Contract of employment

If you work for an employer for a regular wage or salary, you automatically have a ‘contract of employment’ with them. Your contract sets out the rights and responsibilities of you and your employer.

Legally, you do not have to get your whole contract in writing. However, the law says you must get a ‘written statement of terms of employment’ (read more below).

Most employees have open-ended contracts of employment. This means the contract continues until the employer or employee ends it (for example, by giving notice). Other employees have fixed-term or specified-purpose contracts, which end on a specific date or when a particular task is completed.

The terms of your employment contract can be:

• ‘Express’, which means they are explained to you verbally or in writing
• ‘Implied’, which means they have not been specified but they still apply (for example, that all employees must do their job to the best of their ability)

You can read about ‘The difference between express and implied terms’ below.

Within the first 5 days of starting a job, your employer must give you part of your ‘written statement of terms of employment’. This written statement must include the core terms of employment (such as how your pay is calculated).

Within 1 month of starting the job, your employer must give you the remaining terms of your employment in writing (such as your entitlement to annual leave).

If you are required to work outside the State for at least one month, you must be given a written statement of the terms and conditions of employment, before you leave the country. This must include the country or countries you will work in, the duration of the work, the currency you will be paid in, and any other benefits for working abroad.

The core terms of employment

You must get the core terms of your employment, in writing, within 5 days of starting your job. These include:

1. The full names of the employer and employee
2. The address of the employer
3. The place of work, or where there is no fixed or main place of work, a statement stating that there are various places or you are free to set your own place of work or to work at various places
4. The date the employment started
5. The job title, grade or nature of the work (such as a brief job description)
6. The expected duration of the contract (if the contract is temporary or fixed-term)
7. The rate or method of calculating your pay, and the ‘pay reference period’ (for example, whether you are paid weekly, fortnightly or monthly)
8. What the employer reasonably expects the normal length of your working day and week to be (for example, 8 hours a day, 5 days a week)
9. The duration and conditions relating to the probation period (if there is one)
10. Any terms or conditions relating to hours of work, including overtime

Your right to get the core terms of employment (in writing) is set out in the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 and updated by the European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022. Employers can face serious penalties if they do not comply. See ‘How to make a complaint’ below.

The remaining terms of employment

You must get a written statement of your remaining terms of employment within 1 month of starting work. This includes:

1. Pay intervals (for example, weekly or monthly)
2. Paid leave, including your annual leave and public holiday entitlements
3. Sick pay
4. Pension and pension schemes
5. Period of notice to be given by employer or employee
6. Details of any collective agreements that may affect your terms of employment
7. Any training to be provided by your employer
8. For temporary agency contracts, the identity of the person or firm hiring the agency worker
9. If the work pattern is entirely or mostly unpredictable, information about the number of guaranteed hours, the hours and days you may be required to work and the minimum notice of a work assignment
10. The identity of the recipient agency for social security contributions and any protection relating to your social security arrangements

Your right to get the remaining terms of employment in writing is set out in the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994–2014 as amended by the European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022. However, this does not apply if you:

• Work for your employer for less than 8 hours a week
• Have been employed for less than a month

Your employment contract may contain more details than set out in the ‘written statement of terms of employment’.

Yours and your employer’s signature

Your employer must sign and date the ‘written statement of terms of employment’, but there is no legal requirement for you to sign it.

Your employer must keep a copy of the written statement throughout your employment, and for at least a year after it ends.

Disciplinary and grievance procedures

Employers must have written grievance and disciplinary procedures, as set out in the Workplace Relation Commission (WRC) Code of Practice: Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures. Your employer must give you a copy of these procedures at the start of your employment.

Within 28 days of starting work, your employer must also give you written details of the procedures to be followed before you can be dismissed. This is set out in the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977–2015.

Specific provisions

Some employers add specific provisions into contracts of employment. For example, they may limit your ability to work in a certain sector, or with certain suppliers or clients of a former employer, for a certain length of time.

