Most people spend more time reading a phone contract than an employment contract. Yet your employment contract determines your notice period, your non-compete restrictions, your bonus entitlement and your ability to move to a competitor. This guide walks through every key clause in plain English — what's standard, what's unusual, and what's worth pushing back on before you sign.
1. Job Title and Duties
Your job title and duties clause defines what you are employed to do. Watch for overly broad duties clauses — phrases like "and any other duties as required by the company" give your employer significant flexibility to change your role over time.
2. Salary
Your salary should be stated clearly as an annual gross figure. Check that it matches what was discussed verbally and in the offer letter. Also check:
- Is the salary reviewed annually or at the employer's discretion only?
- Is there a salary scale or band, or is your salary fixed?
- Is your pensionable salary the same as your gross salary, or is it capped?
3. Bonus
This is one of the most important and most commonly misunderstood clauses. There are two types of bonus:
- Contractual bonus — paid if you meet defined criteria. You have a legal right to this if the criteria are met.
- Discretionary bonus — paid at the employer's absolute discretion. You have no legal entitlement even if you perform well.
If you are expecting a significant bonus, ask for minimum threshold criteria to be written in before you sign. Only 37% of Irish employees are happy with their bonus despite 69% being eligible — Robert Walters Ireland 2026.
4. Probation Period
The standard probation period in Irish employment contracts is 6 months. Under the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act and general Irish employment practice, probation allows either party to terminate with minimal notice.
Watch also for clauses that allow the employer to extend probation unilaterally — this can push your security back further without your agreement.
5. Notice Period
Notice periods are one of the most commonly asymmetric clauses in Irish finance contracts. The statutory minimum notice under the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973–2005 is just 1 week after 13 weeks of service — but most contracts offer significantly more.
| Level | Market Standard — Employee Gives | Market Standard — Employer Gives |
|---|---|---|
| Analyst / Junior | 1 month | 1 month |
| Senior / Manager | 2–3 months | 1–2 months |
| Director / Head of | 3–6 months | 2–3 months |
The most reasonable ask is symmetric notice. If you give 3 months, they should give 3 months. This is a standard negotiation point at senior level and most employers will accept it.
6. Non-Compete and Restrictive Covenants
Non-compete clauses restrict your ability to work for a competitor after leaving. Under Irish law, non-compete clauses must be reasonable in scope, duration and geographic area to be enforceable. What's reasonable depends on your seniority and the nature of your role.
Non-solicitation clauses — restricting you from poaching clients or colleagues — are more commonly enforceable than blanket non-competes. Both are worth reviewing carefully.
Always seek legal advice before signing a contract with broad restrictive covenants, particularly if you work in a specialist field where your options would be significantly limited.
7. Place of Work and Hybrid Working
73.4% of Irish employers now offer hybrid working — Morgan McKinley Ireland 2026. If your contract specifies a fixed place of work (e.g. "your place of work is the company's Dublin office, 5 days per week") with no hybrid arrangement written in, you have no contractual entitlement to work from home, even if your team informally does so.
8. Annual Leave
The statutory minimum annual leave in Ireland is 20 days under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. The market standard for finance professionals in Ireland is 25 days.
Also check whether bank holidays are included in your annual leave entitlement or in addition to it. The standard in Ireland is 9 public holidays per year in addition to annual leave.
9. Pension
Your pension clause should specify the employer contribution percentage and whether it is matched, fixed, or tiered. The Irish market average employer contribution is 2.42% (Kota Ireland 2026), but the incoming auto-enrolment scheme will require 6% employer contributions at full phase-in.
10. Intellectual Property
IP clauses assign ownership of work you create in the course of your employment to the employer. This is standard and expected. However, watch for clauses that assign IP to the employer for work created outside working hours, using your own equipment and unrelated to your employment — these are unusual and potentially overreaching.
What to Do Before You Sign
- Read the full contract — not just the offer letter
- Compare the written contract to everything discussed verbally
- Flag the notice period, non-compete, bonus and pension clauses specifically
- Ask questions in writing so there is a record
- For significant clauses (broad non-compete, unusual restrictive covenants), seek legal advice from a qualified Irish employment solicitor before signing
Get your contract reviewed before you sign
Upload your employment contract and worthmore.ie will flag every unusual clause — benchmarked against Irish employment law and 2026 market data from Kota, Morgan McKinley, Mercer and Robert Walters.
Review My Contract — €10 →Irish employment law references: Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973–2005, Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994–2014. Market data: Morgan McKinley Ireland Benefits Survey 2026, Kota Ireland Benefits Benchmark Reports (August 2026), Mercer Ireland Total Remuneration Survey 2024, Robert Walters Ireland 2026. This article is for information only and is not legal advice.
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