Employment Rights Ireland — Know Your Rights at Work

Irish employment law gives workers a solid set of minimum protections. The problem is that most people don't know what those protections are until something goes wrong.

The basics: minimum wage, working hours limits, statutory sick pay, paid annual leave, written employment contracts, and notice periods. None of these are optional for your employer, they're legal minimums. A contract cannot take them away, even if you signed one that tried to.

This page covers the core rights. For parental leave entitlements specifically, one of the most searched topics and the most confusing, see the dedicated guide at parce.ie/parental-leave.

From 1 January 2026, the National Minimum Wage (NMW) in Ireland is €14.15 per hour for workers aged 20 and over.

Sub-minimum rates apply to younger workers:

| Age | Hourly rate | % of NMW | |-----|------------|----------| | 20 and over | €14.15 | 100% | | 19 years old | €12.74 | 90% | | 18 years old | €11.32 | 80% | | Under 18 | €9.91 | 70% |

These rates apply to all employment types, full-time, part-time, casual, and temporary. The minimum wage applies to basic pay before tips, bonuses, or overtime premiums.

The rate is reviewed annually, subscribe below and we'll email you when it changes. It has increased every year for the past six years.

If you think you're being paid less than minimum wage, your employer is breaking the law. You can make a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) at workplacerelations.ie.

Maximum working hours: Under the Organisation of Working Time Act, the average working week cannot exceed 48 hours, averaged over a 4-month reference period. This is a legal maximum, not a target. An employer cannot require you to work more than this on average.

Daily rest: You are entitled to 11 consecutive hours of rest in any 24-hour period.

Weekly rest: At least 24 consecutive hours of rest in any 7-day period (or 48 consecutive hours in any 14-day period).

Breaks during the working day:

• 15-minute break after working 4.5 hours continuously
• 30-minute break after working 6 hours (which can include the 15-minute break)

These are minimums. Your contract may give you more generous break entitlements, but cannot give you less than the statutory minimums.

If you are regularly working more than 48 hours per week, keep a record. You can make a complaint to the WRC if the limit is consistently breached.

Ireland introduced Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) in 2023, many employees still don't know they have it.

Current entitlement: 5 days per year, paid at 70% of your normal daily wage, capped at €110 per day.

The entitlement is being phased in over several years and is expected to increase. Check citizensinformation.ie for the current number of days and any update to the cap before assuming either figure.

Who qualifies: You must have been employed by the same employer for at least 13 weeks before the sick leave begins, and you must have a medical certificate from a GP for the days you're claiming.

Important: SSP is a minimum, your contract may give you more generous sick pay terms. If your employer already pays full pay for sick days, SSP is typically already satisfied. If they pay nothing, SSP is the floor they must now meet.

The sick certificate requirement: You need a GP cert for SSP. If you go to the GP, keep the cert and submit it to your employer promptly. Failure to provide documentation can allow the employer to refuse SSP for those days.

Full-time workers are entitled to at least 4 working weeks of paid annual leave per year. This is a statutory minimum, your contract may give you more.

For part-time or variable-hours workers, entitlement is calculated as 8% of hours worked in a leave year, up to a maximum of 4 working weeks.

Public holidays: In addition to annual leave, employees are entitled to paid time off on public holidays (or an additional day's pay if required to work on one). There are 10 public holidays in Ireland, including St Brigid's Day (first Monday in February) which was introduced in 2023.

When you can take leave: You have a right to take leave, your employer has the right to decide when, with reasonable notice. In practice, most employers operate an approval system for leave requests. They cannot, however, refuse all requests, they must allow you to take your statutory entitlement within the leave year.

Leave that's not taken: Annual leave should be taken within the leave year. Some employers allow carry-over by agreement, but there's no statutory right to carry over untaken leave unless the leave was not possible to take due to illness.

If your employer ends your employment, they must give you a minimum statutory notice period, regardless of what your contract says (unless the contract gives more, which is fine).

Statutory minimum notice by length of service:

| Length of service | Minimum notice | |-------------------|---------------| | 13 weeks – 2 years | 1 week | | 2 – 5 years | 2 weeks | | 5 – 10 years | 4 weeks | | 10 – 15 years | 6 weeks | | 15+ years | 8 weeks |

Your contract may give you a longer notice period, that's enforceable. But the statutory minimums above are the floor.

Payment in lieu of notice: An employer can pay you your wages in lieu of working out the notice period. You can also agree to leave early if both sides agree, get any agreement in writing.

Gross misconduct: In cases of genuine gross misconduct, an employer can dismiss without notice. This is a high bar, the behaviour must be serious, and the employer must follow a fair process before dismissal. Summary dismissal for minor matters is not lawful.

Since 2022, all employees must receive a written statement of their core employment terms on or before their first day of work. This is a legal requirement.

The statement must include:

• Employer and employee names and address
• Start date and, if relevant, end date (for fixed-term contracts)
• Place of work
• Job title and a brief description of duties
• Rate of pay and how it's calculated
• Pay frequency (weekly, monthly, etc.)
• Hours of work per normal working day and week
• Entitlement to paid leave (annual and other)
• Sick leave and sick pay policy
• Notice period (both employer's and employee's)
• Details of any probationary period

If you started a job and were not given a written statement within the required timeframe, that's a breach of the law. You can raise it with the WRC.

Probationary periods: Employers can set a probationary period, typically 3–6 months. From 2023, probationary periods cannot exceed 6 months (with a limited extension to 12 months in exceptional cases). During probation, the statutory rights above still apply, including minimum wage, working hours, and break entitlements.

Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), workplacerelations.ie The WRC is the primary body for employment disputes in Ireland. They handle complaints about minimum wage, working time, unfair dismissal, discrimination, and most other employment law breaches. You can submit a complaint online. There is no fee to make a complaint. The WRC also provides an information service, call 0818 80 8090 if you want to talk through your situation before deciding what to do.

Citizens Information, citizensinformation.ie or 0818 07 4000 Citizens Information is the first port of call for understanding what your rights actually are. They have good plain-language guides on every employment rights topic, and can often give you clarity on your situation before you need to make a formal complaint.

NERA (National Employment Rights Authority), now integrated into the WRC. If you see references to NERA in older documents, that's now the WRC.

For legal advice: If your situation is complex, constructive dismissal, ongoing discrimination, or a significant financial claim, consider getting advice from a solicitor or trade union representative before submitting a WRC complaint.