Working Hours Calculator Ireland 2025

Keeping track of the hours you work isn’t just helpful—it’s essential. In Ireland, your working time is protected by the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, which governs working hours, rest breaks, annual leave, and overtime entitlements. Whether you're full-time, part-time, casual, or on a fixed-term contract, staying on top of your hours helps ensure you're being paid correctly and treated fairly by your employer.

Need a quick and reliable way to calculate your working hours or check if you're owed overtime?
Use our free Working Hours Calculator to get started.

What Is a Working Hours Calculator?

A working hours calculator helps you track how many hours you've worked over a given period. It’s useful for:

• Verifying that your payslip reflects your actual hours
• Identifying unpaid overtime
• Monitoring compliance with your employment contract
• Ensuring your hours don't exceed legal limits

Whether you're a barista in Dublin, a software engineer in Cork, or a nurse on shift work in Galway, this tool is built for workers across Ireland to take control of their time and income.

What Are the Working Time Rules in Ireland?

Standard Working Hours

Under Irish employment law:

• The maximum average working week is 48 hours, typically averaged over a 4-month period
• Most employees work between 35–39 hours per week, but this varies by role and contract

You cannot legally be required to work more than the average limit unless exempted by law or covered by a collective agreement.

Break Entitlements

Irish law also guarantees rest periods:

• 15-minute break after 4.5 hours worked
• 30-minute break after 6 hours worked (which can include the first 15 minutes)
• 11 hours rest between shifts
• 24 consecutive hours off every 7 days (plus the daily 11 hours)

These are statutory minimums, and your contract or industry agreement may offer more generous terms.

Overtime Pay in Ireland

There is no statutory requirement for employers to pay higher rates for overtime. However, your contract of employment, collective agreement, or company policy may provide overtime pay at premium rates (e.g., time and a half or double time).

For example

If you earn €18/hour and work 45 hours in a week:

• Regular pay = 40 × €18 = €720
• Overtime (time and a half) = 5 × €27 = €135
• Total = €855

Who Is Exempt from Working Time Limits?

Some roles may be partially or fully exempt from working time regulations. These include:

• Certain senior managerial positions
• Family employees
• Gardaí and members of the Defence Forces
• Emergency services in exceptional circumstances

Full details are available on gov.ie.

Full-Time vs. Part-Time in Ireland

• Full-time: Typically 35–39 hours per week
• Part-time: Any role with regular hours fewer than full-time, but not on a casual or zero-hours basis

Under the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001, part-time workers are entitled to the same pro-rata rights as full-time workers, including pay, annual leave, and rest breaks.

What’s the Minimum Shift Rule?

If you’re called into work and sent home early, Irish law provides some protection:

• Employees are entitled to a minimum of 3 hours' pay if they report for work but are not provided with their usual hours—unless they were notified in advance not to come in.

This is particularly relevant for workers on variable hours or casual contracts.

How to Calculate Your Working Hours?

Use our calculator to determine:

• Daily hours = (End time – Start time) – unpaid breaks
• Weekly hours = Total of all days worked
• Annual hours = Weekly hours × number of work weeks (adjusted for holidays)

For example

Worked from 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM with 1-hour lunch = 8 hours/day
Worked 5 days = 8 × 5 = 40 hours/week

Tracking your hours accurately helps ensure you're fairly paid and not exceeding legal limits.

Why Use a Working Hours Calculator?

This tool can help you:

• Keep personal records for payslip verification
• Track overtime worked vs. paid
• Support a claim for underpayment
• Prepare evidence for a dispute with your employer
• Budget your monthly take-home pay more accurately

Example: Irish Timesheet Template

Keeping a simple timesheet helps you stay organised and supports transparency between you and your employer—especially if you work irregular shifts or submit hours manually.

Here’s a sample 40-hour workweek for a full-time employee:

If your contracted hours are 37.5 per week, this timesheet shows a 1.5-hour overtime surplus, which may be compensated depending on your agreement.

Sample 12-Hour Shift Work Schedule

If you work in healthcare, emergency services, or manufacturing, your schedule may follow a compressed or shift-based pattern. Here’s a simple template for tracking a 12-hour rota:

Ready to Get More from Your Paycheck?

Tracking your working hours is a key part of making sure you’re paid fairly—but the next step is putting your income to work for you.

Investing is growing in popularity across Ireland, with more people turning to stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), real estate, pensions, and green investing to build long-term financial security.

Each type of investment carries its risks and rewards. That’s why it's important to choose options that suit your goals, timeline, and comfort with risk.

Whether you're a beginner looking to start with a small monthly contribution or an experienced investor ready to grow your portfolio, our guide will help you understand your options. Explore the Ireland Investing Guide now.

P. Laurore

Finance expert

Co-founder of HelloSafe and holder of a Master's degree in finance, Pauline has recognised expertise in personal finance, which she uses to help users better understand and optimise their financial choices. At HelloSafe, Pauline plays a key role in designing clear, educational content on savings, investments and personal finance. Passionate about financial education, Pauline strives, with every piece of content she oversees, to provide reliable, transparent and unbiased information for independent and informed financial management. To this end, she has tested over 100 trading platforms to help internet users make the right choices.