Global Expansion Resources | Ireland
Ireland HR Services
Expand your business into Ireland without the HR burden
Let Leap29 handle your Irish HR responsibilities
Expanding into Ireland, one of the world’s leading destinations for global investment, is fraught with its own unique HR challenges. Employment law, payroll, employee rights and regulatory compliance can be complex, particularly when they vastly differ from the legislations that you’re more familiar with elsewhere in the world. Building a local HR team on the ground in Ireland may seem like the best, if not the only, solution, but that’s often timely and costly. But there is another way.
Our specialist Ireland HR Services provide practical, expert support to keep your business compliant by streamlining HR processes and freeing you and your teams to focus on growth. With more than 25 years of experience helping businesses expand globally, we simplify compliance with local employment regulations and ensure your employees are well supported from day one.
As part of our Ireland HR offering, we can help with:
- Drafting and issuing Irish-compliant employment contracts
- Running Ireland payroll in line with Revenue requirements, PAYE and PRSI
- Managing statutory benefits, pensions and leave entitlements
- Implementing disciplinary, grievance, safety and equality policies
Want to expand into Ireland?
Contact us today to see how Leap29 can be the trusted partner that supports your global expansion.
"*" indicates required fields
What’s included:
HR software
Bespoke employee management software included in our PEO service.
Global compliance
We have expert teams across the world to ensure global compliance.
Transparent pricing
Avoid hidden costs and account for our fee with our transparent pricing.
Ireland HR Compliance and Advisory Support
Key HR responsibilities in Ireland
Employment contracts and working hours
Irish law prohibits zero-hours contracts except in emergency or short-term scenarios, as set out in the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018. Employees can request banded hours if actual working patterns differ from their contracts. Leap29 ensures your employment conditions reflect these requirements and GDPR obligations for personal data.
Flexible working requests
Under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, employees with six months’ service can request remote or flexible working. We help you respond correctly and consistently while balancing operational needs.
Payroll and pensions
From 1 January 2026, eligible employees (23-60 years old, earning over €20,000) must be auto-enrolled in the My Future Fund scheme. Leap29 manages this process, keeping you compliant and your employees informed.
Pay transparency
By June 2026, Irish employers must include salary ranges in job postings, avoid asking for salary history and provide pay data when requested, all as part of compliance with the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Our team can help integrate these requirements into your recruitment and HR processes.
Essential Irish HR Policies
- Disciplinary and grievance procedures: Issued within 28 days of employment
- Safety statement: Ensuring a safe workplace under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005
- Equality policy: Your Irish business operations must be compliant with the Employment Equality Act 1998
Leap29 can implement these policies for your business or review existing documents to ensure full compliance.
Why choose Leap29 for your Ireland HR Services?
We act as an extension of your HR team, providing timely, practical advice and handling complex HR issues across multiple locations. Our support is designed to:
- Reduce the burden on your head office HR staff
- Provide country-specific guidance on benefits, contracts and employee relations
- Keep pace with changing legislation
- Offer smooth onboarding, disciplinary and workforce management processes
All of the above means our clients quickly come to view us as their trusted Irish HR partner, not just another service provider.
Why expand into Ireland?
- Access to a skilled workforce spanning multiple sectors.
- Clear statutory framework with strong employee protections.
- Direct trade and transport links to the EU, UK and North America.
- Business-friendly tax system, including the lowest corporation tax rate in the EU.
Leap29 ensures your business benefits from Ireland’s workforce and market opportunities while reducing HR risk from day one.
Speak to our Ireland HR specialists
Let us take the complexity out of Irish HR. Call us at +44 (0) 20 8129 6860 or email expansion@leap29.com to discuss how we can support your business in Ireland.
Don’t take our word for it!
“
Ireland HR FAQs
Are workers legally entitled to paid overtime in Ireland?
It depends. Overtime is not governed by statutory law in Ireland but rather by employment contracts and/or company policies, which are decided upon at the employer’s discretion, and collective agreements (negotiated between employers or employer groups and trade unions).
Hence, if the employment contract or collective agreement (if applicable) contains overtime entitlements, then this makes it a legal requirement.
Which employee benefits are statutory requirements in Ireland?
- Annual Leave: Irish workers are entitled to a minimum of 20 working days of paid leave per year and 10 national public holidays. Holiday carry-over has to be agreed upon between the employer and employee.
- Maternity Leave: New mothers can take 26 weeks of maternity leave and 16 weeks of additional unpaid leave immediately after. Mothers must take 2 weeks before the due date and 4 weeks after.
- Paternity Leave: New fathers are entitled to 2 weeks of paid paternity leave, starting within the first 6 months following the birth or adoption.
