IRELAND: Minimum Wage to Increase

Dec 20, 2019 | Global

Effective February 1, 2020, the national minimum hourly salary will increase to EUR 10.10, up 3.06 percent from last year. For a 40-hour work week, this equals approximately EUR 404 per week/ EUR 21,008 per year.

What Does this Mean?

  • Existing, initial and renewal applications. Employers of foreign nationals currently on their payroll, and of those seeking to obtain or renew a work permit on or after February 1, 2020 must increase their foreign nationals’ minimum salaries, if necessary, to comply with the new rule.
  • Pending applications. Employers of foreign nationals with pending work permit applications as of February 1, 2020 must increase their foreign nationals’ minimum salaries, if necessary to comply with the new rule.
  • Immigration applications that do not meet the minimum wage will be rejected.

Most work authorization categories in Ireland require a minimum salary that is significantly higher than the national minimum wage. Therefore, practically, this change affects only specific work authorization categories that allow the Irish minimum wage, such as the following:

  • Internship Employment Permit and Atypical Working Scheme Authorization; and
  • Intra-Company Transfer and Contract for Services employment permits, where the employee’s home country salary requires an additional monetary amount (known as a top up) to reach the minimum wage level.

Background

Ireland instituted a minimum wage in 2000 for adult employees over the age of 18 with at least two years of previous employment experience. The minimum wage has increased steadily since then (the last time it was increased was in January 2019), and is considered to be on the high end as compared to the 19 other EU countries with a national minimum wage.

The minimum wage is projected to increase again in January 2021.

Our Advice

Employers who have questions should contact a Wolfsdorf Rosenthal immigration attorney or email the WR Global Immigration team at Global@wolfsdorf.com for case specific advise.

Related Posts:

January Global Immigration Update

WR Immigration’s January global immigration updates include the latest developments in the Workforce Australia site, China business and tourist visas, Brazil’s e-visa platform, Ukrainian TPS, and much more! Australia The Australian government has announced that employers conducting labor market testing for relevant immigration applications will no longer have to advertise on the Workforce Australia site. This is a very positive change as dealing with the Workforce Australia site could be quite time consuming. Employers will now only have to place two advertisements, instead of three, for the required 28 day period. China China continues to relax and streamline its requirements for business and tourist visas with a view to attracting more travelers. The visa application form now requires less information regarding prior employment and travel history, and tourists are no longer required to provide their airline tickets and hotel bookings. There is also word that the visa waiver scheme introduced for several European countries and Malaysia in late 2023 may be expanded to include more countries, including Thailand. Brazil Brazil has decided to postpone implementation of the new requirement that U.S., Canadian, and Australian citizens to hold e-visas to travel for tourism or business until April 10, 2024. The new […]

INDIA: UAE added to visa-on-arrival program

What is the change? India has opened visa-on-arrival facilities at six international airports to nationals of the United Arab Emirates.
What does the change mean? UAE nationals who have previously obtained an Indian e-Visa or regular/paper visa will be able to use visa-on-arrival facilities at airports in