Employing in Italy vs Ireland

The legal differences an Irish company runs into when it hires its first person in Italy. Both countries apply EU employment directives, so much will feel familiar: written terms, a 48-hour average week, four weeks' leave. The gap is in the detail. Italy adds a national collective agreement (CCNL) for almost every employee, protects against dismissal from the end of probation rather than after a year, and makes the employer accrue severance (TFR) on every exit.

Topic	Ireland	Italy
Written terms	Five core terms in writing within 5 days of starting, the rest of the written statement within 1 month (Terms of Employment (Information) Acts, as amended in 2018 and 2022). Source	Written contract or hiring letter with the information listed in the Transparency Decree, given at the start; the hire is notified online (UniLav) by the day before. Pay and grade follow the CCNL. Source
Probation	Maximum 6 months, extendable in exceptional cases up to 12 months in total. Source	Set by the CCNL, usually from a few weeks to 6 months; must be agreed in writing at the start. Source
Ending employment	Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977–2015 generally protect employees with 1 year's continuous service; compensation capped at 104 weeks' remuneration, or reinstatement/re-engagement. Source	After probation, dismissal needs just cause or a justified subjective or objective reason, stated in writing. Unjustified dismissal leads to 6–36 months' pay (3–18 in small employers) and, in some cases, reinstatement. Source
Notice	Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts: 1 week (13 weeks to 2 years' service) rising to 8 weeks (15 years or more). Source	Set by the CCNL by job level and seniority, typically weeks to several months. Source
Severance	Statutory redundancy only after 2 years' service: 2 weeks' pay per year plus 1 week, with pay capped at €600 a week. Source	TFR: about 6.91% of annual pay accrued every year from day one and paid on any exit, including resignation. Source
Social contributions	Employer PRSI Class A: 11.25% on weekly pay above €552 (9% at or below), rising to 11.40% / 9.15% from 1 October 2026. No ceiling. Source	INPS on the whole salary, roughly 30% employer and 9.19% employee (plus 1% above €56,224 in 2026), up to a €122,295 cap for those first insured from 1996, plus INAIL, the 13th month and TFR. Source
Pension	MyFutureFund auto-enrolment from 1 January 2026: employer 1.5% of gross pay (rising to 6% by year 10) for eligible staff without a payroll pension, on earnings up to €80,000. Source	INPS pension is covered by the contributions above; TFR can be paid into a supplementary pension fund at the employee's choice. Source
Annual leave and hours	4 working weeks' paid leave; 48-hour average working week (Organisation of Working Time Act 1997). Source	At least 4 weeks a year, plus 12 national public holidays from 2026 and CCNL leave hours (ROL); 48-hour average week, overtime cap 250 hours a year unless the CCNL says otherwise. Source
Sick leave	Statutory sick pay: 5 days a year in 2026, at 70% of pay up to €110 a day, after 13 weeks' service and with a medical certificate. Source	Paid from day one with an online medical certificate; INPS pays 50% from day 4 and 66.66% from day 21 (up to 180 days), the employer tops up per CCNL; job protected for a period set by the CCNL. Source
Maternity and paternity	26 weeks' maternity leave plus 16 weeks' unpaid additional leave; 2 weeks' paternity leave; 9 weeks' parent's leave per parent in the child's first 2 years. State benefits, no statutory employer pay. Source	5 months compulsory maternity leave paid at 80% by INPS (often topped up by the CCNL), 10 working days compulsory paternity leave at 100%, plus up to 9 months' parental leave. Source
Posting staff	Ireland and Italy are both in the EU: Regulation 883/2004 applies. An Irish employee posted to Italy for up to 24 months can stay in Irish PRSI with an A1 certificate, applied for at least 4 weeks ahead. Source	A person hired locally in Italy pays INPS. Postings to Italy also need a prior posting notice to the Ministry of Labour (D.Lgs 136/2016). Source
Non-compete	Common-law restraint of trade: enforceable only if reasonable and protecting a legitimate interest. No payment required by statute.	Art. 2125 Civil Code: in writing, limited in object, time (5 years for executives, 3 for others) and place, and paid for. Without payment it is void. Source

General comparison for orientation, not legal advice. Irish figures are from Citizens Information, gov.ie and the Irish Statute Book, read on 10 November 2026. Italian figures depend on the CCNL for the role.

What it means for your budget

In Ireland, employer PRSI of about 11% and a 1.5% MyFutureFund contribution sit on top of salary, and redundancy pay is a contingent cost that only arises after two years. In Italy, INPS of about 30%, the 13th month (and sometimes a 14th) and TFR of about 6.9% are fixed costs every month. An Italian employee typically costs 1.36–1.40 times gross salary. Run the numbers in the cost calculator.

What it means for your plans

Irish managers know that dismissal needs fair procedures, but they also know the Unfair Dismissals Acts usually bite only after a year. In Italy protection starts when probation ends, typically within six months, and the reason must be stated in writing. Use probation deliberately. If you have no Italian company, an Employer of Record holds the contract, runs payroll and handles INPS for you.

Guides for companies in Ireland

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