Ireland — 13 min

How to use an Employer of Record in Ireland

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Recruiting beyond geographical borders can give you access to the best talent across the globe. In fact, there are solid benefits to hiring distributed teams, including cost savings, increased employee productivity, and a more diverse pool of candidates to recruit from.

But hiring international employees has its share of challenges. If you’ve found your ideal candidate in Ireland, you’ll have to open a legal entity in the country, which can be costly and time-consuming. To manage your employees in Ireland, you’ll have to oversee HR functions, set up payroll, and ensure compliance with local employment laws. An EOR service provider in Ireland can help your organization hire and manage global employees without the hassle of establishing a new entity. You can achieve global expansion goals while controlling costs and maintaining 100% legal compliance. An EOR is a cost-effective and stress-free solution for businesses ready to scale to global heights.

If you’re interested in learning more about how you can use an employer of record, keep reading for insights on how you can use an EOR to hire in Ireland or anywhere in the world.

Jump straight to a key chapter

Five steps for hiring employees in Ireland using an employer of record:
What are the benefits of using an employer of record in Ireland?
How much does it cost to use an EOR in Ireland?
Hiring in Ireland
What are the risks of employee misclassification in Ireland?
Get started with an EOR in Ireland

Five steps for hiring employees in Ireland using an employer of record:

If you’re wondering how to get started with using an employer of record to hire in Ireland, here are five steps that can help.

Step 1: Each business will have different needs and each EOR offers different services, so research potential service providers and shortlist potential EORs that meet your needs. An EOR should typically provide you with the following services:

Compliance with labor laws in Ireland
A simple but effective onboarding process
Data security protections
Global payroll to pay your workers overseas
Competitive benefits and compensation package.

Step 2: Understand how the EOR operates and determine which EOR is the best fit for your business. You’ll want to ensure the EOR you partner with owns an entity in Ireland, rather than outsource part of its services to external companies. The problem with working with partner-dependent global employment solutions is that you won’t have control over costs, how services are provided, or the experience your employees will receive.

Step 3: Discover what other customers have to say. You can learn so much about a potential service provider by reading online reviews. Review the company website, client testimonials, online press coverage, and third-party review sites to get a more in-depth understanding of how the company operates and how well it treats its clients. Step 4: Learn more about the employee experience provided by the EOR. Since the EOR hires workers on your behalf, ensure that they give your employees a positive experience. You could ask the following questions to give you insights into the kind of experience your worker will receive.

How long and complex is the employee onboarding process?
Will workers be paid on time?
Are employees able to contact someone for questions, and how long will it take to get a response?

Step 5: Work with the EOR to offer candidates competitive benefits aimed at attracting them. The EOR you choose should have strong knowledge of local benefits and compensation expectations so that you can offer potential employees a benefits package that’s in line with their role, experience, and skills, as well as, local rules and regulations. You must choose the EOR that will maintain a strong brand reputation for your organization by meeting guidelines, regulations, and requirements while protecting your data and intellectual property.

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What are the benefits of using an employer of record in Ireland?

The key benefit of using an EOR is that it allows your company to hire employees in Ireland (and beyond) without the hassle of establishing an entity in the country.

Not only will a new entity need to be created, but there are registrations and permits to obtain. If your company went this route, you would have to understand local laws, ensure compliance, and be saddled with operating and running a new entity in Ireland for the foreseeable future. Working with an EOR not only saves you time, but also on the expenses associated with registering, managing, and running a legal entity in Ireland.

Apart from handling the legal responsibilities of hiring, an EOR also supports your organization in managing various human resources functions for your new employees in Ireland. For instance, working with an EOR can help you take care of:

Employee remuneration and benefits
Onboarding processes
Employee terminations
Compliance with employment and labor law requirements
Global payroll services
Taxes and payroll deductions

Irish employment laws can be complex and there are serious consequences for breaking them. By partnering with an EOR, you ensure compliance and transparency in managing your workers in Ireland. An EOR removes the stress involved in global expansion, allowing you to expand across your borders quickly and affordably.

