Public holidays in Ireland: entitlements for full-time and part-time employees

With St. Patrick's Day just gone and the Easter break approaching, now is a good time to focus on employee entitlements when public holidays arise.

There are 10 public holidays each year in Ireland:

• New Year’s Day: 1 January

• St Brigid’s Day: first Monday in February

• St. Patrick’s Day: 17 March

• Easter Monday

• First Monday in May

• First Monday in June

• First Monday in August

• Last Monday in October

• Christmas Day: 25 December

• St. Stephen's Day: 26 December

It is important to note that Good Friday is not a public holiday, though there are frequently closures on that day across many sectors.

An overview of public holiday legislation in Ireland

The legislation that concerns public holidays and an employee's entitlement to the same is the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. Sections 21 and 22 deal specifically with employee entitlements in respect of public holidays.

Depending on what the employer decides an employee will be entitled to, one of the  following benefits apply when a public holiday occurs:

• a paid day off on the day of the public holiday

• a paid day off within a month of the public holiday

• an additional day of annual leave

• an additional day of pay

Employees are entitled to ask their employer to confirm which arrangement applies to their employment 21 days before the public holiday. The employer is obligated to respond to this request 14 days before the holiday. If the employer does not respond, the employee is entitled to the first option listed above, which is a paid day off on the day of the public holiday.

Full-time employment

Full-time employees are entitled to public holiday benefits and entitlements, meaning the 10 days listed above should be given to the employee without having to take this time from their annual leave allowance.

If an employee works on a public holiday, they are to be either paid an additional day’s salary or paid time off. The additional pay reflects the employee’s normal daily hours.

In circumstances where an employee ceases to be employed during the week ending on the day before the public holiday, and the employee has worked for four weeks preceding that week, they are entitled to receive payment for that public holiday.

Where the public holiday falls on a day which is not considered a normal working day for that business, for example, Saturday, the employees are still entitled to receive one of the following benefits:

• a paid day off within a month of the public holiday

• an additional day of annual leave

• an additional day of pay

It should be noted that there is no legal entitlement to have the next working day off.

Part-time employment

Part-time employees are only entitled to  receiving the benefits of public holidays if they have worked a total of 40 hours over the previous five weeks ending on the day before the public holiday.

If a part-time employee works or is normally required to work on a public holiday, the amount paid to that employee for working on the public holiday should be equal to the amount they would normally receive in their normal daily hours.

If a public holiday falls on a day that an employee does not normally work, an employee will be entitled to one-fifth of their normal weekly wage for the day. If the employee’s wage varies from week to week, an average from the previous 13 weeks should be sought, which will determine the wage.

Part-time employees are also entitled to receive payment for a public holiday if they have ceased working for the employing entity during the week ending on the day before the public holiday. However, the part-time employee must have worked during the four weeks preceding that week to obtain the entitlement.

How Ogier can help

For information or advice on employment and the intricacies of public holidays in Ireland, contact our Employment team via the details below.

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Disclaimer

This client briefing has been prepared for clients and professional associates of Ogier. The information and expressions of opinion which it contains are not intended to be a comprehensive study or to provide legal advice and should not be treated as a substitute for specific advice concerning individual situations.

Regulatory information can be found under Legal Notice