With the deepening of globalization, when enterprises expand their business in multiple countries, cross-border labor compliance has become one of the most complex and severe challenges. To help enterprises systematically address this issue, we have collaborated with top labor lawyers from over 50 major jurisdictions worldwide (all recommended by Chambers, The Legal 500, or equivalent institutions) to jointly compile a Chinese-English labor & employment compliance guide exceeding 1 million words, and we will continuously update relevant key points.

This article publishes the key points of labor & employment compliance in Ireland. 

01 Overview of the Labor Law System

1.Legal System

Ireland operates under a Common Law system, with our main sources of law being the Constitution of Ireland, legislation, and case law, as well as European Union (EU) law. 

2.Resources and Agencies

Employment law in Ireland is based on contract law but with significant legislative provisions from both domestic and EU law that shape the employment relationship, as well as constitutional law protections.

There is a significant body of statutory employment law in Ireland, with the main statutes being:

• Unfair Dismissals Acts;

• 《Employment Equality Acts;

• Redundancy Payments Acts;

• Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act;

• Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act;

• Protected Disclosures Act;

• Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Acts;

• Organisation of Working Time Act;

• Terms of Employment (Information) Acts;

• Industrial Relations Acts;

• Maternity Protection Acts;

• Sick Leave Act;

• Payment of Wages Act.

02 Employment Qualifications and Classification

1.Employment Age

Employment of young people is dealt with under the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 (as amended). Under this Act, young workers aged 16 years and older can work up to 8 hours a day, up to 40 hours a week. Young people aged 14, and over can also be employed, with restrictions as to their working hours and times, which are set out in the Act.

There is no set retirement age in Irish Statute; retirement is generally governed by the contract of employment. 

2.Qualifications for Foreign Employers

Generally foreign employers are not required to establish or utilise a local entity in order to hire an employee in Ireland.  However, where a branch or local entity seeks to employ non-EEA nationals by way of employment permit, they must register with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) and with the Revenue Commissioners before they can do so. 

3.Classification of Employment

Main Types of Working Relationships in Ireland:

• Permanent Employees;

• Fixed-Term Employees;

• Part-Time Employees;

• Contractors;

• Agency Workers.

Employer of Record arrangements are possible in Ireland, although these are not expressly recognised or provided for in Irish Law. 

4.Foreign Workers

Workers from a country outside of the EEA, the UK or Switzerland need permission to work in Ireland.

03 Recruitment and Employment Contracts

1.Background Examination

Employees are not required to self-disclose criminal data for employment, unless they are applying for certain roles where there is a legal requirement for Garda Vetting.  

It is also permissible for employers to verify a candidate’s employment history, education and previous qualifications, references and if necessary, their licence to drive or operate relevant machinery. 

2.Contract Types

Irish employment law has legislated to protect different types of workers depending on the type of employment contract they fall under. The different types of employment contracts are as follows:

• Permanent Contracts or Contracts of Indefinite Duration;

• Fixed term and Specified Purpose Contracts;

• Part-time Contracts;

• Zero-Hour and Casual Contracts;

• Agency Work Contracts.

3.Probationary Period

The enactment of the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Regulations 2022 provided that a probationary period may not exceed a period of six months, except in exceptional circumstances and where it is in the interests of the employee. If the exceptional circumstances are met, the probation period can be extended to a maximum of twelve months.  

04 Working Standards

1.Remuneration

The National Minimum Wage Act 2000 sets the minimum wage, which applies to most employees in Ireland, and is based on the age of the employee. The minimum wages are typically reviewed annually and are usually increased in January each year.

2.Statutory Benefits and Social Security

Ireland has a robust social welfare system, with most welfare payments being means tested, and one universal payment, Child Benefit. This is available regardless of income levels, property ownership, or history of employment. 

3.Working Hours

In Ireland, working time and breaks are governed by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (as amended). This provides that, with limited exceptions, the maximum number of hours that an employee should work in an average working week is 48 hours.