When your business works with a global employment solution Remote, you avoid the high expenses, the time needed to learn new laws and establish a new entity, and gain expert partners to help you in your journey to global expansion. Most global teams can be onboarded via Remote in just seven working days!

How much does it cost to use an EOR in Ireland?

There are several EOR service providers to choose from today, and each offers different services. The pricing for EOR services varies greatly based on each company, what additional services they offer, and the number and location of the workers. Generally, you can expect to pay anything from as low as $599 to upwards of $2,000 per employee per month.

Many EORs are not transparent with their prices, so make sure you find out what’s included in the costs, and what’s not. Look for the EOR that offers the full stack of services needed to build a global team — onboarding, benefits, payroll, taxes, security, and compliance. Remote offers a comprehensive global employment salutation at a flat rate. Our fair price guarantee means that there are no commitments or hidden fees. Remote gives you the complete suite of services needed to build your global team at an affordable price!

Hiring in Ireland

Hiring in Ireland could be very lucrative for your organization. Ireland is among the top 10 wealthiest countries in the world. Ireland also has vast economic freedom, ranks highly in human development, and has a highly educated workforce that enjoys many civil liberties.

With this kind of culture, you can expect Irish workers to have high standards when it comes to employment. Ireland has a unique set of labor laws. Employment contracts are very detailed and there are several protections in place for employees about working hours, safety, and overtime. Ireland has many statutes and collective bargaining agreements that impact labor laws. Ireland has definitive guidelines about:

Payroll taxes
Employment contract terms
Working hours
Terminations
Minimum wage.

It’s essential that your company understand local employment laws before hiring in Ireland. There are harsh consequences and penalties for employers who break labor laws.

The best way to comply with labor laws and stay compliant is to partner with an EOR. They’ll already know about Irish labor laws and can quickly help you navigate hiring in a new country without legal issues. Discover more about Irish employment contracts, labor laws, notice periods, and benefits below.

Employment contracts and agreements in Ireland

The terms of the employment contract come into effect when an employee starts working for an employer. Employers are required to provide a written agreement detailing the following core terms of employment within five days of hiring a new employee. Those terms are:

Employee and employer names
Employer address
Type of contract (temporary, fixed)
Rate of pay and pay reference periods
Length of normal employee workdays and weeks

A full contract outlining the rest of the employment terms is required within two months of the initial hiring. These include:

Place of work
Title of the job
Employee start date
Pay intervals
Terms related to working hours
Paid leave
Sick pay
Pension and pension schemes
Period of notice required
Details of collective agreements that may affect employment.

Employers must give 24 hours of notice if the employee has to work additional hours or if the schedule changes. Employees are allowed to ask for banded weekly hours to control hours worked. Employers must respond and put employees in a new band of weekly hours within four weeks of the request.

Labor law compliance in Ireland

Irish employment laws are not contained under a single law but draw from several laws, statutes, and agreements. Irish labor laws are governed by the following:

Common law
EU laws
Legal statutes
Collective labor agreements
Employment contract.

Ireland has passed many laws regarding payroll, termination notices, young people at work, and minimum wage. The national minimum wage in Ireland is €1,656.20 per month. Ireland has an average of 48 hours per week for most industries. There are also special regulations around working on Sunday. Ireland does not have set guidelines or pay requirements for overtime work, but most employers do pay extra for overtime. There are various statutes around work hours, breaks, and night work in Ireland.

Probationary periods generally last six months in Ireland. Employers can request an extension of an additional six months if it is stated in the employment contract, but is not a common occurrence. There is no minimum probationary period required, but most companies have one that lasts from three to six months.

Payroll and payroll taxes in Ireland

Payroll taxes in Ireland are fairly straightforward. As the employer, you pay 11.05% in social insurance tax. The employee is responsible for 4% tax for social insurance. Income tax rates are based on income and are either 20% or 40% depending on annual income.

Ireland employee benefits and compensation

Employees are entitled to paid days off for national holidays, such as:

St. Patrick’s Day
Day of Remembrance and Recognition
Easter Monday
Early May Bank Holiday
June Bank Holiday
August Bank Holiday
October Bank Holiday
Christmas
St. Stephens Day
New Year’s Day.

Full-time employees are entitled to four weeks of paid vacation per year. Part-time employees are also entitled to leave, but it is based on the number of days worked. Collective bargaining agreements can state a different requirement for paid leave.

Pregnant employees must take two weeks of paid leave before the birth of the child and at least four weeks after the birth of the child. The maximum amount of maternity leave allowed is 26 weeks with pay. Employees can take an additional 16 weeks of unpaid leave directly after paid leave ends.

New parents apart from the person giving birth are allowed two weeks of paid leave anytime during the first six months following the child’s birth or adoption. Parental leave is an option for any parent with a child up to age 12. Employees can take up to 22 weeks of unpaid leave per child. Employees adopting a child are entitled to 24 weeks of paid leave and an additional 16 weeks of unpaid leave.

Ireland also allows “carer’s leave” for employees to take between 13 and 104 weeks of leave to care full-time for someone. The leave is unpaid. There are several stipulations around the requirements of taking a carer’s leave.

Are you interested in learning more about employee benefits in Ireland? Read more about relevant employee benefits in Ireland.

Ireland severance pay and terminations

Employers can terminate an employee for any reason under Irish law, but they must adhere to the terms of the employment contract. Each contract must detail the terms and conditions around termination.

Employees must be provided a written notice about termination. They are given the option of working out the notice or receiving pay instead of working it.

Employees with more than one year of tenure are protected against unfair dismissal. Acceptable dismissal reasons include:

Employee conduct
Redundancy
Capability or qualifications of the employee
A statute prohibits the employer from employing them
Other substantial grounds.

The required notice for termination varies based on how long the employee has been with the employer. Notice periods can vary between one and eight weeks of employment, depending on the duration of employment. To comply with complex labor laws in Ireland and mitigate potential risks, it's best to partner with an EOR to hire in Ireland. Remote has several processes in place to ensure your employees and all working practices are 100% compliant with Irish standards and regulations.

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What are the risks of employee misclassification in Ireland?

Ireland, like every other country, has its own definition of what makes a contractor and what constitutes an employee. Employers that end up misclassifying workers, intentionally or accidentally, might have to face serious consequences. Misclassifying a contractor who should have been an employee can lead to fines, penalties, and potential lawsuits. The employer also has to take up the responsibility of paying back pay and benefits to your misclassified workers. Your business will also be on the regulators’ radar, meaning more audits and interactions. In drastic cases, businesses can lose the ability to work in that country.

Using an employer of record in Ireland mitigates the risks of employee misclassification. Remote’s team of experts is proficient in Irish employment law and knows exactly how to classify workers to save your business from potential disasters. To protect your business, and ease your concerns, it is best to hire international employees with Remote.

Get started with an EOR in Ireland

International hiring doesn't have to be a struggle, as long as you choose a trusted employer of record that can help you grow your team in Ireland, and beyond. The key benefit of using an EOR is that it saves you time, money, and the hassle of handling all the legal legwork yourself. In fact, Remote gives you every functionality needed to hire, pay, and onboard talent in Ireland, quickly and easily. Our team can ensure that your organization remains compliant with Irish employment laws and that your employees receive a hands-on, memorable experience. When you choose Remote, you gain a team of experts who will hire, onboard, and manage your employees in Ireland., leaving you free to focus on the important stuff. With Remote, you can:

View and manage employees in a single platform
Stay updated on local labor laws and regulations
Pay your employees on time and in their local currency via our global payroll
Figure out a modern benefits stack that attracts top candidates
Manage payroll deductions and taxes
Keep your data security and intellectual property safe.

Ready to take your business to the next level? Learn more about our global employment solutions today! If you’re ready to start hiring new workers, get started with Remote and onboard your team in Ireland in minutes.