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Employ in Ireland with ease.

Remote makes employment in Ireland easy. With our localized contracts, easy invoice management, and best-in-class compliance, you can grow your global team with confidence.

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Facts & Stats

Ireland (Irish: Éire), also known as the Republic of Ireland (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann), is a country in north-western Europe occupying 26 of 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the eastern side of the island. Ireland ranks among the top ten wealthiest countries in the world in terms of GDP per capita and ranks highly in human development, freedom of the press, economic freedom and civil liberties.

  • Capital city

    Dublin

  • Currency

    Euro
    (€, EUR)

  • Languages spoken

    English

  • Population size

    4,921,500 (2019 est.)

  • Ease of doing business

    Very easy

  • Cost of living index

    $$$$ (16 of 139 nations)

  • Payroll frequency

    Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    23%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    8.17% (2018 est.)

Grow your team in Ireland with Remote

Looking to employ workers in Ireland? Companies hiring in Ireland must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.

Remote can employ your team in Ireland on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Ireland team. You can also pay contractors now in Ireland with Remote.

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Risks
of misclassification

Ireland, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time workers differently and there are risks associated with misclassification.

Employing in Ireland

Irish employment law is not contained under a single law. Instead it is governed by common law, statutes enacted in law, the Irish Constitution, EU laws, collective labour agreements in certain industries, and the individual employment contract itself.

Employment law provides strong labor conditions and protections for employees, so employing people will generally be an important investment and commitment.

However, temporary agencies are popular options for more flexible workforce arrangements. For these and many other reasons, the following are only guidelines in the broadest sense, and professional legal services have to be consulted when employing Ireland.

Public holidays

Below are national public holidays applicable for all regions in this country. Remote customers have access to a detailed list of regional public holidays within the Remote platform. Sign up now to access all public holiday information.

Minimum Wage

Minimum monthly wage is € 1,656.20 per month.

Payroll Cycle

For customers of Remote, all employee payments will be made in equal monthly installments on or before the last working day of each calendar month, payable in arrears.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in Ireland fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 2 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

Competitive benefits package in Ireland

At Remote, we’re obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practicing “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).

Our benefits packages in Ireland are tailored to fulfill the local needs of your employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance
  • Dental Insurance
  • Vision Insurance
  • Mental Health Support
  • Pension or 401(K)
  • Life and Disability Insurance
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Calculate the cost to hire an employee
in Ireland

Taxes in Ireland

Learn how employment taxes and statutory fees affect your payroll and your employees’ paychecks in Ireland.

  • Employer

    • 11.05% - Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI)

  • Employee

    • 4% - Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI)

    • 20% - Up to 35,300

    • 40% - Earned income remainder

Types of leave

Statutory leave

Full-time employees are entitled by law to a basic annual paid leave entitlement of 4 weeks. The individual employment contract or collective bargaining agreements may grant additional paid leave.

Pregnancy and maternity leave

Expecting mothers must take at least to 2 weeks of pregnancy leave (before the due date) and at least 4 weeks maternity leave (after childbirth), with a maximum of 26 weeks in total with pay. The mother can also receive an extra 16 weeks of unpaid leave, which begins immediately after the end of maternity leave.

Paternal or partner leave

New parents (other than the mother of the child) can take 2 weeks' leave in the first 6 months after the baby is born or adopted. The leave can start any time in the first 6 months after the birth or adoption.

Sick Leave

Irish employees with more than 13 weeks of service have a statutory right to paid sick leave for up to three days per year. The employee is required to present a doctor’s certificate confirming the inability to work on the first day of the sick leave as a minimum. 

Other leave

  • Parental leave: employees with children aged up to 12 years old can take up 22 weeks' unpaid leave per child.
  • Adoptive leave: upon adoption of a child, employees are entitled to 24 weeks of adoptive leave. Applies to women adopting a child or a man alone who is adopting a child. It is also possible to take an additional 16 weeks unpaid leave.
  • Carer's leave: allows employees to leave work temporarily to provide full-time care and attention for someone who needs it. Minimum of 13 weeks and up to a maximum of 104 weeks. The person to be cared for must need full-time care and attention, which has to be supported by a GP and ultimately decided on by an officer from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP). This leave is unpaid, but the employee may be able to get social welface payments.

Employment termination

Termination process

Under common law, an employer can terminate an employment relationship for any reason, provided the employer complies with the terms of the contract of employment, including giving the required notice. The employee has to be informed in writing that the employer is serving notice on the employee of termination and either works out their notice period or gets paid in lieu of their notice period.

Employees with more than 1 year of continous service are generally protected against unfair dismissal. Fair reasons to terminate an employment relationship include:

  • capability, competence or qualifications of the employee;
  • conduct of the employee;
  • redundancy of the employee;
  • employer being prohibited by statute from employing the individual; or
  • other substantial grounds justifying termination.

Notice period

The statutory notice period for an employer depends on the duration of employment:

  • 13 weeks to 2 years: 1 week
  • 2 to 5 years: 2 weeks
  • 5 to 10 years: 4 weeks
  • 10 to 15 years: 6 weeks
  • 15 years or more: 8 weeks

Probation periods

Probationary periods in Ireland may last up to six months, but these periods can be increased an additional six months if the company declares an extension to the probationary period in the employment agreement. Exercising this extension is not a common practice. There is no statutory minimum probationary period for employees in Ireland, although a period between 3-6 months is commonplace.

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