Everything you need to start working in Ireland

Your right to work

• EU, EEA, Swiss and UK citizens can live and work in Ireland without an employment permit.
• Everyone else needs an immigration permission that allows work, such as a valid employment permit or another permission whose conditions allow you to work. Always check the conditions printed on your permission.
• If you are staying in Ireland for longer than 90 days, you must register your immigration permission. You will receive an Irish Residence Permit (IRP) card, which shows your stamp.
• Graduates of an eligible Irish higher education qualification may be able to move to the Third Level Graduate Programme (Stamp 1G), which allows work for up to two years depending on the level of your qualification. Staying on after that generally requires an employment permit.

Students on a Stamp 2

• The holiday periods when you can work up to 40 hours a week are 1 June to 30 September and 15 December to 15 January.
• To work, you need a valid IRP card showing Stamp 2 permission and a PPS number.
• Stamp 2 holders cannot be self-employed or run their own business.
• Students with Stamp 2A permission are not allowed to work.
• The main purpose of a student permission is study. Your attendance and course progress matter when you renew it.

Getting set up

1. Get a PPS number

   Your Personal Public Service (PPS) number is your unique reference for tax, social welfare and public services. You apply online through MyWelfare.ie with a basic MyGovID account, then book and attend an in-person appointment at a PPS Number Allocation Centre. Your number is sent to you by post.

   Bring photo ID (non-EU citizens generally need a current passport) and proof of your address that is no more than 3 months old, such as a utility bill, bank statement, official letter or tenancy agreement.

2. Register your job with Revenue

   Register for myAccount on revenue.ie, then go to PAYE Services and choose Add Job or Pension Details. You will need your employer's registration number, which your employer can give you. Revenue then sends your employer the details they need to deduct the right amount of tax.

   Do this as soon as you start your first job. If Revenue does not have your details, you may be put on emergency tax and pay far more tax than you should until it is sorted out. For any later jobs, your new employer registers the job for you.

3. Understand your deductions

   Three deductions are normally taken from your pay: income tax (PAYE), the Universal Social Charge (USC) and Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI). Tax credits reduce the income tax you pay, which is why registering with Revenue matters.

   If you rent your home privately, you may be able to claim the Rent Tax Credit through Revenue myAccount.

Pay and the minimum wage

Coming in 2027: the adult minimum wage is due to rise to €14.94 per hour from 1 January 2027.

• What counts towards the minimum wage: basic pay, shift premiums, bonuses and commission. What does not count: overtime, unsocial hours, weekend and public holiday premiums, sick pay and holiday pay.
• Payslips: your employer must give you a written payslip every time you are paid, showing your gross pay and every deduction separately. Your payslip must be kept confidential.
• Tips: you are legally entitled to tips paid electronically (by card or app), and your employer cannot keep a share of them. Tips cannot be used to make up your contracted pay, and businesses must display their policy on how tips and service charges are shared.
• Sunday work: if working Sundays is not already reflected in your pay, you are entitled to compensation, such as an allowance, a higher rate of pay, paid time off, or a combination.
• You can ask your employer for a written statement of your average hourly pay for any period in the last 12 months. They have 4 weeks to give it to you.

Your contract and terms

Within 5 days of starting, your employer must give you these core terms in writing:

• Your name and your employer's name and address
• Where you will work
• Your job title or a description of the work
• Your start date, and end date if the job is temporary
• Your pay, how often and how you will be paid
• Your expected daily and weekly hours, and overtime terms
• The policy on tips and service charges, where relevant
• Any probation period

Within one month, you must receive a full written statement covering the rest of your terms, including paid leave, sick leave terms, pension, notice periods and training. Your employer must tell you about any change to these terms in writing no later than the day it takes effect.

Hours and breaks

• You are entitled to 24 hours in a row off in every 7 days, in addition to your daily rest.
• Your average working week cannot be more than 48 hours, usually averaged over 4 months.
• Your employer does not have to pay you for break time unless your contract says so.

Holidays and sick leave

Annual leave

• Part-time workers usually earn 8% of the hours they work as paid annual leave, up to a maximum of 4 working weeks a year. For example, 500 hours worked earns 40 hours of paid leave.
• The leave year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Holiday pay is paid in advance at your normal rate.

Public holidays

Ireland has 10 public holidays: New Year's Day, St Brigid's Day (first Monday in February, or 1 February if it falls on a Friday), St Patrick's Day, Easter Monday, the first Mondays in May, June and August, the last Monday in October, Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day.

• Part-time workers qualify once they have worked 40 hours in the previous 5 weeks.
• You get one of these: a paid day off on the day, a paid day off within a month, an extra day of annual leave, or an extra day's pay. If you do not normally work that day, you get one-fifth of your weekly pay.

Sick leave

• After 13 weeks with your employer, you are entitled to 5 paid sick days a year, paid at 70% of your normal daily pay up to €110 a day.
• You need a medical certificate from a doctor from the first day of sick leave. Unused days do not carry over to the next year.

Workplace pension (auto-enrolment)

Since 1 January 2026, employees are automatically enrolled in the My Future Fund pension scheme if they are aged 23 to 60, earn €20,000 or more a year across all jobs, and are not already paying into a pension through payroll.

• You must stay in for at least 6 months. You can then opt out during months 7 and 8 and get your own contributions back.
• If you do not meet the age or pay criteria, you can choose to opt in if you are over 18.

Workers under 18

• 16 and 17-year-olds can work a maximum of 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week.
• They cannot start before 6am, and must finish by 10pm the night before a school day, or by 11pm before a day with no school (and not start again before 7am).
• They are entitled to a 30-minute break after 4.5 hours, 12 hours off in every 24 hours, and 2 days off in every 7.
• The minimum wage for under-18s is €9.91 an hour (70% of the adult rate).

If something goes wrong

1. Raise it with your employer

   Many problems with pay, rosters or holidays are mistakes that can be fixed quickly. Raise it calmly and in writing if you can, and keep copies of your payslips and contract.

2. Get free, independent information

   Citizens Information explains your rights in plain English, free of charge, online, by phone and in local centres.

3. Make a complaint to the WRC

   The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) deals with complaints about pay, hours, holidays, tips and contracts. Complaints must normally be made within 6 months of the problem.