What Ireland employee benefits must you provide in 2026?
Ireland launched auto-enrolment pensions in September 2025. The opening employer rate is just 1.5% for years one to three, rising in steps to 6% by year ten. That is the live story every Irish hire will ask about before your offer lands.
· Ireland guide
Illustration · Dublin, Ireland
Ireland gives employees 20 days paid annual leave per year, plus 10 public holidays.
Employer-funded sick pay covers 5 days per year at 70% of normal daily wage, capped at €110 per day.
Maternity and paternity leave are paid by the Irish state, not by the employer. The state pays €299/week for 26 weeks maternity leave.
The new auto-enrolment pension started in September 2025. Employers contribute 1.5% in years one to three, rising in steps to 6% by year ten. Competitive Irish tech packages add private health insurance and enhanced pension above the floor.
What benefits must you provide Ireland employees by law?
The law sets a floor. You must give employees 20 days paid annual leave each year. Employer-funded sick pay covers 5 days per year.
Maternity and paternity payments come from the state, not from you. You grant the leave. The state pays the benefit. Auto-enrolment pensions are now live, with an employer rate of 1.5% in the opening years.
| Statutory benefit | Minimum (2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Annual leave | 20 days (4 working weeks for a 5-day worker) | Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 s.19 |
| Public holidays | 10 public holidays per year | Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 |
| Statutory sick pay (employer-funded) | 5 days per year at 70% of normal daily wage, capped at €110 per day | Sick Leave Act 2022 |
| Maternity leave | 26 weeks paid + 16 weeks unpaid | Maternity Protection Act 1994 |
| State Maternity Benefit | €299/week for 26 weeks, paid by the state | Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 s.173 |
| Paternity leave | 2 weeks | Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 |
| State Paternity Benefit | €299/week for 2 weeks, paid by the state | Paternity Leave and Benefit Act 2016 |
| Unpaid parental leave | 26 weeks per parent per child (up to age 12) | Parental Leave Acts 1998 to 2019 |
| Auto-enrolment pension | 1.5% employer + 1.5% employee (years 1 to 3) | Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024 s.61 |
Note on maternity and paternity pay: Unlike the UK, Ireland does not require the employer to fund maternity or paternity pay. The state pays the benefit directly to the employee, provided they have enough PRSI contributions. Employers are not reimbursed by the state for top-up pay. If you offer enhanced pay above the state benefit, that cost sits with you.
What does a competitive Ireland benefits package look like?
For tech and professional services hiring in Dublin and Cork in 2026, the competitive benchmark adds: private health insurance (VHI, Laya, Irish Life), a pension contribution above the auto-enrolment floor, income protection, life assurance at 4 times salary, and a learning and development budget.
The full enhanced package typically costs 3,000 to 8,000 euros per employee per year on top of base salary and statutory contributions.
| Benefit | Typical mid-market cost | What it gets you |
|---|---|---|
| Private health insurance (VHI, Laya, Irish Life) | 500 to 1,800 euros per year per employee | Day-to-day cover, hospital access, mental health add-ons |
| Enhanced employer pension (3 to 6% match) | 1,800 to 4,000 euros per year per 60k employee | Higher contributions above the auto-enrolment floor |
| Life assurance (4 times salary) | 100 to 300 euros per year per employee | Death-in-service payout |
| Income protection | 200 to 600 euros per year per employee | Long-term sickness cover, typically 50 to 75% of salary |
| Learning and development budget | 500 to 2,000 euros per year per employee | Courses, certifications, conferences |
| Bike to Work scheme | Admin only | Salary-sacrifice bicycle, tax relief up to 1,500 euros |
| Travel pass scheme | Admin only | Salary-sacrifice for annual public transport pass, tax-free |
| Dental and vision cover | 150 to 400 euros per year per employee | Basic dental and optical, often bundled with health insurance |
Model your loaded benefit cost on the Employer Cost Calculator to see the full picture for a specific salary and package.
What pension match should you offer in Ireland?
1.5% is the legal floor for the first three years of the auto-enrolment scheme. The scheme launched in September 2025.
The rate rises in four steps: 1.5% years 1 to 3, then 3% years 4 to 6, then 4.5% years 7 to 9, then 6% from year 10 onwards. The state adds 0.5% on top in each phase.
Three common structures for Irish employers in 2026:
- Auto-enrolment minimum (1.5% employer + 1.5% employee). Covers the legal obligation only. Adequate for early-stage hires but below market for experienced tech and professional roles. Employees who opted out of previous occupational schemes may be re-enrolled.
