Employment Law

On a zero hours
or casual contract?
You still have rights.

Zero hours and casual contracts are common in Irish hospitality, retail, and healthcare. Many workers on these contracts believe they have few or no employment rights. This is not correct. Irish law provides significant protections for casual and variable hours workers.

Banded hours

After 12 months

Minimum wage

Applies to all

Holiday pay

Accrues on all hours

Free

Initial assessment

Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018

Your employer must provide minimum guaranteed hours after 12 months

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 significantly improved rights for variable hours workers in Ireland. Key protections include: your employer must provide a written statement of your core terms within five days of starting; zero hours contracts are banned for regular work (except genuine casual arrangements); and after 12 months of variable hours work, you are entitled to be placed in a banded hours contract reflecting the hours you actually work on average.

All workers, regardless of hours, are also entitled to: national minimum wage, paid annual leave (accruing at a rate proportional to hours worked), rest breaks, protection from unfair dismissal after 12 months, and protection from discrimination.

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Track your hours carefully

If you want to claim banded hours after 12 months, keep records of every hour you have actually worked. Text messages calling you in, emails confirming shifts, and your own written log all count as evidence. Your employer is required to keep records of hours worked — you are entitled to request these.

Similar Cases

Others in the same situation

Jana, Cork

Worked consistent 25-hour weeks for two years. Employer refused banded hours request. WRC complaint filed.

Banded hours ordered

Marcus, Galway

Zero hours worker not paid for mandatory training time. Employer said training was voluntary despite attendance being required.

Training time recovered as paid hours

Rita, Limerick

Casual worker not receiving annual leave pay despite accruing leave on hours worked.

Holiday pay arrears recovered

Eoin, Dublin

On casual contract for three years — dismissed after raising a health concern. Employer claimed no employment relationship existed.

Employee status established — unfair dismissal claim succeeded

A Real Situation

Kasia's story — Dublin

Zero Hours / Casual Work

"I worked 30 to 40 hours every week for 18 months. My contract said zero guaranteed hours. My manager said that was just how it worked."

Kasia had been working in a large Dublin hotel for 18 months. Her contract guaranteed zero hours. In practice, she worked between 30 and 40 hours every week — she was always called in, always available, and had never been told there was no work for her in all that time.

When she requested banded hours, her manager told her that her contract was a zero hours contract and that was the agreement she had signed. Kasia was not aware that her actual pattern of work, not her contract, determined her rights after 12 months.

Her solicitor explained that the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 entitles workers to be placed in a banded hours contract reflecting the band most closely matching their average weekly hours over the reference period. Kasia's average was 34 hours — which placed her in the 30–35 hour band.

The hotel placed her in the correct banded contract without requiring a formal WRC complaint.

Banded hours contract secured — rights confirmed This story is based on situations commonly experienced in Ireland and is for illustrative purposes only.

Common Questions

Answered plainly

A contract that guarantees you a minimum number of hours per week reflecting the hours you actually work on average. There are eight bands, ranging from 3–6 hours per week up to 36 hours and over. After 12 months of variable hours work, you can request to be placed in the appropriate band.

Yes. Annual leave accrues for all workers based on hours actually worked. You accrue 8% of hours worked as paid annual leave, up to a maximum of four working weeks per year. Your employer must pay you for this leave — it cannot be rolled into your hourly rate without a written agreement.

No. Penalising a worker for requesting their legal entitlements under the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 is unlawful. If you are dismissed or your hours are reduced after making a banded hours request, this may give rise to a WRC complaint.

The legal distinction between employee and self-employed is determined by the substance of the working relationship, not the label on the contract. If your employer controls your hours, location, and methods of work, you may be an employee regardless of what your contract says. A solicitor will assess your situation.

Related Situations

On a zero hours
or casual contract?
You still have rights.

Your employer must provide minimum guaranteed hours after 12 months

Others in the same situation

Kasia's story — Dublin

"I worked 30 to 40 hours every week for 18 months. My contract said zero guaranteed hours. My manager said that was just how it worked."

Answered plainly

Other situations we can help with

Your contract may say zero hours.
The law may say something different.

On a zero hoursor casual contract?You still have rights.

Your employer must provide minimum guaranteed hours after 12 months

Others in the same situation

Kasia's story — Dublin

"I worked 30 to 40 hours every week for 18 months. My contract said zero guaranteed hours. My manager said that was just how it worked."

Answered plainly

Other situations we can help with

Your contract may say zero hours.The law may say something different.

On a zero hours
or casual contract?
You still have rights.

Your contract may say zero hours.
The law may say something different.