Holiday entitlement in Ireland
Three ways to calculate it, and you get whichever gives you most.
Annual leave in Ireland is governed by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. The headline is four working weeks — but how you get there depends on how you work, and there are three separate routes.
The three methods
Four working weeks. If you worked at least 1,365 hours in the leave year, you are entitled to the full four weeks. This route is not available if your employment changed during the leave year.
One third of a working week per month. For each calendar month in which you worked at least 117 hours, you accrue a third of a working week.
8% of hours worked. You accrue 8% of the hours you actually work, capped at four working weeks. This is the method that makes part-time and variable-hours work fair — there is no minimum to qualify.
You get the best of the three
The methods are alternatives, not a sequence. Whichever produces the largest entitlement is the one that applies to you. Someone working 20 hours a week will usually do best on 8%; someone working full time from January will do best on the four-weeks route.
The leave year
The statutory leave year runs from 1 April to 31 March. Many employers use the calendar year instead, which is allowed as long as your entitlement is not reduced by the change.
Holiday pay
Holiday pay must be paid in advance, at your normal weekly rate. If your pay varies from week to week — commission, bonuses, variable hours — your holiday pay is based on the average of the 13 weeks before you take the leave.
Public holidays are separate
Ireland has ten public holidays and entitlement to them sits outside your four weeks of annual leave. Part-time workers qualify for public holiday benefit if they have worked at least 40 hours in the five weeks ending on the day before the public holiday.