- Fixed enhanced match (e.g. 3 to 5% employer + 3 to 5% employee). Competitive in mid-market and consistent with what Dublin tech firms now offer. Absorbs the auto-enrolment phase-in so the employee sees a stable benefit.
- Tiered match (e.g. up to 6%, matching what the employee contributes). Common in multinational Irish offices. Aligns with the mature-phase auto-enrolment rate and shows long-term intent.
The auto-enrolment phase-in: what you need to track
The Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024 phases in rates over ten years. Employers who run an occupational pension scheme above the statutory minimum may be able to use that scheme to satisfy the obligation, but must confirm eligibility with the Pensions Authority. Employees who already have a personal pension may opt out of auto-enrolment. Both affect your payroll administration.
Salary sacrifice into pension is available in Ireland and reduces the employee's gross for income tax purposes, though not for PRSI. For employees earning close to the 40% income tax threshold (above 44,000 euros for a single person), additional contributions into a pension scheme reduce taxable income significantly.
How does Ireland's state-paid leave model affect your package?
In Ireland, the state pays maternity and paternity benefit directly to the employee. You do not fund it.
This is structurally different from the UK, where the employer pays statutory maternity and paternity pay and then reclaims most of it from HMRC. In Ireland, you grant the leave. The employee claims the benefit from the Department of Social Protection.
What this means in practice for employers:
- Maternity leave: You grant 26 weeks paid leave followed by 16 weeks additional unpaid leave. The state pays the employee €299/week for the paid period, subject to PRSI eligibility. You are not the payment channel.
- Paternity leave: You grant 2 weeks. The state pays €299/week, again subject to PRSI. You are not the payment channel.
- Unpaid parental leave: You grant 26 weeks per parent per child (up to age 12). There is no state payment for this leave at the statutory minimum.
- Top-up pay: Many competitive Irish employers offer full or partial salary top-up above the state benefit. This is entirely optional and a market differentiator. The cost sits directly with you.
The practical employer advantage is clear. Your payroll exposure for maternity and paternity is zero at the statutory floor. The state absorbs the payment. Your cost surface is limited to the employer PRSI contributions that build the employee's entitlement and any top-up pay you choose to offer.
For senior hires, a full salary top-up during maternity and paternity leave (making up the gap between the €299/week state benefit and the employee's actual weekly salary) is increasingly expected in the Dublin and Cork tech market.
Wellbeing and flexible working: the 2024 to 2026 trend in Ireland
Ireland's Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 gave employees the right to request flexible and remote working from day one. This changed what competitive benefits look like.
Location flexibility is now a baseline expectation for most knowledge-work roles. Benefits packages that do not address it signal inflexibility before a candidate reads the salary.
The competitive wellbeing stack in Ireland in 2026:
- Remote and hybrid working policy. A written flexible working policy is now required where the request is refused. Employers who lead on hybrid get better offer-acceptance rates.
- Employee Assistance Programme (EAP). A 24/7 confidential helpline, counselling sessions, and financial and legal support. Cost is 30 to 100 euros per year per employee. Expected in any mid-market package.
- Mental health support. Private health insurance with mental health add-ons is growing. Specific mental health app subscriptions (SilverCloud, Headspace for Work) are increasingly included.
- Sick leave top-up. The statutory sick pay covers only 5 days at 70% of normal wage, capped at €110 per day. Competitive employers offer enhanced sick pay beyond this floor, typically full pay for 4 to 13 weeks per year.
- Fertility treatment support. An emerging benefit in Irish tech, covering IVF and fertility testing costs. A differentiator for hiring in the 30 to 45 age bracket.
- Menopause policy. Awareness and practical support, growing in line with broader Irish workplace health trends.
The cost of the full wellbeing stack is modest: 200 to 500 euros per year per employee for EAP plus apps. The competitive signal is disproportionately large relative to the spend.
How does Teamed handle Ireland benefits for you?
Teamed becomes your legal employer of record in Ireland for from $599 per employee per month, with zero FX mark-up in any currency.
Payroll, statutory benefits, auto-enrolment pension administration, and the full Irish employment law stack run on one platform.
Real HR and legal experts set up and administer the auto-enrolment pension, manage PRSI obligations, and handle the paperwork when employees claim maternity or paternity benefit from the Department of Social Protection. An actual person, not a chatbot or a pooled queue. There is no setup fee and no exit fee. Employer cost passes through at cost, itemised on every invoice.
