IrelandLately, Ireland’s competitive talent has inspired the question, “how to hire talent in Ireland” among employers worldwide.
With literacy rate at 99% and a significant number of postgraduate degree holders, Ireland occupies an noteworthy position as a talent hub for businesses. Companies can also suitably expand into more lucrative consumer markets in Europe by tapping into Ireland’s skilled workforce.
With so many benefits, employers must have a thorough understanding of local labor laws, statutory minimums and compliance requirements before beginning to hire in Ireland.
This article helps understand all you need to know before hiring people in Ireland.
Things to Know Before Hiring in Ireland
Here are a few things to keep in mind while hiring employees in Ireland.
Talent availability
Ireland’s workforce is one of the most competitive in the world. Over 50% of Ireland’s 25-34 yeard olds have a tertiary degree.
Moreover, Ireland boasts an international talent pool with graduates from the countries in the European Union and other non-EU countries. Thus, employers can build highly diverse workforces bringing new cultures and perspectives into their organization.
Salary trends
Over the last few years, salaries in the STEM sector have varied drastically. Skills shortage is increasing in areas like Engineering with Software Engineering witnessig an increase in the shortage for talent of 10%-15%.
Job boards
Employers can post job advertisements on job portals to screen and recruit candidates. Job portals such as Linkedin, Indeed, jobs.ie, Irish jobs are some websites employers can use to post job advertisements.
Employment laws
Compliance is critical when hiring in Ireland. Employers need to stay mindful of Ireland’s employment laws when hiring in the island nation.
Ireland does not have any Act that governs statutory requirements. However, a specific number of Acts inform each aspect of employment. Additionally, employers need to stay aware of EU directives that regulate working hours, holidays, minimum wages, and other parts of employment.
Payroll & benefits and compensation
When learning how to hire in Ireland, employers cannot discount the country’s payroll laws. Payroll laws govern an en employee’s benefits, contributions, and taxes. Employers must be aware of packaging salaries, offering compliant benefits, and deducting income taxes when hiring in Ireland.
Although laws regulate benefits such as maternity leaves, parental leaves, and minimum wages, Ireland’s statutes do not govern employment benefits such as health insurance, fringe benefits, etc.
Generally, employers offer health insurance, flexible work arrangements, and pension schemes. However, it is ever necessary to understand trends in benefits and remain competitive in providing the same.
Employers tax
When hiring employees in Ireland, employers must understand the employers’ tax. These include
- Income Tax (IT)
- Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI)
- Universal Social Charge (USC)
- Local Property Tax (LPT) deduction at source.
The frequency at which employers pay these taxes depends on their employee’s payroll cycle. If employees are paid weekly, the employer must submit a payroll submission each week.
The Cost of Hiring an Employee in Ireland
When hiring an employee in Ireland, one shall take into account that the employer costs include the contributions they pay, taxes, and VAT. However, employers incur costs even before they begin their recruitment process in Ireland due to advertising roles, establishing the entity, etc.
Thus, make sure to account for direct and indirect employer costs:
- Job advertisements
- Background checks
- Salary
- PAYE contributions
- Bonus and commissions
- Health insurance
What Does a Company Need to Hire Employees in Ireland?
When understanding how to hire employees in Ireland, employers must learn the essentials behind hiring an employee in Ireland.
Local entity
Before hiring someone in Ireland, employers must register their company with the Companies Registration Office (CRO). The most common business form is a Limited Liability Company (LTD).
Employers would require the following to register their company and start hiring in Ireland:
- Form A1
- Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association
- Constitution of the company
- Residential proof of the directors
- Letter or Status of the company
- ID proof of the shareholders and directors
Compliant employment contracts
Employers need to be aware of creating compliant employment contracts adhering to the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994–20142.
Employment contracts must contain the following details:
- Full name/s of the employer
- Full name of the employee
- Full address of the employer and the place of work
- Employee’s designation
- Start date of employment
- The duration of employment if the contract of employment is temporary,
- Rate of pay and the payroll cycle – weekly, monthly
- Terms relating to overtime
- Terms relating to paid sick leave and long term leaves concerning accidents
- Notice period
- Terms relating to Pension schemes
Work permits
Employers may need to check if candidates have the right to work in Ireland. Although Irish citizens are naturally absorbed into the workforce, immigrants need to obtain a work permit legally to work in Ireland.
Employers need to provide non-EU and non-EEA citizens with the necessary documents to obtain a work permit. Employees can apply for a work permit in the local immigration office.
Partner with a PEO or an EOR
Businesses can partner with a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) or an Employer of Record (EOR) to save money and opportunity costs.
Employers availing the services of a PEO or an EOR can employ talent without worrying about local labor laws. An EOR partner helps employers offload compliance risks, payroll, and HR hassles.
Various Options for Hiring Employees in Ireland
The Irish job market legally defines different types of employment in its different labor laws. The employment laws cover permanent employees, temporary employees, part-time workers, agency workers, young workers, and immigrant employees.
Full-time workers
Hiring full-time workers is the most conventional form of hiring staff in Ireland. Full-time employees are entitled to all rights mandated by various employment laws. Employers must offer compliant and competitive benefits such as social insurance, leaves, protection against dismissal, etc.