- Parental Leave: Parents with a child under 2 years old are entitled to 9 weeks (per parent) paid by Social Security.
- Pension Plans & Retirement Contributions: From 2026 onwards, auto-enrolment to a state pension scheme applies to all Irish workers. Contributions of 1.5% are made by both the employer and employee, but this number is expected to increase to 3% each in 2029. Employees are free to opt out after 6 months and get their contributions back if they wish.
- Insurances: Irish workers over the age of 16 are required to make contributions to Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI), a mandatory social security payment deducted from employees’ earnings to fund social welfare benefits and state pensions.
What is classed as an unfair dismissal in Ireland?
Under the Unfair Dismissal Acts, 1977-2016, the dismissal of an employee shall be deemed unfair unless there were substantial grounds to justify it. Examples of the grounds of an unfair dismissal include:
- Membership or proposed membership of a trade union or engaging in trade union activities, whether within permitted working hours or outside of them.
- Religious or political opinions.
- The employee makes a protected disclosure.
- Legal proceedings against an employer where an employee is a party or witness.
- Race, colour, sexual orientation, age or membership of the Traveller community.
- Pregnancy, giving birth or breastfeeding, or any matters connected with pregnancy or birth.
- Availing of rights under legislation to maternity leave, adoptive leave, carer’s leave, parental or force majeure leave.
- Unfair selection for redundancy.
Talk to an expert today
Whatever stage you’re at in your global expansion journey, we can help.
Contact us today to see how Leap29 can be the trusted EOR partner that supports your global expansion.
"*" indicates required fields
Ireland
Expansion Resources
Ireland Sets a Fresh Course for Employment‑Permit Reform
Ireland’s National Minimum Wage Increase – Effective January 2026
Ireland Employment Contracts
Ireland Payroll Solutions
Ireland’s Auto-Enrolment Pension Scheme: A New Chapter for Retirement Savings
Ireland Entity Setup
Ireland’s Centralised Gender Pay Reporting Portal: A Leap Forward for Workplace Fairness
Ireland EOR Services
Ireland PEO Services
Local expertise, global reach
Employ people compliantly in 180+ countries – with or without your own foreign entities. We can help you set up and manage foreign entities – or act as an Employer of Record. We can also help with multi-country payroll and all your HR management. Wherever, whenever and however you want to employ people, we can help.
180+
We make expansion in Ireland simple
Employing people compliantly across international borders can be challenging but we make it simple, bringing down barriers and making light work of the complexities. We offer the full range of compliant global expansion solutions so that wherever, whenever and however you want to employ people, we can support you.
EOR Services
Employ people compliantly in 180+ countries – without setting up new entities. We’ll shoulder responsibility as Employer of Record (EOR), making sure all your international employment is fully compliant.
We can also take care of your global HR from multi-country payroll to onboarding and offboarding.
Payroll Solutions
Getting global payroll right is one of the hardest challenges for any business expanding into new countries. We can shoulder this burden, freeing up valuable in-house resource to focus on growing your business.
Consider us an extension of your HR team, ready to answer all your questions large and small.
Global Mobility
Mobilise your people across borders with ease. Relocating to work abroad can feel daunting. But with Leap29 at your side, your employees can feel safe and supported.
We’ll guide your employees through the complexities of working in another country, helping them settle in fast.
Entity Services
Follow the opportunities to grow your business – wherever they take you.
We lighten the load of establishing and managing foreign entities and can help you solve all your entity challenges from running compliant, accurate multi-country payroll to local accounting and financial reporting.
PEO Solutions
Employ international talent wherever and whenever you need it – and enjoy the peace of mind of knowing you’re fully compliant. Our Professional Employer Organisation (PEO) services allow you to focus on growing your business while we handle compliance, multi-country payroll and your global HR.
Support & Advisory
The help you need to make your global growth effortless – trusted guidance and advice on your expansion challenges large and small.
HR Support
When you’re employing people in lots of different countries, answering just a simple query can take a disproportionate amount of time for your in-house HR team. Our HR Support service reduces this burden, saving you time and money and giving you the confidence of knowing your employees are well looked after, whatever their location.
Contractor Payroll
Enjoy compliant contractor payroll that meets all local requirements for tax, social security and employment legislation. We understand the importance of compliant contractor payroll to the success of your business and will pay your contractors on time, every time.
Start hiring today – and onboard within hours.
Pricing
Budget confidently with transparent, competitive fees and no hidden costs.
Want us to shoulder employer liability and take care of your global HR through our EOR solution? No problem. Just want global payroll? You can have that too. Pick the solutions that your individual business needs.