Work in Ireland: leave, pay, notice and workplace complaints

For an employee in Ireland asking to work from home, or, as a parent or carer, to change their hours or pattern for caring. The request names the right it uses (the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, or section 13B of the Parental Leave Act 1998), your current and proposed arrangement, the start date, how long it would last, the place for remote work and your reasons. Send it at least eight weeks before the start; your employer must reply within four weeks, or eight at most.

For an employee in Ireland who wants a workplace problem dealt with formally: treatment by a manager or colleague, pay, hours, duties or conditions. The letter raises a formal grievance under your employer's procedure and the Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures, sets out what happened and what you want done, asks for a meeting and the right to bring a colleague or trade union representative, and asks for the outcome in writing. Hand it in or email it.

For an employee in Ireland asking for paid annual leave on particular dates. The letter gives the first and last day and the number of working days, notes that under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 your employer sets the times of leave after consulting you at least a month ahead and taking your family responsibilities and rest into account, and asks for written approval or other dates. Hand it in or email it, as your workplace does.

For an employee in Ireland who has not been given payslips or the written terms of the job. The letter asks for the missing payslips (a written statement of pay and deductions is due with every payment of wages) and for the statement of terms (the core terms within five days of starting, the full statement within a month), within 14 days. If they do not come, the Workplace Relations Commission's inspectors enforce the rule on payslips, and a complaint about the statement of terms is made to the Commission, free and online. Hand it in or email it.

For an employee in Ireland who is too ill to work. The letter tells your employer when the absence began and how long you expect it to last, says you will send a medical certificate, asks for statutory sick pay (5 days a year in 2026 after 13 weeks' service) or the sick pay your contract gives if it is more, and gives a phone and email to reach you. It does not describe your illness. Email it, following any rule your employer has for calling in sick.

For an employee in Ireland, still working or already gone, who has not been paid wages, holiday pay, public holiday pay or pay for leave untaken on leaving. The letter sets out each sum and the total, recalls the Payment of Wages Act 1991 and the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, and asks for payment within 14 days with a payslip. If you are not paid, the next step is a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission, free and online, within six months. Hand it in or email it.

For an employee in Ireland who has decided to leave. The letter resigns from your job, states the notice your contract requires (at least one week by law once you have 13 weeks' service) and your last working day, asks for written confirmation, and asks that your final pay includes wages to the last day and pay for annual leave not taken. There is no P45 any more: your employer reports your leaving to Revenue. Hand it to your manager or email it, and keep a copy.

For an employee in Ireland who will take unpaid parental leave for a child under 12 (16 if the child has a disability or long-term illness). The notice names the child and date of birth, the dates and number of weeks, and whether the leave is one continuous period or a pattern you ask the employer to agree to. Give it at least six weeks before the leave starts; you and your employer then sign a confirmation document at least four weeks before. Hand it in or email it.