Ireland Fact-File Part 6:
Individual Business Employment Issues

6.4 Ireland Employee Dismissal Rules

The termination and dismissal of employees

Legislation governing employment law in Ireland has grown apace in recent years, and there are laws and regulations governing areas including: redundancy, parental leave (and adoptive leave), health, safety and welfare at work, carer's leave, the rights of fixed-term and part time workers, the minimum wage, the employment of young people, and various matters relating to equality in the workplace, and the prevention of discrimination on the grounds of gender, marital or family status, sexual orientation, religion, age, race, or disability

The rules governing the dismissal of employees are contained in the Unfair Dismissals Act, and in order to justify a dismissal, an employer must prove that it has come as a result of the employee's conduct, their inability to perform the job, redundancy, or that their continuation in the role would contravene another statutory requirement.

New employees must be informed of the dismissal procedures in place within 28 days of starting the job. Dismissal becomes more complex when an employee has been with their employer for one continuous year, and where lump-sum redundancy payments are provided (assuming the employee is eligible under the Social Welfare Acts; ie is over 16 years of age and employed for 2 continuous years), the requirement is 2 full weeks' of pay per year of service, plus a further week's pay.

Dismissal as a result of race, colour, sexual orientation, trade union activity, pregnancy, or the employee's decision to exercise their right to various types of leave (maternity, parental, carer, force majeure, etc) is judged as unfair dismissal under the act, as is constructive dismissal.

There are, however, various exceptions and provisos to these rules.