How to create offer letters for employees in Ireland [2024]
Ready to fill that vacant position at your company? Once you’ve selected the right candidate, the next step in the onboarding process is sending them an offer letter.
An offer of employment is a crucial step when you’re trying to hire an employee in Ireland. Not only does it give you the chance to lay out the specifics of the position and start the salary and benefits negotiation process with the applicant, but it also protects you from the legal ramifications you could face by not staying compliant with Irish employment law.
Here’s everything you need to send a legally compliant offer letter to hire a full-time employee in the Republic of Ireland.
Ireland job offer letter checklist
- Position (job title), job description, commencement date, and probationary period. Inform the new hire that they will undergo an initial probation period to ensure they are the right fit for the position and indicate how long this will last. According to Irish law, six months is the maximum amount of time a person can be on probation at work.
- Location. Specify whether the employee will be performing their duties from home, in the office, or a mix of both. If they need to commute, provide the address. This will ensure they know where to report on their first day.
- Benefits and compensation.
- Salary. In addition to the amount of the employee’s annual salary, indicate the pay reference period–whether they’ll be paid weekly, fortnightly, or monthly–and how they can expect to receive the funds (check or direct deposit).
- Pensions. Let the new hire know about the pension schemes your company offers, including whether the plan was set up by the organization itself or via a contract with a PRSA provider, who they should contract to set up their scheme, and how long they have to enroll after their initial start date.
- Benefits. Although specific information about employee benefits isn’t expected until the employment contract, it’s a good idea to address the benefits your company provides in general terms in the initial job offer letter. In the Republic of Ireland, the following are the statutory benefits for full-time employees: paid annual leave, paid sick leave, workers' compensation, paid maternity and parental leave.
- Vacation. Clearly state the amount of vacation time the employee can expect each year, especially if your company offers more than the legally required statutory entitlement of four weeks of paid annual leave. Include your organization’s policy for requesting time off from work and let the employee know how much advance notice they should be prepared to give.
- Hours of work. Let the employee know their expected working hours and the company’s overtime policies. Under the Republic of Ireland’s labor laws, the standard working week is 39 hours. This number can vary a little from week to week, but to be in compliance with Irish legal code, when the employee calculates how many hours they’ve worked each week over a set reference period, the average must not exceed 48 hours per week. Additionally, all workers are entitled to extra pay if they work on Sundays.
- Sick leave. Irish employment law recently changed on the subject of employer-paid sick leave. As of January 1, 2024, all workers are entitled to five paid sick days per year, in accordance with the Sick Leave Act. This number will be increased to seven days in January 2025, until it reaches 10 days as of January 2026. If you’re offering more than the minimum amount, indicate your sick leave policy in the offer letter. Be sure to update any offer letter templates to reflect the new laws.
- Confidentiality. Include your company’s confidentiality and non-disclosure clauses in the offer letter.
- Termination policy. Clearly explain your company’s policies on termination, including reasons employees can be dismissed and how much notice they should expect to receive. You should also indicate where they can find your organization’s written grievance and disciplinary procedures, as required by the Workplace Relations Committee.
- Conditions precedent. If the job offer is conditional based on the employee fulfilling certain conditions, that should be stated in the letter under a section entitled “conditions precedent.” Be clear about exactly what these conditions are. Common examples include providing suitable references, being registered with relevant professional organizations, undergoing Garda vetting, and having a clean bill of health. Additionally, specify what will happen if the employee does not meet these requirements.
- Contact Information. Provide contact details for the new hire to reach out in case they have any questions or need further assistance during the onboarding process.
- Parallel employment. Irish employment law now protects workers who hold two or more jobs simultaneously from any action on the part of their employers. However, there are a couple of exceptions to this rule. You can require staff members to work for your company exclusively if working someplace else would:
- Impair their health or risk their safety
- Result in a conflict of interest with your company
- Violate the terms of the confidentiality clause
- Impede their productivity
- Affect your and/or their compliance with applicable statutory obligations
If you object to their taking on secondary employment, you must clearly state this in the offer letter and explain why.
Onboard employees in Ireland in 90 seconds with Rippling
Rippling can help you hire and onboard employees in Ireland within minutes.
Just click "hire" and Rippling will automatically:
- Generate country-specific hiring agreements
- Run background check
- Verify minimum wage and leave requirements
- Add to locally compliant overtime policies
- Send IP agreement
- Enroll in country-specific benefits
- Assign country-specific compliance training
- Order, configure, and ship work laptop
- Set up third-party apps like Slack or Zoom
- Set up single sign-on
- Configure WiFi
- Add to payroll
- Issue and ship corporate card, and apply card limits and policies
Rippling is the only platform that offers everything you need to manage a global workforce, all in a single system.
Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.
