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The normal working week in Ireland is Monday to Friday. Normal working hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with a one-hour lunch break. Irish employees work 8 hours per day, to a maximum of 48 hours per week.

Irish has seven major public holidays:

• New Year's Day (1 January)
• St. Patrick's Day (17 March)
• Easter Monday
• First Monday in May, June, August
• Last Monday in October
• Christmas Day (25 December)
• St. Stephen's Day (26 December)

The National Minimum Wage is €8.65 per hour with effect from 1 July 2007 for an experienced adult worker.

The Contract

When accepting an offer of a job in Ireland, you should receive a formal contract from your employer, setting out the conditions of employment, salary to be paid and the benefits that the employee can expect to receive in addition to his or her salary, such as contribution towards accommodation, car or children's education. The contract of employment should also set out the conditions for termination of the contract by either party (the employer or the employee). Contracts may have a fixed end date, or may be left open ended. If the end date is specified, the contract can be renewed upon expiry with the agreement of both parties.