with at least 50 employees in 2025.

HR Practices in Ireland, a survey the results of which were published by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in 2020, provided a snapshot of the issues affecting Irish workplaces at the end of 2019. Regarding the gender pay gap, the CIPD said that its research showed a small improvement in 2019: ‘33% of organisations now say they are calculating their GPG [gender pay gap], compared to 30% the previous year’. However, while 33% were measuring their gender pay gap, ‘50% say they don’t have one’. Mary Connaughton, the CIPD’s Director, said that this is a ‘perennial issue’ across their surveys and shows that the level of understanding of the reality of Ireland’s gender pay gap still needs improvement.

Quota regulations

Under the Disability Act 2005, public bodies are required to ensure that people with disabilities make up at least 3% of their workforce. For 2011–2013, this 3% target for the public sector overall was surpassed, according to the data gathered by the National Disability Authority.

The Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Act 2012 requires 40% of political party candidates to be women. If they do not meet this quota, their funding is reduced. The target for subsequent general elections is therefore 40% women candidates.

Employer organisations

Trade unions

ICTU and affiliates

Other unions

Government

Other links

CSO (Central Statistics Office) (2022), Earnings and labour costs Q1 2022 (final) Q2 2022 (preliminary estimates), web page, accessed 20 February 2024.

Dobbins, T., Cullinane, N. and Sheehan, B. (2020), ‘Ireland’s conundrum on union bargaining rights: Assessing the Industrial Relations Amendment Act 2015’, Industrial Relations Journal, Vol. 51, No. 1–2, pp. 75–91.

Eurofound (2020a), Collective agreements and bargaining coverage in the EU: A mapping of types, regulations and first findings from the European Company Survey 2019, Eurofound working paper, Dublin.

Eurofound (2020b), Employee representation at establishment or company level: A mapping report ahead of the 4th European Company Survey, Eurofound working paper, Dublin.

Eurofound (2020c), Industrial relations: Developments 2015–2019, Challenges and prospects in the EU series, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

Eurofound (2020d), Minimum wages in 2020: Annual review, Minimum wages in the EU series, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

Eurofound (2021), Working conditions and sustainable work: An analysis using the job quality framework, Challenges and prospects in the EU series, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

Eurofound and Cedefop (European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) (2020), European Company Survey 2019: Workplace practices unlocking employee potential, European Company Survey 2019 series, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg.

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