The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 sets out the nine public holidays in Ireland, two of which occur over the Christmas period:
- Christmas Day (25 December)
- Stephen’s Day (26 December)
The employee must work 40 hours in the previous 5 weeks to qualify for Public Holiday Entitlement:
The following entitlement applies to all full time employees in respect of public holidays
- Employee Works: If an employee works on the public holiday, they are entitled to be paid for the hours they worked on that day and receive either an additional day’s pay OR a paid day off within one month OR an additional day’s paid annual leave (e.g. if the employee works on Saturday 26 December 2020)
- Business is closed: If the business is closed on the public holiday, and the employee would normally be rostered to work on that day, they are entitled to receive a day’s pay OR a paid day off within one month OR an additional day’s paid annual leave.
- Not Normally Rostered: i.e. If the employee normally works Monday to Friday and the public holiday is falling on the Saturday, the employee will be entitled to one fifth of their normal working week as additional pay OR a paid day off within one month OR as additional annual leave.
Please note that New Years day is also a Public Holiday and therefore employees are entitled to the normal public holiday entitlements.