Notice period in Ireland (2026)

Last reviewed: 7 November 2026

In short: In Ireland the employee gives one week's notice. The employer gives one week for under two years' service, rising to eight weeks from fifteen years. Probation is at most 6 months, and statutory redundancy is two weeks' pay per year plus one week.

RuleWhat applies
Notice from the employeeNotice periodAt least one week's notice, for an employee with 13 weeks or more of continuous employment. [1]
Notice from the employerNotice periodAt least one week's notice, for an employee with 13 weeks or more of continuous service and less than two years' service. [2]
Longer notice for long serviceNotice periodTwo weeks after two years but under five, four weeks after five years but under ten, six weeks after ten years but under fifteen, and eight weeks after fifteen years or more. [2]
Probation periodNotice periodA probationary period in a contract may not exceed 6 months. It may exceptionally be longer, up to 12 months, if that is in the employee's interest. The limit for a public servant is 12 months. [3]
Severance payNotice periodStatutory redundancy lump sum: two weeks of normal weekly pay for each year of continuous employment, plus one further week's pay. The employee needs 104 weeks of continuous employment and must be dismissed by reason of redundancy. [4]

Notes

  • This is the text of the Act as enacted in 1973 on irishstatutebook.ie. The Law Reform Commission's revised version, updated to 14 October 2020, showed no change to sections 4 and 6.
  • The ceiling on weekly pay used for the calculation is in the Redundancy Payments Act 1979, which was not read.

Sources

  1. Office of the Attorney General (irishstatutebook.ie): Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973, Section 6 (consulted 7 November 2026) · all sources
  2. Office of the Attorney General (irishstatutebook.ie): Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Act, 1973, Section 4 (consulted 7 November 2026) · all sources
  3. Law Reform Commission (revisedacts.lawreform.ie): Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 (revised) (consulted 7 November 2026) · all sources
  4. Law Reform Commission (revisedacts.lawreform.ie): Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (revised) (consulted 7 November 2026) · all sources

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