Who this applies to
Statutory annual leave is owed to everyone who works for you as an employee, from day one, with no qualifying period. That covers full-time and part-time staff and agency, temp, casual, irregular and zero-hours workers · the 8% of hours method handles anyone whose hours vary, and agency staff are normally the agency's responsibility rather than yours. Genuinely self-employed contractors are outside the Act.
How many days must you give?
The statutory minimum is 4 working weeks per leave year · 20 days on a 5-day week, 16 days on a 4-day week. The statutory leave year runs 1 April to 31 March, though many employers run leave on the calendar year for convenience.
The Act gives three ways to calculate the entitlement, and the employee gets whichever produces the most leave · you must apply whichever is best for the employee, not whichever suits your payroll:
| Method | Result | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Works at least 1,365 hours in the leave year | 4 working weeks | Full-time staff (not available in a year they change employer) |
| Each calendar month worked with at least 117 hours | One third of a working week per month | Monthly-paid staff, tracked month by month |
| 8% of the hours worked in the leave year | Capped at 4 working weeks | Part-time, casual and irregular staff |
Part-time and irregular staff are handled by the 8% rule, up to the 4-week maximum; someone who joins mid-year simply accrues 8% of the hours they work from their start date. Leave keeps building during certified sick leave and statutory family leave. There is no statutory extra leave for length of service, age or disability.
Limits and public holidays
4 weeks is a floor, not a ceiling · many Irish employers give more by contract. If an employee works at least 8 months in the leave year, their leave must include one unbroken 2-week block. Leave should be taken within the leave year, or up to 6 months later with the employee's consent; where certified illness prevented it, it carries over for up to 15 months. You cannot pay staff in lieu while they work for you, but on termination you must pay for all accrued, untaken statutory leave.
Ireland's 10 public holidays are separate and sit on top of annual leave, on one national list with no regional variation. For each one you owe one of four benefits: a paid day off on the day, a paid day off within a month, an extra day of annual leave, or an extra day's pay. Part-time staff qualify once they have worked at least 40 hours for you in the previous 5 weeks.
See every employee's days used and days remaining
Book Time Off keeps each person's balance up to date as leave is approved, so you always know the days used and the days remaining. Part-time entitlements are worked out for you and Ireland's 10 public holidays are already loaded.
Start free trialWhat the law says
The governing statute is the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, which implements the EU Working Time Directive in Ireland. The pieces an employer needs, section by section.
Section 19 · the entitlement and the three calculation methods
An employee is entitled to paid annual leave equal to the greatest of: (a) "4 working weeks in a leave year in which he or she works at least 1,365 hours"; (b) "one-third of a working week for each month in the leave year in which he or she works at least 117 hours"; or (c) "8 per cent. of the hours he or she works in a leave year (but subject to a maximum of 4 working weeks)". Method (a) is not available in a leave year during which the employee changes employment. The three-method design means full-timers land on 4 weeks, monthly-paid staff can be tracked month by month, and part-time or irregular staff are handled by the 8% rule · you must apply whichever is best for the employee, not whichever suits your payroll. "Leave year" is defined in section 2 as a year beginning on 1 April; you may administer leave on a calendar year, but statutory compliance is measured against the April to March year. There is no statutory uplift for length of service, age or young workers, and none for disability · any extra days come only from a contract, collective agreement or sectoral employment order, and on a 4-day week the 4-week floor is 16 days rather than 20.
Section 19(3) requires that where an employee works 8 or more months in the leave year, the leave must include an unbroken period of 2 weeks, subject to any registered employment agreement, collective agreement or employment regulation order that provides otherwise; section 19(4) confirms the block still counts as unbroken where it includes public holidays or days of illness. Section 19(2) protects sick employees on leave: a day of annual leave on which the employee is ill and produces a medical certificate is not regarded as a day of annual leave · you must give that day back. Section 19(5) works the other way: a day spent on annual leave counts as a day worked when computing the entitlement itself. Where an employee moves between full-time and part-time during the year, each period is worked out separately on the hours actually worked and the results are added.
Sick leave accrual · the 2015 change
As originally enacted, leave accrued only on hours worked, so long-term sick employees accrued nothing. Following the CJEU case law on the Working Time Directive (notably Schultz-Hoff), the Workplace Relations Act 2015 (section 86) amended the 1997 Act with effect from 1 August 2015 so that time on certified sick leave counts for annual leave accrual. The same amendment created the extended carry-over: where an employee could not take leave because of certified illness, the leave stays alive for 15 months after the end of the leave year in which it accrued. Leave also continues to accrue during maternity, paternity, adoptive, parental and parent's leave, and the first 13 weeks of carer's leave.
Section 20 · timing and pay
The employer determines when annual leave is granted, but must consult the employee or their trade union not later than 1 month before the leave commences, and must take into account the employee's opportunities for rest and their family responsibilities. Leave must be granted within the leave year, or · only with the employee's consent · within 6 months after it ends; the 15-month rule above applies to the certified-illness case. Pay for annual leave must be paid in advance at the normal weekly rate. The Organisation of Working Time (Determination of Pay for Holidays) Regulations 1997 (S.I. No. 475/1997) set the mechanics: for fixed pay, the normal weekly rate; where pay varies (commission, regular bonus tied to work done, variable hours), an average over the 13 weeks before the leave. Regular rostered overtime is a recurring dispute area · WRC adjudications have required it to be included where it is a settled feature of pay, so take advice before excluding it.
