There have been many developments in employment law in recent years since the last version of the template contract. The Law Society’s Employment and Equality Law Committee recommend that practitioners ensure that they review all legislative changes and recent caselaw when using and updating this template. 

• Download the updated Template Contract of Employment

Overview of changes in legislation

The template now reflects the following:

• The Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 (as amended) has been amended by the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 (and subsequent) to provide for five core terms to be provided within five days of commencing a new job. Section 3(1A) of the 1994 Act requires an employer, within five days of the commencement of an employee’s employment, to provide a statement in writing to the employee in which the employer informs the employee of, the full names of the employer and employee, the employer’s address, details about the contract’s duration (if temporary or fixed term), pay information and expected working hours.
• The European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022 regulate probationary periods. Where a probationary period is to apply in the private sector, the maximum probationary period shall not exceed six months save on an exceptional basis where it would be in the interest of the employee. It cannot, in any event, exceed 12 months. Where the contract is for a fixed term, any probationary period should be proportionate to the expected duration of the term. The contract also includes a footnote to reflect that under the Regulations, exclusive employment can only be justified on objective grounds which includes grounds such as health & safety, protection of business confidentiality and avoidance of conflicts of interests. A relevant ground for a full- time employee may be to ensure compliance with statutory working time obligations.  Practitioners should insert the basis for requiring exclusive employment.
• The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 grants all employees the right to request remote working arrangements and the template contract should be amended to reflect work arrangements for each office/client whether on a fully remote basis,  hybrid working arrangement or otherwise.  Practitioners should also be familiar with the Code of Practice on the Right to request remote work. Copies of the Code of Practice are available on the Workplace Relations Commission website.
• The Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 requires that any compulsory retirement age must be objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim.  Practitioners should review retirement ages in contracts of employment light of recent caselaw and increased litigation in this area.
• The Sick Leave Act 2022 came into effect on 1 January 2023 and provides employees in Ireland with a statutory right to paid sick leave. This leave is paid at 70% of an employee’s usual daily earnings up to a maximum of €110 per day. Sick pay policies should be updated to reflect the changes and leave entitlements which currently remains at 5 days per calendar year.
• In general, you should review current employee handbook or policies and procedures and ensure the contract of employment refers to the handbook or policies. There have been updates in recent years to the Code of Practice on Workplace Bullying (available on the Workplace Relations Commission website), changes to Protected Disclosures/Whistleblowing and Gender Pay Gap Reporting to name a few. 

Many employment law changes are expected in 2025 and thereafter, including the proposed introduction of automatic enrolment in pension schemes.  All policies and contracts should be reviewed and updated in light of all recent (and upcoming) changes.

• Download the updated Template Contract of Employment

Employment queries

Please note this is a general overview. If you have any specific queries, please contact the committee secretary Geraldine Rafferty.