If you have any concerns about this, you should get legal advice before signing the contract. You can also get legal advice after signing it.

Find contact details for solicitors throughout Ireland on the Law Society website. Solicitors' fees are not fixed and can vary considerably, so you are advised to shop around.

Parallel employment

Your employer cannot restrict you from taking up additional employment outside your work for that employer (unless they have objective grounds, see below). You are protected from being penalised for taking up other work.

Your employer can only restrict you from taking up parallel employment if this is proportionate and based on objective reasons. The reasons could include:

• Health and safety
• To protect business confidentiality
• To avoid conflicts of interest
• To comply with statutory or regulatory obligations and professional standards

You must get details of any restriction and the objectives reasons for the restriction, either in your contract of employment or a written statement.

Probationary period

Your contract can include a ‘probationary period’.

From 1 August 2022, probation periods can’t be more than 6 months. In exceptional circumstanced your probation can be extended for up to a further 6 months (up to a maximum of 12 months in total).

The probation can be extended where it in your interests or where you have been on extended leave, such as sick leave, during your probation. It can also be extended where it is justified by the nature of the work, for example public service employment.

If you are dismissed while you are on probation or undergoing training, the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1997–2015 will not apply, once:

• The contract of employment is in writing and
• The probation or training lasts for one year or less and is specified in the contract

However, the Unfair Dismissals Acts will apply if you are dismissed due to:

• Trade union membership or activity
• Pregnancy-related matters
• Entitlements under maternity protection, parental leave, adoptive leave, parent’s leave, paternity leave, force majeure leave or carer’s leave legislation

If you are dismissed during probation

If you are being dismissed during a probation period due to misconduct, you have a right to ‘natural justice’, which means due process and fair procedures. However, this right does not generally apply to a dismissal for poor performance, particularly where your contract expressly allows for dismissal for poor performance during probation.

You may be able to take a claim for ‘wrongful dismissal’ during your probation period if you have less than 12 months service. Wrongful dismissal happens when an employer does not meet an implied or an express term in your contract of employment, or does not give you adequate notice. You can sue the employer for breach of your contract in the civil courts.

Changes to your contract of employment

If there is a change in employment law (such as an increase to Parent’s leave), this automatically changes the terms in your contract of employment.

Any other changes to your contract (changes not set out in law), must be agreed between you and your employer. This means your employer cannot change the terms of your contract without your consent.

Read more about changes to your employment contract.

Express terms

‘Express terms of employment’ are agreed between you and your employer. They are either:

• Verbally agreed
• Set out, in writing, in your contract (or in other documents which form part of your contract, such as a staff handbook)

Express terms generally include pay, hours of work, a notice period, and so on.

Implied terms

‘Implied terms of employment’ are terms which are not verbally agreed to or set out in writing, but are still legally binding.

Implied terms can come from many sources, such as:

• Legislation and caselaw (for example, it is common law that you and your employer have a duty of care towards each other and other employees)
• Custom and practice within the workplace (for example, a particular rate of overtime pay for employees)
• An obvious consequence of what is stated in the contract (for example, that you will do your work in a competent and careful manner)

Statutory employment rights and your contract

Terms of employment that are set out in employment legislation replace (or override) any earlier agreement that you may have had with your employer. For example, your statutory right to take maternity leave overrides any agreement between you and your employer that you will not take maternity leave.

If your employer does not give you written details of your terms of employment, you should speak to them about this directly.

If you cannot resolve your complaint informally, you can complain to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) using their online complaint form. You must have at least one month’s continuous service with the employer before you can complain to the WRC.

Read more about how to make a complaint, including details of the WRC adjudication process.

Read more about contracts of employment on the Workplace Relations Commission’s (WRC’s) website. You can also download their explanatory booklet on the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts (pdf).

Or, contact the WRC’s Information and Customer Services.