Country Guides

Ireland

Quick Find

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Capital

Dublin

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Language

Irish & English

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Remote workers

216,000

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Currency

€ Euro (EUR)

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Working hours

39 - 40 hours per week

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Public holidays

11 days per year

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Minimum hourly salary

€ 13.50

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Tax year

Jan 1 - Dec 31

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Date format

DD/MM/YYYY

Misclassification penalties

Statutory rights, minimum wage, holiday pay, unpaid taxes, plus interest and penalties for employee misclassification.

Fun fact

Over 80 million people around the world claim Irish heritage.

Employer contributions

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    Employer tax: 9.0% - 11.25%
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    Pay-related social insurance contributions: 9.0% on income up to €552 p/w & 11.25% on income over €552 p/w

Employee contributions

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    Employee tax: 20.5% - 48%
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    Pay-related social insurance (PRSI): 0% - 4.2%
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    Income tax: Ireland has a progressive income tax of 20% to 40% (depending on family status and income amount)

Looking for a quick cost estimate?

Use our calculator to understand what are all the employment costs you have to consider in Ireland.

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Employer of Record in Ireland

What is an EOR?

An Employer of Record is the legal employer of a worker in Ireland. As such, the Employer of Record takes care of all Ireland compliance aspects of employment, including payroll, taxes, statutory benefits, employment contracts and more.

EOR responsibilities

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    Ensuring their employment is compliant with local employment laws
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    Processing local payroll
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    Filing employment related taxes and returns
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    Issuing payslips to the employee
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    Distributing salary payments

How it works

  • Company

    Maintains a direct relationship with the employee, allocates them work tasks, and manages their performance.

  • Boundless

    Takes care of payroll, taxes, benefits, ensuring the employee and the company are compliant with all legal regulations.

  • Employee

    The third party to the agreement, the employee, fulfils all of their obligations as a worker for the company.

Statutory benefits in Ireland

  • Personal retirement savings account

    It is an alternative to the occupational pension scheme for the first six months of employment. There are no mandatory contributions by the employer.

  • Auto-enrolment

    As of 1 January 2026, Ireland’s Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System (“MyFutureFund”) is live. Employers are required to contribute to a pension scheme for eligible employees, with the state topping up contributions alongside them.

Common non-mandatory benefits in Ireland

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    Cycle-to-work scheme
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    Employee assistance program
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    Employer pension contribution
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    Private Health insurance
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    Life assurance
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    Income protection
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    Paid Maternity, Paternity and Adoption Leave
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    Gym membership
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    Extra time off and parental leave
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    Dental and Vision Plan
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    Stock Options
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    Work Flexibility
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Employment contract signed by both the employer and the employee

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Statement of pay

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Safety in the workplace

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Right to disconnect

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Protection from discrimination

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Personal information protection

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Protection against unfair dismissal

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Protection according to classification (equal rights for part-time and fixed-term employees)

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Whistleblower protection

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Protection in case of business transfer

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Work unions

Paid time off

20 working days

Sick leave

5 paid sick days (will increase to 10 days by 2026)

Maternity leave

Female employees get 26 weeks of paid maternity leave and can receive an extra 16 weeks of unpaid leave.

Paternity leave

2 weeks

Parental leave

9 weeks of paid leave (€299 per week) during a child's first two years (parents); up to 26 weeks of unpaid leave before the child turns twelve (parental).

Probation

Should not exceed 6 months. In exceptional circumstances it can be extended for up to a further 6 months (up to a maximum of 12 months in total) where it is in the employees interests or due to extended leave during probation.

Grievance and disciplinary procedures

For all grievance and disciplinary procedures, employers must have a written document following the Code of Practice: Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures. This sets out the stages and process followed when dealing with the alleged shortcomings or complaints of an employee.

Payment frequency

Weekly, fortnightly or monthly (monthly being more common)

Payday

Generally, in the last week of each month. The specific day is decided by the employer.

To lawfully end employment, the employer must have and follow a straightforward and documented procedure. The dismissal of an employee is deemed fair if it is because of their capability, conduct or capacity, redundancy, law violation or for some other substantial reason.  The length of notice periods vary and depend on how long employees have been with the company.

An employee can be dismissed without notice if committing gross misconduct such as assault, drunkenness, bullying, theft or other severe employment policy breach.

Statutory redundancy payment kicks in after two years of continuous work with the employer. There is no requirement for employers to pay severance to employees who have been terminated.

FAQs

While there are generally four ways of employing people across borders, not all are legal or sensible. Here is an overview of each way to employ a worker in Ireland, outlining the potential cons.

HQ country employment & payroll

While the person is in Ireland, they are employed and payrolled directly by the company’s HQ entity.
Cons: This may appear attractive, but it generally isn’t legal in the long term.
HQ payroll won’t be possible if the person is not a tax resident in the HQ country.