Sections 21 and 22 · public holidays
Ireland's 10 public holidays are New Year's Day, St Brigid's Day, St Patrick's Day, Easter Monday, the first Mondays of May, June and August, the last Monday of October, Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day · a single national list with no regional variation, and Good Friday, despite many businesses closing, is not a public holiday. For each of the 10 public holidays the employee is entitled, at the employer's choice, to: a paid day off on the day; a paid day off within a month; an additional day of annual leave; or an additional day's pay. The employee may ask, at least 21 days before the holiday, which option will apply; if the employer fails to nominate one at least 14 days before the holiday, the employee is entitled to the paid day off on the day. Part-time employees qualify only if they have worked at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks ending on the day before the holiday (time on annual leave counts as hours worked for this test). Where the holiday falls on a day the employee does not normally work, they are still owed a benefit · in practice one fifth of the normal weekly wage as an extra day's pay, or an equivalent option · but there is no statutory substitute-day rule moving the holiday to the next working day. St Brigid's Day, added from 2023, is the first Monday in February, except that when 1 February falls on a Friday, that Friday is the holiday. If a public holiday falls during a block of booked annual leave, the employee still receives the public holiday benefit, so that day is not deducted from their leave balance.
Section 23 · termination
When employment ends with accrued statutory leave untaken, the employer must pay compensation equal to the pay the employee would have received for that leave. For an employee inside the 15-month illness carry-over window who leaves in the last 3 months of it, the payout look-back covers the current leave year plus the two preceding leave years. Section 23(2) adds a detail that catches employers out: if employment ceases during the week ending on the day before a public holiday and the employee worked for the employer during the previous 4 weeks, an additional day's pay for that holiday is owed. Conversely, while employment continues, paying an allowance in lieu of the statutory minimum leave is prohibited · statutory leave must be taken as time off.
Enforcement and records
Complaints go to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), generally within 6 months of the contravention (extendable to 12 for reasonable cause), and adjudicators can award compensation of up to 2 years' remuneration on top of the leave owed. Employers must keep records of leave and public holidays granted (section 25 and S.I. No. 473/2001) · if you have no records, the burden shifts to you to prove compliance.
Who is excluded
The Act applies to full-time, part-time, temporary and casual employees. Genuinely self-employed contractors are outside it. For agency workers, the Act deems the party liable to pay the wages · normally the agency · to be the employer for annual leave purposes. Be careful with the contractor label: if someone in reality works like an employee, the Workplace Relations Commission can treat them as one regardless of what the contract says.
Frequently asked questions
How much annual leave must I give an employee in Ireland?
At least 4 working weeks of paid annual leave per leave year, which is 20 days for someone on a 5-day week (Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, section 19). You can always give more, never less.
Do part-time staff get less annual leave?
No. Part-time staff have the same statutory right, scaled to their hours. In practice you work out 8% of the hours they actually work in the leave year, up to the 4-week maximum.
Is there a qualifying period before annual leave builds up?
No. Annual leave accrues from the first day of employment, with no qualifying period. Where an employee works at least 8 months in the leave year, their leave must include one unbroken 2-week block.
Do public holidays count as part of annual leave?
No. Ireland's 10 public holidays are separate and on top of annual leave. For each one you owe the employee one of four things: a paid day off on the day, a paid day off within a month, an extra day of annual leave, or an extra day's pay.
What happens to unused annual leave when someone leaves?
You must pay them for all accrued statutory leave they have not taken (Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, section 23). It is an obligation, not a goodwill gesture.
Can I pay staff instead of giving annual leave?
Not while they work for you. Paying an allowance in lieu of the statutory minimum leave is prohibited; statutory leave must be taken as time off. You only pay for untaken statutory leave when employment ends.
When does the leave year run in Ireland?
The statutory leave year runs from 1 April to 31 March (Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, section 2). You can administer leave on the calendar year for convenience, but statutory compliance is measured against the April to March year.
Sources
- Citizens Information · Annual leave · three calculation methods, leave year, 2-week block, sick leave accrual, 13-week average, termination
- Citizens Information · Public holidays · the 10 holidays, St Brigid's Day rule, four options, 21-day and 14-day mechanism, 40-hour part-time rule, weekend rule
- Workplace Relations Commission · Annual leave · agency worker employer rule, accrual during family leave, ban on pay in lieu, 15-month rule, 1 August 2015 commencement
- Workplace Relations Commission · Public holidays · four options, one-fifth weekly pay for non-rostered days, weekend rule
- Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, section 19 (Irish Statute Book) · the three methods, 2-week block, certified sick day on leave
- Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, section 20 (revised, Law Reform Commission) · timing, consultation, 6-month and 15-month carry-over as amended in 2015
- Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, section 23 (revised, Law Reform Commission) · termination compensation, public holiday within a week of leaving, 15-month payout look-back
- Organisation of Working Time (Determination of Pay for Holidays) Regulations 1997, S.I. No. 475/1997 · holiday pay mechanics
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Staff request from their phone, you approve in one tap, and the team calendar shows clashes before they happen. Set an optional per-department cap on how many people can be off at once.
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