Annual Leave in Ireland: How Employers Calculate Entitlement

Statutory annual leave is one of the areas where Irish employers most often have to work out entitlements by hand, especially for part-time staff and starters and leavers. This guide summarises the Citizens Information page on annual leave, last updated 14 August 2025. It is general information and not legal advice. For related rules on working time, see our working time compliance guide for the UK and Ireland.

The basic entitlement

According to Citizens Information, most employees get four working weeks of annual leave a year, and employers can give more in the contract of employment. A working week is the number of days the person usually works. Someone who works three days of ten hours has a three-day, 30-hour leave week. The statutory leave year runs from 1 April to 31 March, although an employer may use the calendar year for administration without affecting statutory entitlements.

Three ways to calculate leave

The page describes three methods, and the employee gets whichever gives the greater entitlement:

• Method 1: four working weeks if the employee worked at least 1,365 hours in the leave year. It is not available if the employee changed employment during the leave year.
• Method 2: one third of a working week for each calendar month in which the employee worked at least 117 hours.
• Method 3: 8% of the hours worked in the leave year, capped at four working weeks.

Part-time workers generally use Method 3. People who switch between full-time and part-time work calculate each period separately. The hours count includes time spent on annual leave, certified sick leave and several types of statutory leave. After at least eight months’ service, the employee is entitled to an unbroken two-week period of leave.

When leave is taken

Employees can request particular dates and the employer can accept or refuse. The employer decides when leave is taken, but it must consider family responsibilities and opportunities for rest and recreation, and must discuss the leave with the employee, or their union, at least one month beforehand. Leave should be taken within the leave year. Depending on the employer, it can be taken within six months after the leave year, and any further carry-over needs agreement between the employee and employer.

Pay for leave

Holiday pay is paid in advance at the normal weekly rate. If pay varies, for example with commission or bonuses, holiday pay is the average over the 13 weeks before the leave.

Sickness and other statutory leave

Annual leave continues to accrue during certified sick leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, adoptive leave, parental leave, parent’s leave, health and safety leave for pregnancy, force majeure leave, and the first 13 weeks of carer’s leave. If an employee becomes sick during annual leave, a GP medical certificate given to the employer on return means those days are not counted as annual leave and can be taken later. If long-term sickness prevents someone taking leave, they can carry it over for up to 15 months after the end of the year it was earned. Our guide to statutory sick leave in Ireland covers the sick leave side.

Leavers, lay-off and short-time working

If an employee leaves without taking all their entitled leave, the employer must pay for the untaken days. During lay-off or short-time working, the employee remains an employee and the contract stays valid, but they do not accrue new leave, and they can still take leave they accrued earlier.

Complaints

The page says employees should try to raise a problem informally first. If it is not resolved, they can complain to the Workplace Relations Commission within six months of the dispute, and the limit can be extended by a further six months for reasonable cause.

Our suggestions

These are our own practical suggestions, not Citizens Information guidance. Keep a leave record for every employee showing hours worked and leave taken, so you can show how you calculated entitlement. Check the calculation method whenever someone changes hours. Diarise the one-month consultation point when you set a block of leave. Brief managers on what happens to leave during sick leave.

What the sources do not say

The page does not describe record-keeping requirements, it does not cover public holidays, and it gives little detail on holiday pay for agency or part-time workers beyond the general rules. We have not checked the underlying Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 line by line.

Public holidays are covered separately: see our guide to public holidays in Ireland.

Frequently asked questions

How much annual leave do most Irish employees get?

Four working weeks a year, according to Citizens Information. Employers can offer more.

Which calculation method applies?

The employee gets whichever of the three methods gives the greater entitlement. Part-time workers generally use the 8% method.

Does leave build up during sick leave?

Yes. Annual leave continues to accrue during certified sick leave, and during several types of statutory leave.

What happens to untaken leave when someone leaves?

The employer must pay for the untaken days.

Next steps

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