Independent contractor agreements

People are locally registered as sole traders or limited liability company owners in Ireland and invoice for their work. There is no direct employment relationship.
Cons: In Ireland, this is not a compliant or legal way to engage full-time workers who work solely for your company. There will be challenges in attracting and retaining talent.

Direct local employer setup

The company sets up as a fully-compliant local employer. This often involves setting up a local entity and local tax registration.
Cons: Expensive, time-consuming, high-level of complexity. Unknowns around how obligations and costs will evolve over time. There will be a need to stay on top of changes in regulations.

Partnering with an Employer of Record Ireland /full-service Professional Employer Organisation

Employment is handled by a platform that specialises in employing people on behalf of customer companies. The Employer of Record helps to hire and pay employees.
Cons: For some countries, the ongoing costs may be higher than direct employment. Some education is needed to inform employees about how the employment relationship will work.

Setting up a local company in Ireland is relatively straightforward and involves registering in the Companies Registration Office. However, the difficult part comes after the initial setup when payroll needs to be calculated and run every month, taxes filed, benefits extended, change of rules and regulations followed.

While many employers practice employing remote workers as independent contractors, it’s a bad practice. If an individual is giving their full and undivided attention to your company in Ireland, treating them as an independent contractor is a likely breach of Irish employment laws and of those in your country.
Your company could be liable for fines on owed holiday pay, sick pay, social welfare payments, paternity benefit, maternity benefit, or other legal measures. Since the individuals you are working with do not receive the benefit of local employment laws and protections that are often afforded to people working full-time hours.

As with every other country, there are certain costs associated with employing a worker in Ireland that come on top of the gross salary you are offering. In Ireland that is Pay-related social insurance contribution. To view the exact percentages and amounts given the salary you are planning to offer, you can use our handy calculator tool.

When you hire employees in Ireland, you have certain obligations as an employer. HR compliance is about ensuring your policies and procedures respect all applicable laws and regulations regarding employment and work practices. Complying with local employment law in Ireland is fundamental for the correct running of your business – not only because these laws are in place to protect employees and guarantee their rights are safeguarded, but to minimise your risk of liabilities as an employer. Being compliant means respecting and following all local labour laws, sick leave and illness benefits, annual leave, minimum wage, tax credits, working hours regulations.

It means that Boundless is the legal employer of the individual, as far as the Irish government, tax, and employment authorities are concerned. We are responsible for:
  • informing you about any pre-employment requirements
  • ensuring their employment is compliant with Irish employment law
  • informing you about the length of the maternity leave, paternity leave, public holidays, illness benefits, medical benefits
  • providing a locally compliant employment contract
  • processing local payroll
  • filing employment-related tax returns
  • issuing payslips to the employee
  • distributing salary payments
  • payments to the local tax authorities

Customers that work with an Employer of Record in Ireland are responsible for:

  • sourcing and recruiting their own workers
  • managing the employee’s day-to-day work load
  • contributing to the personal / professional development of the employee through their work
  • following any guidance we give on employment and HR best practices or legal obligations in Ireland, such as the employment contract, public holidays, annual leave, sick leave, maternity and paternity benefits, probationary periods, overtime pay, statutory redundancy payments, liability insurance and many others
  • ensuring that payroll bills relating to their team are paid to Boundless before the cut-off point in each pay cycle

Boundless as the Employer of Record Ireland files all pertinent taxes and PRSI contributions as they relate to the compliant employment of an individual in their home country.

We carefully choose employment lawyers or advisories to partner with in each country we operate in, including Ireland. They ensure the Ireland employment contracts, and any other relevant documents required for new employees comply with the local jurisdiction. We have thorough discussions on specific norms such as payroll services, social protection, data protection, notice period or work-from-home regulations. Whenever a potentially sensitive issue arises in Ireland, our internal team contacts the relevant firm to ensure all steps are taken to resolve it promptly.
The company remains responsible and informs employees of the day-to-day management of the people and teams that are employed through Boundless, including any disciplinary or performance issues.
Boundless ensures compliance with Irish-specific procedures, practices and labour laws while employing people and teams on behalf of the company.
Any new employee that is locally employed through an Employer of record gets full employment rights and benefits as specified in Irish employment law. They get a locally compliant employment contract, statutory maternity leave, annual leave, illness benefits, any relevant tax credit, and many more. All Ireland-based employees receive healthcare through the public healthcare system – Health Service Executive (HSE), which is funded by general taxation.

In Ireland, both employers and employees have to pay taxes. For employers, these include Pay-related social insurance contributions and for employees, they include Income tax, Universal social charge (USC), and Pay-related social insurance.  To get a clear overview of both employee and employer taxes, use our salary breakdown calculator.

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