Working Time Rules: Ireland
Ireland: working hours, holiday calendars and annual leave rules for practical workforce planning.
This is a general overview, not legal advice. Limits, reference periods, exceptions, and record-keeping duties vary by sector and contract and change over time. Confirm the current rules with the official source and a qualified adviser.
Working week used in calculations40 hours per week8 hours a day over 5 days
Minimum annual leave4 working weeksAnnual leave is earned from the start of employment using the applicable statutory calculation, up to four working weeks of statutory entitlement. Four weeks equal twenty days only on a five-day schedule. Part-time and casual workers also earn leave; do not replace their calculation with the full-time twenty-day equivalent.Source
Statutory working time
The Irish maximum working week is generally 48 hours on average, normally assessed over four months, with different reference periods in specified cases. An eight-hour, five-day week is only the calculator’s editable scenario. Use the employee’s contract and actual working-time records to assess their hours.
What to check before you rely on this
- The current statutory limits, reference periods, and any opt-outs.
- Sector or collective-agreement rules that may override the defaults.
- How overtime is authorised, recorded, and compensated.
- What working-time records you must keep and for how long.