Most clients start with one or two hires and graduate to a full team without changing platform or re-papering anything. Irish compliance is manageable until it isn't: the auto-enrolment phase-in, PRSI rate changes, and sick leave obligations all move on a calendar. Teamed tracks them.
What is included in Teamed's standard EOR fee for Ireland:
- Auto-enrolment pension scheme administration and contribution processing
- PRSI and USC payroll calculation and Revenue filing via PAYE Modernisation
- Statutory leave administration (maternity, paternity, parental, sick leave)
- Annual leave tracking
- Revenue Form P60 and benefit-in-kind reporting
- Baseline EAP access, scaled by team size
What clients pass through at cost on the invoice:
- Enhanced pension contributions above the auto-enrolment 1.5% floor
- Private health insurance premiums
- Life assurance and income protection premiums
- Top-up pay above state maternity or paternity benefit
- Learning and development budget
- Bike to Work or Travel Pass scheme administration costs
The benefits package is bespoke to the client's positioning. Teamed's job is to make the operational mechanics frictionless, not to dictate the package.
Key sources: Department of Social Protection, Revenue PAYE Modernisation, and Workplace Relations Commission.
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Define your package
Decide what you want to offer above the statutory floor. Annual leave top-up, enhanced pension, private health insurance, and sick pay top-up are the most common starting points. Teamed advises on what the Dublin and Cork tech market expects for your role level.
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Teamed sets up payroll and pension
Teamed registers as your employer of record, enrolls the employee in the auto-enrolment pension scheme, and configures the PRSI and USC payroll calculations. Revenue notification happens automatically via PAYE Modernisation.
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Statutory leave is handled on request
When an employee needs maternity, paternity, parental, or sick leave, Teamed manages the paperwork and tracks entitlements. For maternity and paternity leave, Teamed confirms the state benefit claim route for the employee.
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Employer cost passes through itemised
Every invoice from Teamed shows a line-by-line breakdown of base fee, PRSI contributions, enhanced pension, and any voluntary benefit premiums. No bundled or hidden charges.
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Package adjusts as the team grows
As your Ireland team grows, the benefit package can scale. Group private health rates improve with headcount. Teamed renegotiates insurer terms and updates payroll automatically, with no re-paperwork on your side.
Frequently asked questions
How many days of annual leave must Ireland employees receive by law?
The minimum paid annual leave is 20 days per year for a full-time employee working a standard 5-day week. Ireland also has 10 public holidays each year. Employers can count public holidays toward annual leave entitlements or offer them on top.
How does statutory sick pay work in Ireland?
Employers must pay 5 days of sick pay per year under the Sick Leave Act 2022. The rate is 70% of the employee's normal daily wage, capped at €110 per day. After those 5 days, the state may pay Illness Benefit if the employee has enough PRSI contributions. There is no further employer obligation at the statutory minimum.
Does an Irish employer pay maternity or paternity pay?
No. The state pays maternity and paternity benefit directly to the employee. Maternity Benefit is €299/week for 26 weeks. Paternity Benefit is €299/week for 2 weeks. The employer grants the leave. The employer is not the payment channel and is not reimbursed. Employers who offer full salary top-up above the state benefit pay that difference from their own funds.
What is the new auto-enrolment pension in Ireland?
Ireland's auto-enrolment pension scheme launched on 30 September 2025 under the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Act 2024. The opening employer rate is 1.5% for years one to three. It rises to 3% for years four to six, 4.5% for years seven to nine, and 6% from year ten. The employee matches the employer rate at each phase. The state adds 0.5% on top throughout. Employers who already run a qualifying occupational pension scheme above these rates may be able to use it to satisfy the obligation.
What is the maximum probation period in Ireland?
The standard maximum probation period is 6 months under the European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022. It can be extended to 12 months in exceptional circumstances, such as where the employee has been on sick leave for a significant period. The probation period must be stated in the employee's written statement of core terms, which must be provided within five days of starting work.
The state pays maternity benefit directly to Irish employees, which surprises UK-based founders every time. The employer is not the payment channel. Your cost exposure is PRSI and whatever top-up pay you choose to offer. That is a fundamentally different benefit architecture from what most clients expect.
Ireland's auto-enrolment pension opened at 1.5% in September 2025. Your Dublin hires know it rises to 6% by year ten.
The state handles maternity pay. Your cost surface is pension plus the package above the floor.
Offer the floor and you refill the role within a year.
