Employees entitled to minimum employment rights
Working hours
Working time is limited to 48 hours per week calculated over a 4-month period, subject to certain exceptions. Rules on rest breaks, night work and rest periods between shifts also apply. Zero-hour contracts have recently been prohibited in most circumstances, and banded-hours contracts have been introduced for employees whose actual hours do not reflect their contracted hours.
Overtime
As long as overall pay does not fall below the statutory minimum, there is no obligation to provide pay for overtime worked. A premium must be paid for Sunday work, unless the fact that the individual must work on a Sunday has already been taken into account in determining pay.
Wages
The National Minimum Wage increased from EUR11.30 per hour to EUR12.70 per hour from January 1, 2024. 19 year olds are entitled to EUR11.43, 18 year olds are entitled to EUR10.16 and those under 18 are entitled to EUR8.89.
Vacation
There are 10 public holidays. Employees are further entitled to:
Annual leave entitlement is based on hours worked:
- 4 working weeks in a leave year in which the employee works at least 1,365 hours or
- 1/3 of a working week for each month in the leave year in which the employee works at least 117 hours or
- 8 percent of the hours the employee wok in a leave year (subject to a maximum of 4 weeks).
Sick leave & pay
Employees with at least 13 weeks’ service are entitled to 5 days’ sick pay a year. The number of statutory sick days available to employees will increase incrementally to 10 by 2026. Sick pay is paid by the employer at 70 percent of the employee’s normal pay, up to a maximum of EUR110 a day.
Maternity/parental leave & pay
26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave, during which the employee may be entitled to maternity benefit from the state, plus 16 additional weeks during which no state benefit is payable. General right to return to work.
24 weeks’ ordinary adoptive leave, during which the employee may be entitled to adoptive benefit from the state, plus 16 additional weeks during which no state benefit is payable. General right to return to work.
26 weeks’ unpaid parental leave to be taken before the child reaches the age of 12.
2 weeks’ paternity leave, during which the employee may be entitled to paternity benefit from the state. This entitlement applies to any parent who is a "relevant parent" – the child's father; the spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of the child's mother; or adopting mother or sole male adopter, as well as parents of a donor-conceived child. Same-sex couples jointly adopting a child must choose 1 parent to be the "relevant parent."
7 weeks’ paid parent’s leave for a child born or adopted on or after July 1, 2022, which will increase to from 9 weeks in August 2024. May only be taken within 2 years of the birth of the child or in the 1st 2 years of adoption.
Other leave/time off work
Employees may also be entitled to leave for jury service, carer’s leave, force majeure leave, medical care and domestic violence leave.
