Publication
Terms and conditions of employment
From Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Published on
Last updated on
The maximum working week for many employees cannot exceed an average of 48 hours. Although some weeks may exceed 48 hours, the average must not. The average may be calculated over one of the following periods:
The 48 hours of work do not include annual leave, sick leave or maternity or adoptive or parental leave.
The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 on working time and rest periods does not apply to all employees. It does not apply to the Gardaí, defence forces, employees who control their own working hours or family employees on farms or in private homes. The Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996 regulates the working hours of young people under the age of 18.
Separate regulations govern the working time of:
Rules on the maximum average working week and statutory rest breaks do not apply to employees in certain categories of civil protection services.
All employees, whether they are full-time, part-time, temporary or casual, earn annual leave entitlements from the time they start work. Most employees are entitled to four weeks’ paid annual leave per leave year.
Depending on time worked, employees' holiday entitlements should be calculated by one of the following methods:-
If more than one of the methods above is applicable, the employee is entitled to whichever method provides the greater entitlement. However the maximum statutory annual leave entitlement of an employee in a leave year is four of their normal working weeks.
The employer determines the timing of an employee’s annual leave, taking into consideration work and personal requirements and should consult them or the relevant union in advance. Pay for the leave must be given in advance and calculated at the employee’s normal weekly rate.
In Ireland there are nine public holidays each year:
In respect of a public holiday the employee is entitled to whichever of the following an employer determines:
Full-time workers have immediate entitlement to benefit for public holidays, and part-time workers have entitlement to benefit when they have worked a total of 40 hours in the previous 5 weeks.
Further information see the website of the Workplace Relations Commission
Overtime is work done outside normal working hours. Employers have no statutory obligation to pay employees for work completed in overtime. However, many employers pay employees higher rates of pay for overtime.
Your contract of employment should state whether you are required to work overtime and should set out the rates of pay, if you are to be paid for it. Certain sectors of employment are covered by Employment Regulation Orders and Registered Employment Agreements and may have higher rates of pay for overtime than for normal hours.
Health and safety laws apply to all employers, self-employed people and employees in their workplaces. This includes fixed-term employees and temporary employees.
The main legislation covering the health and safety of people in the workplace is the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (as amended) .
It sets out the rights and obligations of both employers and employees. It also provides for substantial fines and penalties for breaches of the health and safety legislation.
Almost all of the specific health and safety laws that apply generally to all employment are set out in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007- 2020. You can find them and other relevant regulations on the website of the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) .
An employee or employer who intends to terminate a contract of employment must provide the other party with specified minimum notice.
| Length of Service | Minimum Notice |
| Thirteen weeks to two years | One week |
| Two to five years | Two weeks |
| Five to ten years | Four weeks |
| Ten to fifteen years | Six weeks |
| More than fifteen years | Eight weeks |
The Acts do not affect the right of an employer or an employee to terminate a contract of employment without notice due to the misconduct of the other party.
Further information is available on website of the Workplace Relations Commission
In general, the Unfair Dismissals Acts, 1977 - 2007, provide that every dismissal of an employee will be presumed to have been unfair unless the employer can show substantial grounds justifying the dismissal.
The purpose of the Acts is to protect employees from being unfairly dismissed from their jobs by laying down criteria by which dismissals are to be judged unfair and by providing an adjudication system and redress for an employee whose dismissal has been found to be unfair.
Further information is available on website of the Workplace Relations Commission
Redundancy occurs where an employee’s position ceases to exist and the employee is not replaced. Any employee aged 16 or over with 104 weeks’ continuous service with an employer is entitled to a statutory redundancy payment in this situation.
The statutory redundancy payment is two week’s gross pay per year of service up to a ceiling of €600 per week plus one week’s pay, which is also subject to the ceiling of €600. This payment is tax-free. For information on how to calculate your entitlements please go to the redundancy calculator on the Department of Social Protection website. Some employers may make redundancy agreements above the statutory rate.
An employee can seek payment under the Redundancy Payments Scheme where an employer is unable to make a redundancy payment.
Your employer can send you to work temporarily in another EU country. During this period, you will acquire the status of a posted worker and will benefit from the same basic working conditions and rights as workers in your host country.
A posting can last as long as it is necessary to complete a specific task. When your posting has finished, you should return to your workplace in the EU country where you were posted from.
The Department of Social Protection has provided information on the social insurance payment procedures for posted workers.
You will fall under the terms and conditions of employment of your host country if they are more advantageous than those of your home country. These conditions and terms of employment relate to: