Philip Lee Solicitors

1

GENERAL PRINCIPLES

Forums For Adjudicating Employment Disputes

The Workplace Relations Commission is the first instance decision-making body for complaints made under employment legislation.

Claims are heard before a single Adjudicator and are adversarial in nature. It is now common for both parties to be legally represented although the Adjudicator has no power to award costs. In the region of 7,000 – 8,000 claims are initiated each year. The Adjudicator has the power to summon witnesses and documents.

All appeals from the WRC are to the Labour Court which sits in three (3) member panels. Decisions of the Court may be appealed to the High Court on a point of law. Certain industrial relations matters come before the Labour Court as a decision-making body of first instance.

The civil courts play a relatively limited role in employment disputes. They are available to employees in actions such as wrongful dismissal, breach of contract and injunctive relief. They also serve in certain circumstances as an appellate body from decisions made by various tribunals and courts under statute.

The Health and Safety Authority is responsible for the promotion and enforcement of workplace health and safety in Ireland. The HSA monitors compliance with occupational health and safety legislation and in the event of breaches, conducts prosecutions.


The Main Sources Of Employment Law

Irish employment law is derived from a number of sources, including:

  • Common law;
  • Legislation;
  • The Irish Constitution; and
  • European Union Law.

National Law And Employees Working For Foreign Companies

The Irish Constitution provides generally for the right to earn a livelihood. The specifics of Irish employment law are governed by statute and common law. The employment sphere is tightly regulated by legislation and in excess of 22 Acts of Parliament (many of which derive from European law) govern diverse aspects of the employer-employee relationship. In addition to Irish and European legislation, agreements with trade unions, custom and practice and the specific terms and conditions of individual contracts also govern the employment relationship. Case law (from the courts, the ECJ, the WRC and the Labour Court) and Codes of Practice are also relevant.

Once an employee is working in Ireland, they can claim the benefit of Irish employment legislation irrespective of the law governing their contract of employment and irrespective of whether their employer is an Irish company.


National Law And Employees Of National Companies Working In Another Jurisdiction

The statutory rights applicable in a particular jurisdiction will usually apply to an employee if the employee is physically present and working in that jurisdiction. Therefore, an Irish employer may not be able to prevent employees who are working abroad from relying on protections afforded by the employment law applicable in that country simply because their contract states that it is subject to the law of Ireland.


Data privacy

Data Privacy in Ireland is governed by the GDPR, the Data Protection Acts, various regulations, and codes of practice.

The Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) is the independent authority in Ireland tasked with the provision of guidance in the area of data protection and, in some cases, the supervision and enforcement of data protection rights.

2

HIRING THE EMPLOYEE

Legal Requirements As To The Form Of Agreement

Irish employers are not obliged to enter into a contract of employment with their employees. However, the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 makes it mandatory to furnish certain information (such as remuneration levels and nature of the work) in writing. Written contracts are the norm and employment relationships ungoverned by written contracts are relatively unusual.


Mandatory Requirements
  • Trial Period

    • Employers are not required to offer a trial or probationary period to new employees. It is common practice, however, for a trial period of (usually) between three (3) and six (6) months to be provided for in employment contracts. There is nothing to prevent an employer from disposing of the employee’s services at the conclusion of the probationary period if the employer is not satisfied with the employee’s performance.

  • Hours Of Work

    • Irish working hours are governed by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. This comprehensive legislation provides for a number of additional protections including maximum working hours at night and regular rest breaks. The core principle is that the maximum average working week for the majority of employees cannot exceed 48 hours. Certain types of employees are dealt with differently, including the army and the police force.

  • Special Rules For Part-time Work

    • See “Part-time Employees”, below.

  • Earnings

    • The National Minimum Wage Act, 2000 allows the Government to set a minimum wage. The current rate is €10.20 an hour. The legislation provides for a staggered system of rates for employees under 18 and trainee employees. The rate typically increases by small increments annually.

  • Holidays/Rest Periods

    • Holiday entitlements are set out in the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. In addition, holiday entitlements are almost always provided for in contracts of employment. The 1997 Act provides for a minimum of four (4) weeks paid holidays per annum, although there is nothing to prevent an employer from offering a longer holiday allowance. The Act also sets out a mechanism for calculating leave where an employee has worked for less than one (1) calendar year.

  • Minimum/Maximum Age

    • The working hours of all persons under the age of 18 are regulated by the Protection of Young Persons (Employment) Act 1996. As a general rule, persons under 16 cannot be in full-time employment although employers may employ such persons to do “light work” (work for a fixed number of hours per day).

  • Illness/Disability

    • No legislation currently specifically governs sick leave entitlements, and an Irish employer is not obliged to pay an employee during sick leave (although the present Government has committed to introducing Statutory Sick Pay in 2021). At present, it is fairly typical for an employee’s contract of employment to provide for a (usually short) period of paid sick leave dependent upon production of a doctor’s certificate. Unless provided for in individual contracts of employment, sick leave for longer than one (1) month is usually unpaid. Provision is made in Irish law for state-provided illness benefit (subject to sufficient social insurance contributions) which can be claimed during periods of unpaid sick leave.

    In line with the provisions of the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015, employers are precluded from discriminating against disabled employees in the course of their employment. Equally, disabled interviewees cannot be treated differently to non-disabled interviewees. “Disability” is given an extremely broad definition in legislation.

  • Location Of Work/Mobility

    • The Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 provides that an employer must appraise the employee in writing of the place where they will carry out their work. This is usually referred to in the contract of employment.

  • Pension Plans

    • Employers are under no obligation to operate or contribute to an employee pension plan. However, employers must facilitate employee access to Personal Retirement Savings Accounts. This is not an onerous obligation.

  • Parental Rights (Pregnancy/ Maternity/ Paternity/ Adoption)

    • All female employees (entirely irrespective of length of service or working hours) are automatically entitled to Maternity Leave. The basic entitlement is 26 weeks maternity leave (during which the employee is entitled to state-provided maternity benefit) together with 16 weeks additional maternity leave (during which the employee has no entitlement to state-provided maternity benefit). Many Irish employers pay their employees during the first 26 weeks, but it is highly unusual to do so during the second 16-week period.

    Employers are under no obligation to pay employees during Adoptive Leave, although contracts of employment may allow for this (it remains quite rare in practice). The basic entitlement is to 24 weeks Adoptive Leave (during which the employee is entitled to state-provided benefit) together with 16 weeks additional unpaid Adoptive Leave (during which the employee is not entitled to state provided benefit).

    A parent is also entitled to take Parental Leave for each child born or adopted. The leave must be taken before the child reaches 12 years of age, except where the child has a disability. In such cases, the age limit is 16 years. For adopted children, if the child is aged between 10 and 12 years at the time of the adoption, the leave must be taken within two years of the adoption order.

    The amount of parental leave that can be taken was increased to 26 from 22 weeks in 2020.

    Paternity Leave of two (2) weeks within the first six (6) months of the life of the child/six (6) months since the adoption placement is available to the parents or adoptive parents (other than the mother) of the child. Again, subject to social insurance contributions, an employee may claim a benefit from the State during this period.

    Each parent of a child is entitled to five (5) weeks Parents Leave within the first two (2) years of the child’s life, or within two (2) year of the placement of the child in the case of adoption. Parents may apply for Parent’s Benefit from the State during this period of leave.

  • Compulsory Terms

    • The Terms of Employment legislation provides that an employer must provide certain terms in writing. These include the title or nature of the work, the date employment began, amount of pay, details of rest periods, sick leave, pension, and notice periods.

  • Non-Compulsory Terms

    • Leaving aside the mandatory provisions of the Terms of Employment legislation, which must be provided to an employee in writing, any employer and employee are free to include any terms they wish in a contract of employment.


Types Of Agreement

It is usual for the employment relationship to be governed by a formal contract of employment, frequently incorporated into a letter from the employer to the prospective employee which becomes binding when signed by both parties.

  1. Agency Workers.
  2. Legislation enacted in 2012, the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act, provides that an agency worker is entitled to the basic working and employment conditions they would benefit from if they were employed directly by the third-party employer.
  3. The Act provides that the following qualify as basic working and employment conditions:
    1. Pay;
    2. Working time;
    3. Rest periods;
    4. Rest breaks;
    5. Night work;
    6. Overtime;
    7. Overtime; Annual leave; or
    8. Public Holidays.
  4. There is one very significant exemption that relates to pay alone (commonly referred to as the ‘Swedish Derogation’. The Act provides that the obligation to provide the same basic working and employment conditions to agency workers does not apply to pay if:
    1. Before the worker and employment agency enter into a contract of employment, the agency notifies the worker that the provisions of the Act relating to equal pay will not apply; and
    2. Between assignments, the agency worker is paid at least half of the pay.
  5. Fixed-term employees cannot be treated in a less favourable manner than comparable permanent employees unless the employer is able to justify (by reference to objective factors) any different treatment. The use of repeated fixed-term contracts is quite tightly regulated, and employers cannot easily avoid providing an employee with a Contract of Indefinite Duration once a certain period of time has passed.
  6. Part-time Employees: Equally, employees with part-time contracts cannot be treated in a less favourable manner than comparable permanent employees unless the employer is able to justify any different treatment by reference to objective factors.

Secrecy/Confidentiality

Irish law provides for an action for “breach of confidence” where a person discloses confidential information imparted to him in circumstances where he was under an obligation not to disclose it. Irish employment contracts will generally always, where appropriate, include an enforceable confidentiality clause. Inclusion of such a clause in an employment contract is critically important in certain sectors where an employee may have access to patents or design processes.


Ownership of Inventions/Other Intellectual Property (IP) Rights

Irish employment contracts will invariably provide that the ownership of any intellectual property created by the employee in the course of employment will vest in the employer. Where this is not provided for, certain statutes will automatically provide that the employer owns the right to the creation. However, the rules are somewhat opaque, and it is best practice to make specific provision in the contract of employment.


Pre-Employment Considerations

Employers should ensure they do not discriminate in hiring. A candidate who believes they have been discriminated against under any of the nine (9) protected grounds can issue Workplace Relations Commission proceedings.

Although there is no concept of “background” checks in Ireland, certain employment situations may require Garda Vetting – a process conducted by the Irish police force. This only applies where the employee will be dealing with children or vulnerable adults.

Any processing of Personal Data during the application process must be conducted in line with Data Protection rules.


Hiring Non-Nationals

It is a criminal offence to employ a person who is not entitled to work in Ireland. A non-national from outside the European Economic Area and Switzerland may not be employed without a valid permission allowing them to work in Ireland.


Hiring Specified Categories Of Individuals

There are limited restrictions on the employer’s right to hire. Certain persons cannot be required to perform certain duties. Children under a certain age, for example, cannot be employed for more than a fixed number of hours per day.


Outsourcing And/Or Sub-Contracting/Temporary Agency Work

An employee works under a contract of service. An independent contractor provides services under a contract for services. In Ireland, the statutory protections afforded by employment statutes in most cases only apply to those deemed to be employees. In addition, an individual’s status as an employee or self-employed person will affect whether an employer has certain tax obligations in respect of that individual. In circumstances where an employer seeks to outsource work by hiring independent contractors rather than employees, this distinction between a contract of service and a contract for services is a very important one.

The test is as to whether a worker is an independent contractor, or an employee is a qualitative one and there is no single factor which determines whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee. It is necessary to look at the totality of the situation, with no single factor being determinative of the relationship. The more indicators of an independent contractor relationship that are present, the more likely the contract will be deemed to be a contract for services. In general terms, the more business-like the relationship overall and the greater the capacity of the service provider to generate a profit by reference to the level or efficiency of their work, the more likely the relationship will be deemed to be a contract for services.

In practice, the Irish Courts/Tribunals have examined the true nature pf the parties’ legal relationship. Depending on the particular facts, it would not be unusual for the Courts/Tribunals to find that the so-called “independent contractor” is in fact an employee and that the termination of the contractual arrangements between the parties amounts to an unfair dismissal.

It is likely that Ireland will see increasing numbers of cases relating to employment status and the “Gig Economy” in the coming years.

3

MAINTAINING THE EMPLOYEE RELATIONSHIP

Changes To The Contract

An employer cannot make significant changes to the contract of employment without the consent of the employee. It is advisable to obtain the written consent of an employee to any variation in the terms and conditions of employment as a purported change in the terms and conditions of the contract will not otherwise be enforceable.


Change In Ownership Of The Business

The law applicable to a change in ownership of a business (i.e. a transfer of undertakings) in Ireland is the European Communities (Protection of Employees on Transfer of Undertakings Regulations) 2003 (the “2003 Regulations”).

The 2003 Regulations provide that when a business (or part of a business) is transferred legally from one employer (the “transferor”) to another (the “transferee”), employees are protected in the event of the change of employer and their terms and conditions transfer automatically and unchanged to the new employer. It is a defence for the employer to show that changes in the terms and conditions of employment or termination of contracts of employment are required for “economic, technical or organisational reasons”.

The 2003 Regulations apply to any transfer of an undertaking, business or part of an undertaking or business from one (1) employer to another employer as a result of a legal transfer or a merger. Share sale transfers do not constitute a transfer because there is only a change of the underlying ownership. Charities are included in the definition of an undertaking.

All rights and obligations from contracts of employment, including continuous service, remuneration, holidays, and other benefits are transferred.

In respect of pension rights, the transfer of obligations does not include an obligation to set up, fund and maintain a pension scheme. There is, however, an obligation to ensure that the interests of employees and persons no longer employed in the transferor’s business are protected in respect of rights conferring on them immediate or prospective entitlement to old age benefits, including survivor benefits.

Employers must engage in an information and consultation process with employee representatives (or employees themselves) at least 30 days in advance of the transfer or where that is not reasonably practicable, “in good time” in advance of the transfer.


Social Security Contributions

Social insurance contributions in Ireland are referred to as PRSI (Pay Related Social Insurance) contributions and they entitle employees to a number of benefits.

An employer in Ireland must account to the State for PRSI in respect of its employees. The amount paid is directly related to an employee’s earnings and the type of work they are employed to do. Employers must deduct PRSI contributions directly from the employee’s wages. Similarly, each employer must pay a PRSI contribution for the employee.


Accidents At Work

Employers must ensure that they provide a safe working environment to their employees under the applicable Health and Safety legislation. Employers are categorically required to carry out a health and safety assessment of the workplace and prepare a health and safety statement describing the procedures in place to protect their employees. The employees themselves have the right to access to this statement. Health and Safety Inspectors (under the auspices of the Health and Safety Authority) are statutorily-entitled to inspect workplaces.


Discipline And Grievance

While Irish employers are not specifically required to implement a grievance procedure, it is recommended to have a written policy in place. Employers are required by law to furnish to employees at the commencement of employment with the disciplinary process which will be utilised to bring about dismissal, should it be required The Irish courts and statutory employment tribunals will expect fair procedures to be followed by employers in disciplining employees and the absence of a process will be poorly regarded.

A disciplinary procedure will be expected to include a number of stages (typically verbal warning/first written warning/second written warning) and an employee must be given an opportunity to improve at each stage. In addition, a final appeal (to a figure in management not previously involved in the process) is usual.

Likewise, the courts will expect an employer to have a fair process in place whereby employees are given an opportunity to ventilate their grievances.


Harassment/Discrimination/Equal pay

Both sexual and non-sexual harassment (including bullying in the workplace) are prohibited by Irish equality legislation. In addition, it is very common for employment handbooks to treat either as a disciplinary offence.

Discrimination is prohibited under Employment Equality legislation. An employer may not discriminate between employees under a number of headings including gender and disability.

Similarly, an employee is entitled to equal pay for equal work and may bring a claim where he or she believes that their employer is contravening this.


Compulsory Training Obligations

There are no compulsory training obligations with general applicability. However, an employer is obliged under the Health and Safety legislation to provide employees with a safe work environment and adequate training is an inherent component of this. An obvious example is to ensure that manual handling employees are trained in correct lifting procedures.


Offsetting Earnings

The Payment of Wages Act 1991 prohibits deductions from an employee’s wags save for “authorised deductions”. Authority to make deductions from an employee’s wages may be given in one of three (3) ways: by statute; by express contractual term; or otherwise by written consent.


Payments For Maternity And Disability Leave

Pregnant employees are not automatically entitled to paid maternity leave. It is, however, commonplace for the first period of 26 weeks to be paid. An employer will generally expect the employee to account for the state-provided maternity benefit. Identical provisions exist in respect of other forms of protected leave.

Employers are under no obligation to pay their employees while absent from work by reason of illness or disability although contracts of employment will generally provide for a limited period during which the employee will be paid. Employees absent because of illness or disability will generally be expected to account to the employer for state-provided benefits if they continue to be paid.


Compulsory Insurance

Irish employers will generally always maintain employer’s liability insurance and public liability insurance. Certain sectors (the legal sector, for example) will require additional insurance coverage including professional indemnity insurance.


Absence For Military Or Public Service Duties

Most Irish citizens are eligible to be called for jury service. Employers are required to pay employees while serving on juries and employees may not lose any employment entitlements or rights while serving on juries. There are currently no obligatory military duties in Ireland that employers are required to facilitate.


Works Councils or Trade Unions

All Irish employees have a Constitutional right to join a trade union. However, the employee who exercises such a constitutional right cannot insist that an employer recognise their union. The right conferred by the Constitution is an individual personal right and does not carry with it the obligation on an employer to recognise the trade union. Recognition of a trade union by an employer may arise by express agreement, but also be implied agreement (e.g. course of dealing between the parties or by the recognition of a trade union for certain purposes such as disciplinary hearings).

Ireland prohibits the military and the police (Garda Síochana) from forming and joining ordinary trade unions or from striking. Both groups are allowed to be represented by associations.


Employees’ Right To Strike

In Ireland there is no right to strike but rather there is a freedom in certain circumstances to strike, in that immunities from legal restrictions on strikes and industrial actions will be conferred provided certain conditions are met.

The Industrial Relations Act 1990 permits peaceful industrial action such as strikes (with the exception of the police and military) and picketing which a union takes in “contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute.” A trade dispute is defined as: “any dispute between employers and workers which is connected with the employment or non-employment, or the terms or conditions of or affecting employment, of any person.”

Before starting a legal industrial action, a union must win a majority of votes cast from a secret membership ballot. It also must give an employer seven days’ notice before striking. If licensed unions follow the procedures set forth in the 1990 Act before striking, both they and their members are sheltered against legal action and retaliation.

Failure to adhere to these required steps risks exposure to litigation (including an application for an injunction prohibiting the industrial action) being issued by the employer.


Employees On Strike

Employers in Ireland tend to discontinue the payment of wages or salary to those of its employees who go on strike.

Striking union members are protected by the Unfair Dismissals Acts which prevents employers from firing certain workers and also from selectively rehiring certain workers amongst those who were on strike or who were locked out.


