On 19th January 2022, the Government announced an additional, once-off Bank Holiday for 18th March 2022 to mark the efforts of the general public, volunteers and all workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and in remembrance of people who lost their lives due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, the Government announced a new permanent public holiday established in celebration of St Brigid’s Day on the first Monday of every February from 2023. Below, we look at public holiday entitlements for employees.

What are the Public Holiday entitlements for employees in Ireland?

Most employees are entitled to paid leave on public holidays in Ireland.

For employees that qualify for public holiday benefit, they are entitled to one of the following:

• A paid day off on the public holiday
• An additional day of annual leave
• An additional day’s pay
• A paid day off within a month of the public holiday

Part-time employees

Part-time employees are entitled to a day’s pay for the public holiday if they meet both these conditions:

• They worked for the employer at least 40 hours in the 5 weeks before the public holiday
• The public holiday falls on a day the employee normally works

If an employee is required to work that day they are entitled to an additional day’s pay. If an employee does not normally work on that particular day, they should get one-fifth of their average weekly pay. Even if never rostered to work on a public holiday, employees are entitled to one-fifth of their weekly pay as compensation for the public holiday.

Public holidays & Weekends

If the public holiday falls on a day which is not a normal working day for that business (for example, on Saturday or Sunday), employees are still entitled to benefit for that public holiday. However, employees do not have any automatic legal entitlement to have the next working day off work.

Public holidays & Sick Leave

• Full-time worker

If an employee is on sick leave during a public holiday, they are entitled to benefit for the public holiday they missed. Employers can also choose to regard the employee as not on sick leave on the public holiday and pay as normal for the public holiday. If this is the case, the public holiday is not counted as a sick leave day.

• Part-time worker

If an employee is on sick leave during a public holiday, they are entitled to benefit for the public holiday, once they have worked for the employer for at least 40 hours in the previous five-week period. 

Ireland currently has one of the lowest public holiday entitlements in the European Union. The average country in the EU has 12 public holidays annually, with Ireland’s 9 public holidays a poor comparison. Irish politicians have called upon the Government to bring Ireland up to the average standard across the European Union to validate and recognise the Irish workforces’ efforts.