Agency Workers in Ireland: Rights and Employer Responsibilities

This guide covers Ireland. For the UK equivalent, see our guide: Locum and Agency Staff Compliance Tracking for Healthcare Employers.

If you use agency workers in Ireland, the short answer on who does what is this: an agency worker is employed by an employment agency and assigned to a hirer (your business), but who counts as the employer can depend on the purpose, and the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012 splits the equal-treatment duties between agency and hirer. This guide is for any agency workers Ireland employer, such as a Dublin finance team taking on temporary cover, that wants to understand where its own responsibilities sit.

It is general information drawn from official sources, not legal advice. Where a source is silent or dated, we say so.

Who counts as an agency worker?

According to Citizens Information (page edited 11 August 2026), an agency worker is employed by an employment agency and temporarily assigned to another organisation, called the hirer. The Act, as enacted on the Irish Statute Book, defines the hirer as a person engaged in an economic activity for whom, and under the direction and supervision of whom, an agency worker works.

Citizens Information lists some people who are not agency workers for these purposes:

• independent contractors or business owners placed through an agency;
• some workers under managed service contracts, such as cleaning;
• participants in the Work Placement Experience Programme, Community Employment, TUS, or Department of Social Protection training schemes.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) guidance on the Act makes a similar point: contractors running their own business and managed service arrangements where the worker is supervised by their own employer are outside the scope. That WRC guidance document is dated 26 September 2012, so treat it as background and check current WRC pages for anything time-sensitive.

Who is the employer?

This is the question that trips up many hirers. Citizens Information says the employer is generally the party that pays the wages, which may be the agency or the client company. For PRSI purposes the wage payer is treated as the employer. The same page says that for unfair dismissal and health and safety, the employer is the organisation the person actually works for, not the agency.

Citizens Information says that for health and safety the employer is the organisation the person actually works for, so a hirer should not assume health and safety is the agency's responsibility. Including agency workers in your risk assessment and induction is our suggestion, not something we have checked against the safety legislation here. Our guide to written statements, probation and mandatory training covers what employers owe their own staff; it is a useful comparison point when you decide how your induction for temporary staff should look.

Equal treatment: what the hirer and agency owe

Citizens Information states that agency workers must receive the same basic working and employment conditions as if they had been recruited directly by the hirer, and that this applies from the first day. The Act as enacted defines these conditions as covering pay, working time, rest periods, rest breaks, night work, overtime, annual leave and public holidays.

According to Citizens Information, the pay element covers basic pay, shift premium, piece work, overtime, unsocial hours and Sunday work. It excludes occupational pension schemes, bonuses, maternity pay and benefits in kind. The WRC guidance describes ten areas of equal treatment and says the agency is responsible for the first eight (pay, working time, rest periods, rest breaks, night work, overtime, annual leave, public holidays), while the hirer is responsible for collective facilities and vacancy information.

Information the hirer must pass to the agency

The Act as enacted requires a hirer to give the agency the information it reasonably needs to comply with the Act, and says that if an agency worker's claim results from the hirer's failure to do so, the hirer must indemnify the agency. The WRC guidance describes the same practical point: the hirer must give the agency sufficient, up-to-date information on pay and employment conditions, including the pay rate, annual leave entitlement and any allowances, so the agency can confirm the worker receives equal treatment.

A practical approach: keep a short, dated note of the pay rates, premiums and leave arrangements that apply to each role you fill, and send it to the agency whenever it changes. This is our suggestion, not a legal requirement.

Vacancies and collective facilities

Two duties fall directly on the hirer. The Act as enacted says the hirer must tell agency workers assigned to it about vacant positions when it informs its own employees. It also says the hirer must treat agency workers no less favourably than its employees regarding collective facilities, unless there are objective grounds that justify less favourable treatment. The enacted text gives canteens, child care and transport services as examples. Citizens Information also lists parking among the facilities.

