Job descriptions and pay bands in Ireland
Reviewed by Mellow Editorial Team, HR & payroll content team
Writing a clear job description and setting a defensible pay band before you advertise a role saves time, reduces disputes and helps you stay on the right side of Irish employment law. Here is how to do both, step by step.
Why job descriptions matter more than you might think
A job description is not just a hiring tool. In Ireland it forms part of the employment relationship. Under the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994–2014, you must give every employee a written statement of their core terms within five days of starting, and a fuller written statement within one month. The job title and a description of the work are required elements of that statement.
A vague job description creates real problems later. If you need to manage performance, restructure a role or defend a dismissal at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), a well-written job description is one of the first documents a adjudicator will ask for. Treat it as a legal document, not a recruitment ad.
How to write a job description: step by step
1. Start with the role, not the person.
Describe what the job requires, not what your ideal candidate looks like. This keeps you on the right side of equality legislation. Ireland's Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015 cover nine grounds including age, gender and disability. Requirements must be genuinely necessary for the role.
2. List the core duties clearly.
Break the role into five to eight main responsibilities. Use plain language. Avoid vague phrases like "support the team" — say instead "prepare weekly cash-flow reports for the finance manager". Specificity protects you and sets honest expectations for the candidate.
3. Separate essential from desirable requirements.
Essential criteria are the non-negotiables — a qualification required by law, for instance, or a specific licence. Desirable criteria are things that would help but are not mandatory. This distinction matters during shortlisting and, again, at the WRC if a rejected candidate ever challenges your decision.
4. Include reporting lines and working arrangements.
State who the role reports to, whether it is full-time or part-time, the contracted hours and the work location or remote-working arrangement. Since the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, employees have a right to request flexible and remote working. Being clear upfront avoids confusion later.
5. Add a brief review clause.
A single line noting that duties may evolve with the business prevents future disputes if the role changes. Keep it proportionate — this is not a blank cheque to change the job entirely.
How to set a pay band
1. Do your market research first.
Check salary surveys from recruitment agencies, industry bodies and the CSO's earnings data. Look at what comparable roles advertise publicly. You are looking for a realistic market range, not the highest or lowest figure you can find.
2. Define the band width.
A typical pay band has a minimum, a midpoint and a maximum. The minimum should be the rate at which the role delivers clear value. The maximum is the point beyond which the role does not grow further without a promotion. A band width of 20–30% from min to max is common for most individual contributor roles.
3. Check the National Minimum Wage floor.
Whatever band you set, the minimum must sit at or above the current National Minimum Wage. Confirm the current rate directly with gov.ie before advertising, as it is reviewed annually.
4. Account for the full employment cost.
The salary figure an employee sees is not what the role costs you. At Class A PRSI, you pay approximately 11.15% employer PRSI on top of gross pay. Factor this into your budget when deciding what you can afford, not after you have made an offer.
5. Consider pay transparency obligations.
The EU Pay Transparency Directive is being transposed into Irish law. Once in force, employers will face obligations around publishing pay ranges in job adverts and providing information on pay criteria to employees. Building transparent, documented pay bands now puts you ahead of that requirement rather than scrambling to comply later.
Linking pay bands to your payroll setup
Once a band is agreed and an offer is made, the mechanics of pay become important. Irish payroll runs on a real-time reporting basis — every payment to an employee must be reported to Revenue via ROS on or before the payday. Each employee's tax credits and USC bands are applied through a Revenue Payroll Notification (RPN), which you retrieve before processing pay.
Understanding this matters when you are setting bands. Pay increases that push an employee from below to above the higher income tax threshold (around €44,000 for a single person) meaningfully change their net pay. When discussing an offer or a raise, being able to explain the approximate net effect builds trust with the employee and reduces surprises.
Keeping records and reviewing bands
Document every decision. Keep the job description, the market data you used, and the rationale for where in the band you placed the new hire. Review pay bands at least annually — labour market rates shift, the National Minimum Wage changes, and your own business may grow into different hiring tiers. If you operate multiple roles, a simple pay-band framework showing how each grade relates to the others makes promotion conversations and pay-review cycles significantly easier to manage.
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