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...

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