Part-time employees
Part-time employees work for a minimum number of hours (usually 20 hours) per week. Their rights are protected by The Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001. Part-time workers are still entitled to employment contracts, payslips, pensions, and benefits.
Fixed-term contractors
Fixed-term employees or contractors are workers with:
- A fixed-term employment contract
- Autonomy over where and how they work
- High specificity in the scope of the work
Fixed-term employees are protected by the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003. After working for 12 months, contractors are covered by the unfair dismissal legislation, meaning they cannot be treated less favorably than permanent workers.
Agency workers
An agency worker is a suitably qualified person signed up with an agency to work for another undertaking, either temporarily or permanently. Agency workers are protected by The Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012.
Seasonal workers
Seasonal workers are employees who work for a limited period.
Young workers
16-18-year-olds are eligible to become employees, but their working hours are limited. They are not allowed to work between 10 p.m and 6 a.m.
Apprentices (trainees)
Apprentices or trainees enjoy special protection against dismissal and access to the complete insurance program. If you employ underage apprentices, you must draw up a written apprenticeship contract with an agreement from their legal representative.
The Steps to Hiring in Ireland
When hiring employees in Ireland, employers can follow a few best practices to hire talent seamlessly. Follow the steps below to streamline your recruitment process in Ireland.
Step 1: Set up an entity or partner with an Employer of Record
Before hiring an employee in Ireland, employers must set up a subsidiary in the island nation. Subsidiaries can be formed as a Representative Office (RO), provided the entity does not carry out revenue-generating activities.
Employers can incorporate a Private Limited Liability Company (LTD) in other cases. This entity makes the employer legally compliant to hire in Ireland.
If businesses cannot start an entity in Ireland, they can partner with an Employer of Record (EOR). Using an EOR, companies can hire an employee in Ireland without a local entity. The employees are onboarded onto the Employer of record’s payroll, becoming the legal employer of the employee.
Employers can offload all compliance and employment risks onto the EOR. At the same time, they can seamlessly manage the day-day activities of the employee without worrying about all the hassles of employment, payrolling, and compliance.
Step 2: Post job advertisements
The recruitment process will begin with posting job advertisements on the job boards.
The most common job portals in Ireland are indeed.com, Irishjobs.com, jobs.ie and Linkedin.
As a best practice, employers must prepare a thorough job description containing the job’s roles and responsibilities.
Advertising your company’s flagship benefits is crucial to hiring employees in Ireland and retaining them. In addition, promoting worker advantages will help you garner more eyeballs for your job description.
Step 3: Review applications
Once many applicants apply for the role, employers need to screen the candidate carefully.
Ireland’s workforce is highly literate, with several employees with tertiary degrees. Thus there is no shortage of highly skilled labor.
The onus falls on the employer to carefully scrutinize applicants when hiring employees in Ireland.
Step 4: Conduct interviews
In Ireland, the interview process is generally 2-5 rounds long. However, processes vary concerning the role, competition, and level of skill demanded by the position.
Generally, selected candidates undergo a telephonic interview first. This is to ensure that the candidate is genuinely passionate about this role.
Once the employer validates the candidate’s interest, the latter is sent a preliminary test that validates the technical skills demanded by the role.
The candidate is also requested to appear for an in-person interview in some cases. If the employer feels that the candidate has performed well, the latter is called for subsequent rounds until the employer selects or rejects the candidate.
It is important to note that employers must comply with the Equality Acts 1998‐2004 throughout the recruitment and selection process in Ireland. Employers must treat all applicants equally regardless of color, race, gender, or creed.
Step 5: Run background checks
Although background checks are uncommon in Ireland, employers can conduct checks if they feel they must validate specific aspects of the candidate. This is common in roles such as healthcare and manufacturing, where employees maybe are exposed to vulnerable working conditions.
Selected candidates offer the necessary information to undergo a criminal record check. The entire process must be GDPR compliant.
Step 6: Draft compliant employment contracts
Once the employee’s skills and background information is vetted, employers must prepare an employment contract compliant with the Terms of Employment (Information) Act, 1994.
Step 7: Onboard the new hire
The employer must provide a written statement of the employee’s contract within five days of starting their new job. It should include the five core terms of employment.
This includes:
- The full name of the employer and the employee
- Employer’s address
- Duration of contract (if the contract is fixed)
- Payroll cycle
- Minimum working hours per day and per week
If any terms of employment are subject to revision and consequently some delay, the remaining terms of work must be laid out in writing within two months of starting the job.
Let Multiplier be Your EOR Platform in Ireland
The hiring process in Ireland should be reasonably straightforward, provided employers keep the hiring process compliant with local labor laws. Although laws around hiring in Ireland are simple to decipher, employers need to stay abreast of changes across various rules and regulations, EU directives, and civil law.
An Employer of Record (EOR) can help you hire in Ireland without worrying about compliance and local employment laws.
Multiplier’s EOR solution can help employers expanding into Ireland onboard Irish talent with ease. Our SaaS-based platform enables you to generate compliant employment contracts, offer ESOPs for employees, and onboard contractors and freelancers with ease.
Additionally, our SaaS-based platform also features a one-click payroll solution enabling employers to carry out mass payouts in local currencies.
