Key Employment Updates for Charities

Our Employment Law & Benefits team review key employment law updates for 2025 and provide an overview of what charities need to know.

What you need to know

• National minimum wage increase: The national minimum hourly rate of pay increased to €13.50.
• No increase in paid statutory sick leave: The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment has announced that the entitlement to paid statutory sick leave will remain at five days per calendar year.
• New legislation: The General Scheme of Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 was published. The Employment Permits Act 2024 was commenced. In addition, the Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 was published. There have been efforts to transpose the Pay Transparency Directive into national law.
• Summer Legislative Programme: A number of important legislative developments are listed for priority publication and drafting.

National minimum wage increase

The National Minimum Wage Order came into operation on 1 January 2025. A breakdown of the new minimum hourly rates of pay is set out below:

The national minimum hourly rate of pay may also include the following maximum allowances:

• For board only €1.21 per hour worked.
• For lodgings only €31.89 per week, or €4.55 per day.

No increase in paid statutory sick leave

The Sick Leave Act 2022 provides for paid statutory sick leave entitlements. Statutory sick pay is paid by an employee’s employer at 70% of their normal pay, up to a maximum of €110 a day. While the employer can offer a more generous sick pay scheme, they cannot provide less than the statutory amount.

The 2022 Act initially provided employees with an entitlement to 3 days of paid statutory sick leave per year. This was increased to 5 days in January 2024 with a further increase expected in January 2025, to 7 days per year. However, no increase occurred. A review of the scheme was carried out to consider the broader economic and competitiveness context of increasing costs on a multi-annual basis. Following this, it was announced, on 8 April 2025, that there will be no increase in paid statutory sick leave and the entitlement will remain at the 2024 rate of 5 days.

For more information on paid statutory sick leave, see:

Sick Leave Act 2022

Statutory Sick Pay in the Spotlight

Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024

The General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 was published on 15 January 2025. It proposes to amend the Employment Equality Act 1998, the Equal Status Act 2000 and the Workplace Relations Act 2015 to provide for, among other things:

Pay transparency

A proposal that employers provide information about salary levels or salary ranges in a job advertisement, prior to employment. The Bill also prohibits employers from asking job applicants about their own pay history or their current rate of pay. These proposals aim to implement Article 5 of the Pay Transparency Directive, which Ireland must transpose into national law by June 2026.

Extension of time limits and changes to compensation amounts under EEA

The Bill proposes an extension of the time limits that apply when bringing claims under the Employment Equality Act 1998 (EAA) from 6 months to 12 months. A further 6-month extension for valid reasons is also proposed.

Currently, the EEA provides at section 82(4), that the maximum amount which may be ordered by the WRC by way of compensation is:

“(a) in any case where the complainant was in receipt of remuneration at the date of the reference of the case, or if it was earlier, the date of dismissal, an amount equal to the greatest of-

104 times the amount of that remuneration, determined on a weekly basis,

104 times the amount, determined on a weekly basis, which the complainant would have received at that date but for the act of discrimination or victimisation concerned, or

€40,000,

or

in any other case, €13,000.”

In this way, as noted in the recent case of Jasmine Olaru v Remo Foods Limited t/a Domino’s Pizza^[1], a complainant who is not in receipt of remuneration at the date the case was referred to the WRC, and who was not dismissed, such as in the event of resignation, is entitled only to a limited award. Under the EEA, the maximum award in these cases is €13,000.

Head 11 of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 proposes to rectify this by extending the maximum compensation of €40,000 to employees who have resigned prior to bringing a claim.

Extension of time limits and changes to compensation amounts under Equal Status Act

The Bill provides for an extension of time limits to apply for redress for discrimination. These extensions apply at different stages of the process under the Equal Status Act 2000. It also raises the compensation limits that can be awarded under the Equal Status Act. The current limit of the District Court, which is €15,000, will be increased to match the limit of the Circuit Court. This is currently set at €75,000.

Employment Permits Act 2024

The Employment Permits Act 2024 is now in force, following the commencement order of the 19 February 2025.

The Employment Permits Act 2024 consolidates the existing employment permits legislation and introduces some significant changes to the law.

For more information about the Employment Permits Act 2024, see:

Key Changes in the Employment Permits Act 2024

Employment Permits Online Goes Live: 28 April 2025

Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025

The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 was published on 1 April 2025.

The Bill allows an employee to notify their employer if they do not agree to retire at the mandatory retirement age set out in their contract. Instead, the employee can request to continue working until the State Pension Age of 66. This applies in cases where the contractual retirement age is lower than 66. In order to avail of the right, certain notification requirements are proposed. If an employee notifies their employer that they do not agree to retire at the contractual retirement age, the employer cannot enforce the contractual retirement age without first providing a reasoned written reply, within one month of receiving the notification. This reply must set out the justification for the contractual retirement age. Retirement at this contractual age must be objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim by the employer. In addition, the means of achieving the aim must be appropriate and necessary. If the employer does not provide this reasoned written reply, they cannot proceed with retiring the employee. In that case, the employee can continue working until either a date they agree to or the State Pension Age, whichever comes first.

The Bill provides for recourse to the WRC where the employee alleges a breach of its provisions. The Bill also prohibits penalisation or the threat of penalisation of an employee for proposing to exercise or having exercised their right to notify. A number of criminal offences are set out in the Bill for non-compliance.

The Bill has completed Dáil Éireann, First Stage.

For more information, see:

Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025

Pay Transparency

The EU’s Pay Transparency Directive[2] came into effect in 2023. Ireland, like other Member States, is required to transpose this Directive by 2026. The Directive implements public reporting measures, creates new information rights and includes new provisions on equal pay.

As indicated above, the General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024, was published. Head 4 and 5 of the Bill propose to transpose some, but not all, of the EU Pay Directive (Article 5). They are aimed at requiring employers to give information about salary levels or ranges in a job advertisement. and prohibiting employers from asking job applicants about their own pay history or their current rate of pay.

The Irish Government’s Legislation Programmes for Spring and Summer 2025, both indicate that work is being done on preparing the Heads of a Pay Transparency Bill, which is described as “A Bill to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive”.

From this description, it would seem that full transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive is to be achieved through this Bill. It is unclear whether there will be a carve-out in the legislation relating to Article 5 of the Directive, given that the General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 proposes to transpose this aspect.

For more information, see:

Transposing the Pay Transparency Directive

The Pay Transparency DirectiveThe Pay Transparency Directive

Summer Legislation Programme 2025

The Summer Legislation Programme for 2025 was announced on 29 April 2025. Of note for charities, are the following Bills:

Legislation for Priority Drafting

Equality and Family Leave (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

All other Legislation

Pay Transparency Bill - Heads in preparation

Registration of Trade Unions Bil l- Heads in preparation

Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill - Heads in preparation

Currently before Oireachtas

Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 - Committee Stage

Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025 - Committee Stage

Conclusion

Charity sector employers should take steps now to prepare for the above changes, including:

• National wage increase: Charity employers must review their current payroll and ensure that all eligible employees are being paid at or above these new statutory minimums.
• Statutory sick leave: Charity employers should continue to apply the current entitlement regarding paid sick leave as per the 2022 Act, being 5 days.
• Updating their existing policies and procedures to ensure they are fully compliant with Irish employment law.
• New and proposed legislation: A wave of newly enacted and proposed legislation in 2025 propose significant changes for charity sector employers. For specific advice as to how these changes might affect you, contact our Employment and Benefits Team.

There have been a number of important changes to the law this year. For specific advice as to how these changes might affect you, contact a member of our Employment Law & Benefits team.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.

[1] ADJ-00044923.

[2] (2023/970)