The WRC guidance adds that hirers can decide how vacancies are published, but agency workers must be told how to access them, and that cost on its own is not an acceptable objective ground. That guidance is from 2012, so confirm any detail you plan to rely on against the current Act.

Series of assignments and pay between assignments

The Act as enacted contains an anti-avoidance rule: assignments in the same series are treated as one assignment, and the series is broken if the gap between assignments exceeds three months. The WRC guidance explains that this applies where the hirer, worker, type of work and place of work are the same or connected.

The Act also allows an exemption from equal pay for workers on a permanent contract with the agency, but only with prior written notice, and with a requirement to pay not less than half of the pay for the most recent assignment between assignments. The WRC guidance adds that the rate must not fall below the National Minimum Wage. Because this is a technical area, an employer who relies on it should check the current text of the Act.

Other employment protections

Citizens Information says agency workers also have rights under the Unfair Dismissals Acts, Redundancy Payments Acts, Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts, Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, Payment of Wages Act 1991, Maternity Protection Acts and Employment Equality Acts. It also says the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 does not apply to agency workers placed with a hirer but does apply to those directly employed by an agency. If you are weighing agency cover against a temporary contract of your own, our guide to fixed-term and part-time employees in Ireland explains your own obligations as an employer.

Victimisation and complaints

The Act as enacted says a hirer shall not penalise or threaten penalisation of an agency worker for invoking their rights, making a complaint or giving evidence. Penalisation is defined to include dismissal, loss of an opportunity to apply for a job with the hirer, changes in duties or hours, and discipline.

Citizens Information says complaints are made to the WRC using its online form, within six months of the dispute, with a possible extension of a further six months for reasonable cause. The enacted Act refers to rights commissioners and allows compensation of up to two years' remuneration, but we have not checked the current amended text; the Citizens Information page now directs complaints to the WRC, so use the current WRC and Citizens Information pages for process and remedies.

Agency licensing and fees

Citizens Information says employment agencies are regulated by the Employment Agency Act 1971 and must hold a licence, and that the WRC publishes a list of licensed agencies. The Act as enacted also makes clauses that stop a hirer taking on an agency worker after the assignment void, while allowing the agency reasonable recompense, and bars agencies from charging the worker a fee for arranging direct employment.

A practical checklist for hirers

• Confirm the agency holds a licence before you sign terms.
• Identify the comparable direct employee role and its pay, premiums and leave, and share it in writing with the agency.
• Include agency workers in your induction, safety statement briefings and vacancy circulation.
• Give agency workers access to staff canteen, parking and similar facilities unless you can show an objective reason not to.
• Record who authorised any extension of an assignment, since a gap of more than three months can break a series under the Act.
• Do not penalise anyone for raising a concern under the Act.

These steps are our suggestions for good practice, drawn from the duties described above.

Learnsignal's offices are off Baggot Street in Dublin, and we offer in-person training from there. For current details, see our CPD pages.

Frequently asked questions

Are agency workers entitled to the same pay as permanent staff from day one?

Citizens Information says equal treatment applies from the first day and that agency workers must receive the same basic conditions as if directly recruited by the hirer. The Act has an exemption for workers on a permanent contract with the agency, subject to written notice and a minimum payment between assignments.

Who is responsible for unfair dismissal claims, the agency or the hirer?

According to Citizens Information, for unfair dismissal and health and safety the employer is the organisation the person actually works for, not the agency. If you are considering ending an assignment where the worker has built up service, taking legal advice first is sensible (our suggestion).

Does the Act say what penalties apply to hirers?

The Citizens Information page does not mention penalties. The enacted Act makes some matters offences, such as agencies charging a worker a placement fee. For anything beyond that, check the current text of the Act.

How long does a worker have to bring a complaint?

Citizens Information gives six months from the dispute, extendable by a further six months if there was reasonable cause for the delay.

Employment law changes, so check the current Act and WRC pages before acting on any single point in this guide.