What are my responsibilities?

As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure all your employees receive certain basic employment rights, the list below is the minimum entitlement all employees must receive.

  • A written statement of terms and conditions of employment. Whilst the full contract does not have to be in writing, certain terms and conditions of employment must be stated in writing within two months of the employee starting employment. These would typically include the method of calculating pay and whether or not there is a sick pay scheme in operation. (For fixed term employees it would also include in what circumstances their employment will come to an end.)

  • A written statement of pay or ‘payslip’
    The payslip should set out gross pay and list all deductions made from it.

  • A minimum wage
    Most experienced adult workers in Ireland are entitled to be paid €8.65 per hour. There are however, some exceptions to the minimum wage, including those employed by close relatives, those aged under 18 and trainees or apprentices.

  • A maximum working week average of 48 hours a week
    The maximum 48 hour week is based on an average calculated over a four, six, or twelve-month period depending on the industry. Employers must keep a record of how many hours an employee works.

  • Unpaid breaks during working hours
    Workers have the right to a 15-minute break if working four and a half hours of work and a 30-minute break if working six hours of work.

  • Annual leave from work
    Full-time workers have the right to four working weeks paid annual leave per year. Part-time workers have the right to a proportional amount of annual leave based on the amount of time they work.

  • A minimum amount of notice before dismissal
    Workers are entitled to a minimum amount of notice if their employment ceases. The minimum amount of notice depends on the length of service.

As an employer, it is important to maintain records in relation to your employees and their entitlements and it is in your interest to do so. Keeping these records means that you will be prepared should a NERA inspector call and provides evidence that you are compliant with employment rights legislation.

This list is not exhaustive and is not a legal interpretation.