Employers’ Responsibility For Actions Of Their Employees

An employer will be liable for the wrongful acts performed by an employee in the course of his/her employment, including wrongful acts performed in circumstances (i) where the employer has directly authorised those wrongful acts, (ii) where the employee performs a wrongful act which is not directly authorised by the employee but which is a means of carrying out an instruction of the employer which may in itself be lawful and (iii) where the wrongful act is not authorised by the employer but is so closely connected with another act which is authorised by the employer that the employer is liable for that act also.

4

FIRING THE EMPLOYEE

Procedures For Terminating the Agreement

The contract of employment will generally always set out the procedures that must be followed in order to terminate employment. Very few employment contracts omit a disciplinary procedure, and an employer will be expected to comply with fair procedures and with the terms of the contract governing discipline/dismissal. Failure to do so can lead to a successful claim for unfair dismissal.


Instant Dismissal

Contracts of employment will usually specify the types of conduct that warrant summary dismissal. Typical instances warranting summary dismissal include fighting, theft, damage to property or reporting for work under the influence of alcohol or drugs.


Employee's Resignation

There is nothing to prevent an employee from ending the employment relationship by resigning. The contract of employment will generally always stipulate a fixed notice period although it is possible for the employee to negotiate a shorter period. If there is no contract of employment or if the contract is silent regarding notice periods, the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment legislation sets out certain minimum notice periods, dependent upon length of service.


Termination On Notice

An employer can terminate the contract of employment on notice to the employee, but applicable Unfair Dismissals legislation allow an Irish employee to seek redress in circumstances where they have been unfairly dismissed from employment (in most cases, an employee must have 52 weeks of continuous service before they can bring a claim).

A dismissal is automatically presumed to be unfair unless there are substantial grounds justifying the dismissal. The employer must demonstrate grounds justifying dismissal and it is required to furnish, on request, a written statement setting out the reasons why the employee was dismissed. The legislation provides that a dismissal will be deemed not to be unfair if it results wholly or mainly from a number of factors including capability/competence, conduct, redundancy, or inability to work.


Termination By Reason Of The Employee's Age

There is no compulsory retirement age in Ireland. Traditionally employers and employees alike treated 65 as the de facto retirement age but this is changing. In recent years employees have initiated numerous challenges under equality legislation and many of those challenges have succeeded. At present, an employer will only realistically be able to enforce a retirement age where (a) provision is made in the contract of employment and (b) the employer has a Retirement Policy in force which justifies the use of retirement ages in the workplace by reference to specific factors. Even in those circumstances the retirement may be challenged. This is a developing area of law in Ireland (and, indeed, in Europe generally).


Automatic Termination In Cases Of Force Majeure

Frustration of a contract of employment can occur:

  • where there has been such a change in the circumstances that the performance of the contract has become unlawful;
  • where events make it physically impossible for the contract to be performed; or
  • where, although performance is physically possible, there has been such a change as to destroy the whole object of the contract and to make performance no longer commercially viable.

Examples of frustration of a contract in an employment situation include complete destruction of the workplace, imprisonment of an employee or death or serious accident or illness rendering the future performance of the employee’s obligations impossible (or entirely different from that which is set out in the contract of employment).

In should be noted that in the case of illness, if there is a prospect of the employee recovering, the contract may not be frustrated and clear evidence that the contract is impossible to perform will be required.


Collective Dismissals

A collective redundancy situation will only be triggered where the number of individuals dismissed passes thresholds specified in legislation.

Collective redundancies are subject to specific rules. Among other things, there is a mandatory consultation period and central Government must be notified of the planned redundancy.


Termination By Parties’ Agreement

There is nothing in Irish law preventing an employer and employee agreeing terms for the termination of the employment or agreeing, in particular cases, to waive the contractual notice provisions. In addition, a contract will usually provide that an employee can be paid in lieu of notice.