4.Rest and Leave

Employees are entitled to at least 24 consecutive hours’ leave per week (or two 24-hour periods in a week if no such break was provided during the previous week).

There are currently 10 public holidays in Ireland.

All employees are entitled to paid time off. The Act provides three different methods of calculating annual leave, as follows:

• 4 weeks for a full-time employee;

• The cumulative of one third of a working week for each calendar month in which 117 hours were worked;

• 8% of all hours worked in a year, to a maximum of 4 working weeks.

05 Occupational Health and Special Protection

1.Occupational Health and Security

The Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Acts 2005 to 2014, obliges employers to "prevent any improper conduct or behaviour likely to put the safety, health and welfare of employees at risk". These obligations extend to include the provision of adequate training for their employees and apply to remote employers as well as those with traditional working environments.

Under the Act, an employer must also prepare a safety statement setting out the manner in which the employer intends to ensure the employee’s safety, health and welfare in the workplace. To do this the employer must have carried out a risk assessment of their activities.

2.Special Protection

Certain cohorts of workers are entitled to enhanced protections under legislation.

06 Personal Information and Privacy

1.General Rules

In Ireland personal information is protected by both the Data Protection Acts 1988 to 2018 (DPA) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679) (GDPR).

2.Transnational Transfer

If a company intends to transfer data from within Ireland, or another EEA country, to a third country outside the EEA they must ensure that the recipient location has a legal mechanism to ensure that its data protections are equivalent to those enjoyed by EU citizens under the GDPR.

07 Anti-Discrimination and Anti-Harassment

1.General Rules

The Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2024 prohibit both direct and indirect discrimination. Employees, contractors, applicants and trainees alike are protected under these Acts. The Acts prohibit discrimination in areas such as pay, vocational training, access to employment, work experience and promotion.

Employers must have policies and procedures in place to address and prevent discrimination and harassment.

2.Protective Characters

Discrimination is dealt with under the Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2024, which prohibit discrimination across nine distinct grounds being: gender; marital status; family status; sexual orientation; religion; age; disability; race; and membership of the Traveller community. (The Traveller Community is a distinct, indigenous minority ethnic group in Ireland.)

08 Internal Policies

1.Applicability

Internal policies are widely utilised in Ireland by Employers. Some policies are mandatory or highly recommended to have in place, such as, a Health and Safety Policy, Privacy Notice, Bullying & Harassment Policy / Dignity at Work Policy, Disciplinary Policy and Grievance and Whistleblowing Policy.

2.Validity

Third party approval is not required for internal policies generally, unless they have been negotiated through collective agreement.

3.Whistleblowing

Ireland has significant protections for whistleblowers under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 and the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022. These Acts impose extensive obligations on employers and protections for workers who make protected disclosures. 

09 Transactions

1.Employment Relationship

The European Communities Protection of Employees on Transfer of Undertakings Regulations 2003, (the “TUPE Regulations”) are designed to protect employees’ rights and interests when a business transfer takes place. 

2.Compensation

Employees are not entitled to compensation as a result of a transfer but may claim compensation if they are subject to unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal due to a substantial change in their role, or redundancy resulting from economic/operational reasons. An employee can submit a claim for dismissal under the TUPE Regulations or under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977-2015. 

10 Termination of Employment

1.Termination Grounds

Section 6 of the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977–2021 (“UDA”) protects employees from dismissal unless the dismissal can be justified as ‘fair’ on the following grounds:

• Capability to perform the job;

• Competence to do the job;

• Not possessing the necessary qualifications to perform the job;

• Unacceptable conduct/behaviour;

• Redundancy;

• Legal impediment.

2.Termination Procedure

Notice of termination is a requirement under Section 4 of the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, 1973-2005 (the “Act”) and in contract law in Ireland.

Section 6(6) of the UDA provides that employees may be dismissed without notice (known as summary dismissal) where there are “substantial grounds justifying the dismissal”, such as gross misconduct. This is typically seen where an employee has seriously breached company policy or has posed a significant physical or reputational risk to the organisation.

