Ireland: New Employment Permits Legislation Comes into Force and Introduces Several Changes to the Irish Employment Permit System

The main changes introduced by the Act are set out below.

 

Seasonal Employment Permit (“SEP”)

The Act introduces a new type of employment permit for seasonal workers. The SEP facilitates the employment of foreign nationals who are employed as “seasonally recurrent employees” for a maximum period of up to 7 months per calendar year. A pilot scheme will run in 2025 and will be limited to specific employers with specific conditions. The introduction of the SEP is designed to support targeted economic sectors, such as horticulture and agriculture, in addressing labour shortages. If an employer wants to employ a foreign national under a SEP, they are required to make an annual application to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to become an approved seasonal employer.

 

Change of Employer

Previously, any employment permit holder who wished to change employer prior to the expiration of their permit was required to apply for a new permit.  Under the Act, holders of a General Employment Permit or a Critical Skills Employment Permit are now permitted to change employers after a period of 9 months and subject to having at least two months remaining on their current permit. If an employment permit holder changes employer in these circumstances, they will be allowed to work for their new employer for the remainder of the validity period of their current employment permit. The new role for which the employee must be within the same occupation or occupation classification on the original permit.

 

50:50 rule

The 50:50 rule provides that an employment permit will not be issued unless, at the time of application, at least 50% of the employees in the firm are EEA nationals. To support the expansion of future businesses, the waiver to the 50:50 rule for employers who do not have employees at the time of application has been revised and no longer restricts the employer to the one employee permit holder after grant. The 50:50 rule will be triggered when a second application is made for an employment permit for the same employer.

 

Contract for Services – Employment Permit extended to sub-contractors

The eligibility to obtain a contract for services permit has now been extended to subcontractors.  Previously, a contract for services permit was only granted to foreign national employees of a foreign undertaking in order to provide services to an Irish entity pursuant to a contract for services.

 

Six-month rule

In order to ensure permits are utilised and in an attempt to reduce delays in respect of filling critical roles, a new provision under the Act requires the foreign national to commence employment within six months of the permit being granted or coming into force.

The new Act is a welcome development in the employment permits system in Ireland, making the system more flexible and modern.