Directors Or Other Senior Officers

Irrespective of the seniority of the employee, the contract of employment will govern the relationship and there are no specific rules governing the employment of directors or other senior employees. However, senior employees are more likely to be held to the strict notice periods in their contracts and may have to comply with a restraint of trade clause. Also, in circumstances where a director’s contract of employment is terminated, the cessation of his/her directorship does not automatically follow. Further procedural steps must be taken in order to end the directorship.


Special Rules For Categories Of Employee

Certain employees are afforded greater protection. Pregnant women cannot be dismissed under any circumstances while on maternity leave, for example. In general, however, there are no legislative provisions mandating special treatment for certain employees.


Specific Rules For Companies in Financial Difficulties

The Irish State operates an Insolvency Payments Scheme designed to protect entitlements of employees whose employer has become legally insolvent. Employees may claim arrears of pay, holiday pay, pay in lieu of statutory notice and various other entitlements. In the case of the redundancy of an employee, in the first instance it is up to the employer to pay the statutory redundancy lump sum to all eligible employees.


Restricting Future Activities

Restraint of Trade clauses are relatively common in Irish employment contracts. It is not unusual, for example, for an employee to be restrained from taking work from clients/customers of his former employer for a fixed period of time.


Whistleblower Laws

Whistleblowing – also known as making a protected disclosure – is governed by The Protected Disclosures Act, 2014. The 2014 Act increases the compensation available to an employee to five years gross remuneration. If an employee can satisfy the WRC that they were penalised as a consequence of making a protected disclosure, they can receive an award up to this threshold.


Special Rules For Garden Leave

There are no statutory provisions dealing with Garden Leave as such. It is common for employers to insert a Garden Leave clause into individual contracts of employment, and these are usually unassailable.


Severance Payments

In the case of redundancy and unfair dismissal, statutory payments may be made to an employee which are calculated by reference to the employee’s length of service (in the context of a redundancy) and/or the employee’s financial loss (in the case of an unfair dismissal), both of which are subject to a statutory maximum.

In the case of ex-gratia severance payments made to employees upon termination of their employment, normal contractual principles apply.


Special Tax Provisions And Severance Payments

All payments relating to the termination of employment, whether paid at the time of termination or thereafter, are subject to taxation. Taxation applies whether the payments are agreed as part of a settlement or an ex-gratia payment and where awarded by the WRC or the courts. The applicable taxation provisions are contained in the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997.

The statutory redundancy payment is tax-free.


Allowances Payable To Employees After Termination

Save where contractually obliged, employers are not required to contribute to any allowances payable to employees after termination.


Time Limits For Claims Following Termination

Most claims to the WRC must be taken within six (6) months of the date of dismissal/date of the incident. This six (6) month time limit may be extended to 12-months where reasonable cause for the delay can be shown.

5

GENERAL

Specific Matters Which Are Important Or Unique To This Jurisdiction

It is also important to note that the WRC does not compensate claimants for damages relating to stress, personal injuries, defamation, or inconvenience. Compensation is limited to actual financial loss of up to two (2) years’ gross remuneration in most cases; gross remuneration can include not only salary but also the cost to the employer of other benefits provided to the employee. The dismissed employee must seek alternative employment after his/her dismissal and failure to do so will be considered when assessing compensation.



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Contact a Contributing Author:
Patrick Walshe
Philip Lee Solicitors
Dublin, Ireland

Disclaimer:

© 2024, Philip Lee. All rights reserved by Philip Lee as author and the owner of the copyright in this chapter. Philip Lee has granted to Multilaw non-exclusive worldwide license to use and include this chapter in this guide and to sublicense Lexis Nexis, a division of RELX Inc. and its affiliates certain rights to use and distribute this Guide.

The information in the How to Hire and Fire Guide provides a general overview at the time of publication and is not intended to be a comprehensive review of all legal developments nor should it be taken as opinion or legal advice on the matters covered. It is for general information purposes only and readers should take legal advice from a Multilaw member firm.

Publication Date: February 2024