Employment Law in Ireland: Pay, Leave, Dismissal and the WRC
Irish employment law explained: minimum wage, sick pay, family leave, notice, redundancy, unfair dismissal, work permits, Garda vetting and WRC complaints.
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Irish employment law explained: minimum wage, sick pay, family leave, notice, redundancy, unfair dismissal, work permits, Garda vetting and WRC complaints.

Garda vetting is required for work with children or vulnerable adults in Ireland. How e-vetting works step by step, the 5 to 8 working day processing time, and what a disclosure shows.

How to make a WRC complaint in Ireland: the online complaint form, the 6-month time limit (extendable to 12), mediation, adjudication hearings, appeals to the Labour Court within 42 days, and enforcement after 56 days.

Maternity leave in Ireland 2026: 26 weeks plus 16 unpaid, the €299 weekly benefit, paternity leave, 9 weeks of parent's leave and unpaid parental leave.

The national minimum wage in Ireland is €14.15 an hour from 1 January 2026. See the full age-band rates, what counts as pay, board and lodging offsets, and how to enforce it through the WRC.

Statutory notice in Ireland runs from 1 week (13 weeks to 2 years' service) up to 8 weeks (15+ years) under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act 1973. See the full bands table, resignation notice and pay in lieu rules.

Statutory redundancy pay in Ireland is 2 weeks' pay per year of service plus 1 bonus week, capped at €600 a week and tax-free. Worked examples, eligibility rules and how to claim if your employer cannot pay.

Statutory sick pay in Ireland is 5 days in 2026 at 70% of pay, capped at €110 a day. The planned rise to 7 and 10 days was dropped in April 2025. Eligibility, certs and Illness Benefit explained.

How spent convictions work in Ireland under the 2016 Act: the 7 year rule, the one conviction limit, excluded sentences, and how Garda vetting applies a different test.

Unfair dismissal in Ireland: the 12-month service rule and exceptions, automatically unfair grounds, WRC time limits and compensation of up to 2 years' pay.

Irish employment permits in 2026: the €36,605 General and €40,904 Critical Skills salary thresholds, the Labour Market Needs Test, fees, processing times and the Stamp 4 route.