Employer of record in Ireland: what a hire costs in 2026
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Irish employer costs on a EUR 34,000 salary come to 12.90%: employer PRSI of 11.40% since October 1, 2026, plus a 1.5% employer payment into My Future Fund, the auto-enrollment pension, per gov.ie and Citizens Information (checked October 16, 2026). The provider's monthly charge sits on top: $199 (Payoneer Workforce Management, formerly Skuad) to $699 (Oyster) when we checked on October 16, 2026. The item easiest to miss is auto-enrollment: since January 1, 2026, staff aged 23 to 60 who earn EUR 20,000 or more and have no workplace pension are enrolled automatically, and the employer must contribute.
An employer of record in Ireland is an Irish company that employs your worker on its own PAYE payroll, pays employer PRSI and pension contributions to the State, and handles the paperwork, while you manage the job.
- Employer cost on a sample salary
- 12.90% (12.75% before 1 Oct…on top of gross pay
- Minimum annual leave
- 4 weeks' paid annual leave…
- Public holidays
- 10 (2026: 1 Jan, 2 Feb, 17…
- Currency
- EUR
On this page
Three Irish rules that change your budget in 2026
- Employer PRSI went up on October 1, 2026. Class A employer PRSI is 9.15% where weekly earnings are EUR 552 or less and 11.40% above that, up from 9.00% and 11.25%. There is no upper cap, so the rate applies to every euro of pay. The EUR 552 threshold was EUR 527 until January 2026.
- Auto-enrollment is now a payroll cost. The employer pays 1.5% of gross pay in years 1 to 3, 3% in years 4 to 6, 4.5% in years 7 to 9 and 6% from year 10, on pay up to EUR 80,000. It covers employees aged 23 to 60 on EUR 20,000 or more a year who are not in a payroll pension.
- Redundancy pay is statutory but capped. After 2 years (104 weeks) of service, the employee gets 2 weeks' pay per year of service plus 1 extra week, with weekly pay capped at EUR 600 (EUR 31,200 a year).
Other fixed points: the minimum wage is EUR 14.15 an hour from January 1, 2026; most employees get 4 weeks' paid annual leave; and 2026 has 10 public holidays. Ireland has no statutory bonus. Minimum employer notice is 1 week for 13 weeks to 2 years of service, rising to 2, 4, 6 and 8 weeks at 2, 5, 10 and 15 years.
A statutory cap on probation is still unverified for this page; the Workplace Relations Commission is the place to check.
Employment costs and rules in Ireland
| Item | Ireland |
|---|---|
| Employer social contributions | 11.25% employer PRSI (11.40% from 1 Oct 2026) plus 1.5% auto-enrollment pension where the employee has no payroll pension. About 12.9% at EUR 34,000 |
| What the employer pays | Employer PRSI Class A: 9.00% where weekly earnings are EUR 552 or less, 11.25% above EUR 552 (to 30 Sept 2026); from 1 Oct 2026: 9.15% and 11.40%. No upper cap. My Future Fund auto-enrollment (from 1 Jan 2026): employer 1.5% of gross pay in years 1 to 3, 3% years 4 to 6, 4.5% years 7 to 9, 6% from year 10, on pay up to EUR 80,000 |
| Caps and ceilings | No PRSI ceiling. Weekly threshold for the higher employer rate moved from EUR 527 to EUR 552 on 1 Jan 2026. Auto-enrollment employer and State contributions stop at EUR 80,000 salary. Auto-enrollment applies to employees aged 23 to 60 earning EUR 20,000+ a year with no payroll pension |
| Employee contributions | PRSI 4.20% (4.35% from 1 Oct 2026; nil at EUR 352 a week or less, tapered credit EUR 352.01 to 424) plus auto-enrollment 1.5% in years 1 to 3. USC and PAYE income tax are separate |
| Minimum wage | EUR 14.15 an hour from 1 January 2026 |
| Mandatory bonuses | None statutory (gov.ie working guide lists none) |
| Annual leave | 4 weeks' paid annual leave for most employees (20 days on a 5-day week); contracts can give more |
| Public holidays | 10 (2026: 1 Jan, 2 Feb, 17 Mar, 6 Apr, 4 May, 1 Jun, 3 Aug, 26 Oct, 25 Dec, 26 Dec) |
| Notice period | Statutory minimum notice from employer: 1 week (13 weeks to 2 years of service), 2 weeks (2-5 years), 4 weeks (5-10), 6 weeks (10-15), 8 weeks (15+) |
| Severance | Statutory redundancy after 2 years (104 weeks): 2 weeks' pay per year of service plus 1 extra week; weekly pay capped at EUR 600 (EUR 31,200 a year) |
| Sample salary used | EUR 34,000 a year (EUR 653.85 a week) |
| Employer cost on that salary | 12.90% (12.75% before 1 Oct 2026) |
Checked October 16, 2026. Source type: official. Sources are listed at the end of this page.
