Ireland

New Employment Permit Type, Labour Market Testing Improvements And Change Of Employer Rules Forthcoming

Ireland will introduce a new employment permit for seasonal workers, streamline its labour market testing processes, and modify its ‘change of employer' rules.

Ireland Employment and HR

At a Glance

Ireland will introduce a new employment permit for seasonal workers, streamline its labour market testing processes, and modify its 'change of employer' rules.
These reforms are part of the recently approved Employment Permits Act 2024, which also introduces new notification obligations, among other changes. The practical elements of this Act have not yet taken effect.
When implemented, these reforms are likely to make it easier for employers to attract talent, though may also present administrative challenges in the context of the Irish government's increased focus on compliance.

The situation

Following approval of the Employment Permits Act 2024, Ireland will introduce a new employment permit for seasonal workers and dependents, streamline Ireland's labour market testing processes, and modify its 'change of employer' rules, among other changes. A timeline for implementation has not yet been provided.

A closer look

CHANGE	IMPACT
Seasonal employment permit. A new Seasonal Employment Permit for the employment of foreign national seasonal workers by approved seasonal employers will soon be available. Currently, Ireland does not have an equivalent work permit for seasonal workers. The permit will apply to 'seasonally recurrent' work that will occur for specified periods in the year (still to be defined in separate regulations) for between three to seven months. To be eligible to make such applications, employers will first need to receive government approval. Applications for a Seasonal Employment Permit may be refused if the employer fails to arrange adequate accommodation or health insurance for the employee.	This permit will provide employers with a new pathway to source seasonal talent, which is expected to benefit the horticulture and food production sectors. Currently, employers are either unable to source seasonal foreign workers or instead must rely upon alternative immigration pathways, which are often more expensive or administratively challenging.
Digitised labour market testing processing. Labour market testing in newspapers will no longer be required. Rather, such advertisements will only need to be placed on approved online platforms. Further details about eligible online platforms are to be clarified in future regulations.	Employer are likely to benefit from more efficient labour market testing processes (as well as reduced costs).
Change of employer processes eased. Amending employer: General Employment Permit or Critical Skills Employment Permit holders will be able to apply to amend their employer, provided that their permit has at least two months validity remaining. Currently, such permit holders cannot amend their employer. Rather, they have to make an entirely new employment permit application. Seasonal Employment Permit holders will be able to apply to amend their employer, provided that their permit has three weeks validity remaining. Such requests may be refused if the new role is different from the preceding role, among other reasons. 12-month rule. The rule that disallows employees from applying for another employment permit until they complete 12 months under the first employment permit, will be modified to be between six to 12 months, depending on regulations (which are yet to be determined).	These changes may increase the attractiveness of Ireland for foreign workers, given the greater capacity for permit holders to flex with changing labour market conditions and opportunities. However, as the rules make it easier for foreign workers to change employers, businesses may find themselves facing a weaker negotiation position vis-à-vis foreign staff.

The legislation makes the additional following changes, among others:

The government will be able to attach additional conditions to employment permits, like accommodation or education requirements, and other measures to reduce reliance on non-European Economic Area talent.
The law creates an official rule for employees to notify the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) of any change of their home address or email address.

Background

The primary goal of this act was to consolidate the assortment of multiple related amended acts implemented over a 15-year period.

Looking ahead

More discretion to government. This act allows the Minister of Justice to amend rules using regulations to better respond to changes in the labour market without implementing further legislation. This will aid in the country's changing in-demand roles and other factors in the labour market.
Further steps to implementation. For the Act to take effect, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (or a delegated junior minister) will need to sign a commencement order, as well as make regulations to provide for specific rules. A timeline for these steps has not yet been provided by the government.
Recent other reforms. This reform highlights a general trend in Ireland to continue liberalising its employment-based immigration landscape (or scaling back restrictive policies), including its largest ever expansion of the employment permits system; automatically granting work rights to eligible partners of various Irish employment permit holders; stepping back from raising the minimum salary level for healthcare workers; and reinstating a more relaxed eligibility framework for Stamp 4 permissions.

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