Domestic workers' employment rights in Ireland

Information

The term domestic worker refers to people employed to carry out various duties in a private home. Generally they are engaged directly by homeowners to carry out these tasks.  The type of work domestic workers normally carry out include housekeeping and cleaning. Other duties may include the care of children, older people or people with disabilities. Domestic workers can work part-time or full-time and sometimes (but not always) live with their employer.

If you work occasionally in someone’s home as a cleaner or carer, you are not considered a domestic worker. Instead, you may be either employed by an agency (where you are an agency worker) or you may be self-employed.  If you are self-employed you are responsible for paying your own taxes and are not covered by employment rights legislation.  Care assistants and home helps are a particular category of domestic workers. Home helps are generally employed by Health Service Executive (HSE) and provide assistance to older people and those with disabilities in their homes for a specified period.

Many of those employed as domestic workers in Ireland today are migrant workers – often from outside the European Economic Area (EEA). These employees require work permits in order to work in Ireland. 

In the past, a lack of monitoring combined with extreme difficulty in changing job increased the vulnerability of migrant workers employed in private homes. Women migrant workers can be particularly vulnerable as large numbers of migrant women work in the domestic sector. As one of the measures in Towards 2016 the Labour Relations Commission has developed the Code of Practice for Protecting Persons Employed in Other People's Homes (pdf) to help prevent problems faced by domestic workers. The Code of Practice emphasises the entitlement of domestic workers to the employment rights and protections available to other employees and the employers' obligation to inform these employees of their rights.

Rules

People working in other people’s home have broadly the same employment rights as other workers in Ireland. However sometimes employers and employees may not be fully aware of these rights.

Access to employment is the only area where the rights of domestic workers differ from those of other workers. In Ireland it is illegal to discriminate against prospective employees when hiring them (for example, at the interview and selection stage). The only exception is when the job is to be carried out in someone’s home. In this case it is not illegal to discriminate against a prospective domestic employee at the interview and selection stage. For example, an employer could state that they are looking for a woman to look after children without being considered discriminatory. However once the employee has taken up the job they are fully protected by anti-discrimination legislation. The Equality Authority is the body set up to ensure that discrimination on any of the 9 grounds in the legislation does not occur.

Contract of employment, wages and tax

Domestic workers have a right to a written contract of employment which states the terms and conditions of their employment. These conditions cannot be changed without the agreement of the worker. Domestic workers are also entitled to a minimum wage and a payslip. If they work on Sundays, they are entitled to a higher rate of pay. Domestic workers should pay tax and PRSI in the same way as other employees and it is the responsibility of the employer to deduct this tax from the worker’s wages. The employer must register with the Revenue Commissioners.  The Employer's Guide to PAYE (pdf) explains how to operate the system and is available from the Revenue Commissioners.

Hours of work

The maximum hours of work that an employee can work in a week is 48 hours on average. The employer must keep a record of how many hours a domestic worker is employed. Domestic workers have a right to 11 consecutive hours off work every day and at least one full day off every week. They also have a right to a 15-minute break after four and a half hours of work and a 30-minute break after 6 hours of work.  

Dignity and privacy

The Code of Practice provides that the employer should respect the dignity and privacy of the employee. If the employee is required to live in the home, the employer should provide a private secure room with a bed. If employees are required to share a room this should be agreed in advance. Employers should make it easy for the employees to exercise their personal pursuits outside the employees' working time.

The Code of Practice also provides that the employer should not withhold personal documents of the employee such as a passport or visa, nor prevent the employee from joining a trade union.

Annual leave and public holidays

Full-time workers have the right to 4 weeks’ paid leave a year (this is the legal minimum and can be more). They also have the right to take 2 unbroken weeks’ holiday and to ask for payment for the time off in advance. There are 9 public holidays in Ireland and domestic workers have the right to be paid for these days or to have another paid day off instead or an extra day’s pay. If the worker travels with their employer on holiday, this is considered to be work and the employee is entitled to full pay for this time.

Sick pay

Workers in Ireland do not have a statutory (legal) right to sick pay but their contract (terms and conditions of employment) should state the procedure the employee should follow if unable to work due to illness and the arrangements for pay during this time.

Deductions from wages

If the employee is given bed and board as part of their employment the employer can deduct this from their wages. However the deduction must be fair and reasonable, it must be stated in the employee’s contract of employment and the employee must be given written notice of the deduction.

Unions have negotiated the following rates for employees in the hotel and catering sector:

Full board and lodging: €54.13 a week or €7.73 per day
Full board only: €32.14 a week or €4.60 per day
Lodgings only: €21.85 or €3.14 per day

Deductions for other reasons, such as breakages or loss to the employer, must meet similar criteria. The contract must state that these deductions can be made, the deduction must be fair and the employer must give the employee written notice of the deduction.

Dismissal and notice

Workers in Ireland are entitled to a minimum amount of notice if their employment ceases. Workers are also protected against unfair dismissal once they have been working for their employer for over a year. They are protected against unfair dismissal when they have worked for less than a year if the dismissal relates to specific activity such as trade union membership, pregnancy or entitlement to the minimum wage.

How to apply

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) campaigns to inform domestic workers of their rights and can provide information about trade unions.  (A total of 56 unions in Ireland are affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions). There is an ICTU booklet on the rights of domestic workers (pdf).  Many domestic workers in Ireland are migrants and the Migrant Rights Centre Ireland provides support to migrant workers.

Where to apply