What an EOR charges to employ someone in Ireland
| Provider | EOR fee per employee per month | Deposit | Entity model (provider claim) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payoneer Workforce Management | from $199 | None listed | Claims owned entities across APAC, MEA, Europe and the Americas |
| Pebl | $399 | Not listed | About 90% of employees on Pebl-owned entities |
| Playroll | from $399 | One month's salary per employee, refundable | No clear owned-entity claim |
| Rivermate | $319 to $639 | Not stated | Claims 38 owned entities |
| Multiplier | $459 (annual) or $499 (monthly) | Sized from costs, fees and notice period (method published, no fixed amount) | Claims owned entities in 160+ countries |
| Rippling EOR | Quote only (third-party reference: $499) | Not listed | Claims Rippling entities; no partner mention |
| Deel | $599 | Not stated by Deel | Claims owned entities in 130+ countries |
| Remote | from $599 | Waived for startups; otherwise not stated | Claims 100% owned entities in 90+ countries |
| Atlas | from $599 | Not published | Claims owned entities in 160+ countries |
| Papaya Global | from $650 | Refundable deposit, amount not stated | Uses in-country partners |
| Oyster | $699 | At least one month of total service cost, refundable (per its terms) | Owned entities and partners |
| Globalization Partners (G-P) | Quote only | Not stated | Information page claims 100+ wholly owned entities |
Source: each provider’s pricing page, checked October 16, 2026. Fees are the provider’s charge on top of salary and the employer contributions above. Some providers adjust prices by country.
Ireland cost example: a EUR 34,000 salary
EUR 34,000 a year is EUR 653.85 a week, above the EUR 552 line, so the higher PRSI rate applies to all of it.
| Line | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross salary | EUR 2,833.33 | EUR 34,000.00 |
| Employer PRSI, 11.40% | EUR 323.00 | EUR 3,876.00 |
| Auto-enrollment, 1.5% (years 1 to 3) | EUR 42.50 | EUR 510.00 |
| Employer contributions (12.90%) | EUR 365.50 | EUR 4,386.00 |
| EOR fee at $599 | EUR 532.30 | EUR 6,387.63 |
| All-in cost | EUR 3,731.13 | EUR 44,773.63 |
PRSI: gov.ie Class A table. Pension: Citizens Information. Fee row: Deel's and Remote's $599, in euros at the ECB's 1.1253 for October 16. Checked Oct 2026.
PRSI at 11.40% of 34,000 is EUR 3,876 and the pension line is EUR 510, so EUR 4,386 in all, 12.90% of pay. Under the pre-October 11.25% rate the same worker would have cost 12.75%. Twelve $599 invoices, $7,188, convert to EUR 6,387.63. Someone already in an employer pension scheme is not auto-enrolled.
Exit cost check: after 5 years, statutory redundancy is 11 weeks (2 per year plus 1), and since EUR 653.85 is over the cap, each week counts as EUR 600, so EUR 6,600.
Which EOR fits an Irish hire
| Provider | Our score | EOR fee per month | Contract term |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multiplier | $459 (annual) or $499 (monthly) | No minimum term; 30 days to process a termination | |
| Oyster | $699 | No minimum term; 30 days' notice | |
| Remote | from $599 ($699 in a March 2026 help article) | 12-month default term that auto-renews; pay-as-you-go offered | |
| Deel | $599 | Month-to-month, but promo order forms need 2 years |
HRPricing scores dated October 17, 2026; prices and terms read on provider sites October 16, 2026.
The question to put to any of them: does your Irish payroll already run the 11.40% rate and enroll eligible staff in My Future Fund? Rates quoted in guides from before October 2026 are lower. Scoring rules are on our methodology page and the wider field is on the best EOR page; the Remote, Deel and Oyster reviews go deeper on contracts.
Own Irish company or an EOR
Running payroll through your own Irish company means registering with Revenue as an employer, handling PAYE, PRSI and USC on every pay date, and administering auto-enrollment. Four people through an EOR at $599 cost $28,752 a year in fees. Read the EOR versus own entity guide before you choose.
Contractors in Ireland
Irish sole traders pay their own PRSI, which is why a contract arrangement looks 12.90% cheaper. When the person is an employee in everything but the paperwork, that saving becomes the liability, along with missed pension payments. Use contractor management platforms for project work, or a contractor of record service to hand off classification. To test other pay levels, open the employee cost calculator for other countries or the EOR cost index.
Frequently asked questions
What does an Irish hire cost through an employer of record?
What is the employer PRSI rate in Ireland from October 2026?
Do Irish employers have to pay into a pension?
How much is statutory redundancy in Ireland?
Sources (13)
- European Central Bank: Euro foreign exchange reference rates (rate for Oct 16, 2026)
- Pebl: Pebl EOR pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Playroll: Playroll pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Multiplier: Multiplier pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Deel: Deel pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Remote: Remote pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Oyster: Oyster pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- Payoneer Workforce Management (formerly Skuad): Skuad pricing (checked Oct 16, 2026)
- gov.ie/en/publication/ffa563-prsi-class-a-rates (checked October 16, 2026)
- citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment-rights-and-conditio... (checked October 16, 2026)
- citizensinformation.ie/en/money-and-tax/personal-finance/pensions/a... (checked October 16, 2026)
- citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/unemployment-and-redundancy/re... (checked October 16, 2026)
- workplacerelations.ie/en/what_you_should_know/public-holidays (checked October 16, 2026)
This page is general information, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Rules and rates change, so check the official source linked above before you file or sign a contract. Read our disclaimer.