3.Termination Protection

Irish courts are designed to operate in a manner that supports employees and their access to justice. Each case will be decided on its own merits, but it is worth noting that courts at all levels will regard the power imbalance between an employer and employee as a relevant factor, especially where protection of employees is involved.

4.Severance and Compensation

Employees who have more than 104 weeks’ continuous service are entitled to a statutory redundancy payment.

Employers will also commonly offer an enhanced redundancy payment in exchange for a waiver of all potential or live legal claims that an employee may bring against the employer.

5.Wrongful Termination

The Section 6 of the UDA provides that employees who have one year’s continuous service will be deemed to have been unfairly dismissed unless the dismissal can be justified on the grounds outlined in point 1 of this section. Dismissals that relate to pregnancy, maternity leave, discrimination, membership of a trade union or whistleblowing will be automatically deemed as unfair, as employees are protected on these grounds under the UDA, OWTA, whistleblowing and health and safety legislation, referenced in previous sections of this guide.  

6.Mass termination and Layoffs

Employers must undertake the following actions when carrying out collective redundancies:

• Employers must give written notice of their intention to commence a collective redundancy to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection no later than 30 days prior to the first dismissal;

• Consult with employee representatives on the details of the proposed redundancies;

• Consult with employee representatives, at least 30 days prior to the first dismissal, to see if any of the proposed redundancies can be avoided, or the effect of the redundancies can be reduced;

• If employees are selected for redundancy, an employer must provide an objective and fair reason for their selection.

11 Confidentiality, Non-Compete, and Non-Solicitation

1.Confidentiality

Confidentiality agreements or confidentiality clauses in contracts of employment are not mandatory, although they are common features of the Irish employment landscape. 

2.Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation

Non-compete and non-solicitation clauses are permissible in Irish employment law.

12 Work Representation and Trade Unions

1.Work Representation

Employees can request that a multinational business set up a EWC if the company employs at least 1000 employees in the EEA and a minimum of 150 employees in at least two Member States. Employee representatives from each EU or EEA Member State in which a business has employees make up the members of each EWC. 

2.Trade Unions

Employees have the right to decide whether they would like to join a union, they are protected from discrimination and have the right to representation in certain employment law procedures as a member of a trade union.

13 Dispute Resolution

1.Procedures & Enforcement

The majority of employment disputes in Ireland are brought through the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), a quasi-judicial statutory body established to both investigate and adjudicate employment law claims. The WRC offers three different methods of dispute resolution: mediation, conciliation and, most commonly, adjudication. Where a matter is adjudicated in the WRC, the determination is subject to appeal to the Labour Court in the first instance. Labour Court decisions can in turn be appealed to the High Court on a point of law only.

2.Waiver & Enforcement

An employee’s right to bring employment claims in Ireland can be (for the most part) waived. Such waivers are valid provided the employee has taken independent legal advice as to the meaning and implication of agreeing to waive their claims. A person’s right to make a protected disclosure cannot be waived by agreement, or certain disclosures under equality law.

14 Others

1.Latest Development & Trends

The government is keen to support businesses, but regulation is strict at both an Irish and EU level. Drawbacks investors should consider, include the housing shortage and limited infrastructure in certain parts of the country.  

2.Cultural and Religious Considerations

The Irish business culture is relationship driven, and a collaborative attitude is appreciated. Building rapport to establish a connection before engaging in business matters is important. Decisions are often made with a consensus-oriented mindset. Respect for hierarchy, punctuality and politeness is expected.

* To avoid ambiguity, this article should not be regarded as legal advice.

Authors

Anne Lyne is a Partner and the head of the Employment Law team at Hayes solicitors advising on a full range of employment related issues.

Catherine Jane O’Rourke is a Senior Associate Solicitor at Hayes solicitors who advises both employers and employees, in relation to contentious and non-contentious employment matters.

Translator

Jin Dongjie, Master of Laws, associate at Anli Partners. Area of expertise: Labor Law, ESG Compliance, Dispute Resolution.