How Paid Leave is Calculated in Ireland

In Ireland, the right to annual paid leave is governed by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. It applies to most employees, regardless of the type of employment — full-time, part-time, or temporary.

Leave begins to accrue from the first day of work. However, its size depends on the actual time worked, and is not a fixed number of days for everyone.

According to the law, there are three methods for calculating annual leave. The employer is obliged to apply the one that gives the employee the greatest right:

Up to 4 working weeks of paid leave per year — if the employee has worked at least 1365 hours during the calculation period

One third of a working week for each month in which at least 117 hours have been worked

8% of the total number of hours worked per year

At the same time, the maximum amount of leave established by law is limited to four working weeks per year.

The number of vacation days depends on the employee's usual work schedule. For example, with a five-day work week, this is usually 20 days, with a three-day work week — 12 days.

Vacation pay is based on the employee's usual weekly rate. As a rule, vacation pay is paid in advance before the start of the vacation.

In the event of dismissal, the employer is obliged to pay compensation for unused vacation days accumulated at the time of termination of employment.

Experts remind that the procedure for calculating leave is strictly regulated by law, and employees have the right to check the correctness of the calculations.