Secondment Agreement (Ireland)

A Secondment Agreement in Ireland sets the job duties, pay, hours, leave, and notice terms that bind employer and employee, and is governed by the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015.

Secondments are widely used in Ireland across many sectors, including the public sector (where employees may be seconded between government departments or agencies), the private sector (where employees may be seconded between group companies or to clients), and the not-for-profit sector. Secondments are also used in the context of EU institutions, international organisations, and cross-border projects.

Irish employment law does not have a specific statute governing secondments. Instead, secondments are governed by the general framework of employment legislation, including the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994–2014, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, the Payment of Wages Act 1991, and the GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

The key feature of a secondment is that the employee remains employed by the secondor throughout the assignment. The secondor retains responsibility for the employee's salary, PRSI, PAYE, USC, pension contributions, and statutory employment rights. The host organisation assumes responsibility for the day-to-day management and supervision of the employee and must confirm the employee's health and safety at the host's premises.

The Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994–2014 require that where a secondment involves a change to the employee's terms of employment — including the place of work, hours, or remuneration — the employer must provide the employee with written notification of the change within one month of it taking effect. In practice, the secondment agreement itself serves as this written notification, and it should be signed by all three parties before the secondment commences.

Where the secondment involves the employee working in a different country — for example, a secondment from an Irish employer to a host organisation in the European Union or internationally — additional legal considerations arise. The Posted Workers Directive (Directive 96/71/EC, as amended by Directive 2018/957/EU, implemented in Ireland by the European Union (Posting of Workers) Regulations 2016 (S.I. No. 412 of 2016) as amended by S.I. No. 646 of 2020) may apply where an Irish employee is sent to work in another EU member state for a limited period, requiring the employee to receive at minimum the terms and conditions of employment mandated by the host country's law (including minimum wage, working time rules, and annual leave entitlements). For Ireland, the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 (as amended by the National Minimum Wage (Low Pay Commission) Act 2015) sets the minimum wage, which the Low Pay Commission reviews annually; from 1 January 2026 the national minimum wage is EUR 14.15 per hour following the most recent increase recommended by the Low Pay Commission. For secondments outside the EU, the parties should consider the employment law, taxation, and social insurance obligations applicable in the host country.

From a tax perspective, the Revenue Commissioners in Ireland will scrutinise secondment arrangements to confirm that the correct amount of PAYE, PRSI, and USC is being deducted and that the arrangements do not give rise to a 'shadow payroll' requirement in the host country. Where the host organisation reimburses the secondor for the employee's salary costs, the reimbursement is generally not subject to VAT if it is a genuine cost recovery arrangement. However, where the secondment involves the provision of services by the employee to the host that go beyond an arm's length cost recovery, VAT may apply to the secondment fee. Parties should seek tax advice from a qualified tax adviser or Chartered Accountant Ireland registered firm before finalising the commercial terms of a cross-border or inter-company secondment.

The intellectual property aspects of a secondment are particularly important where the seconded employee may create works, inventions, or other intellectual property during the assignment. Under the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000, copyright in works created by an employee in the course of their employment vests in the employer. Where a seconded employee creates intellectual property during the secondment, it is necessary to agree in advance whether that IP will vest in the secondor or the host, and the secondment agreement should contain an express clause dealing with IP ownership and licensing.

An Irish Secondment Agreement is needed whenever an employer temporarily assigns an employee to work for another organisation while maintaining the employment relationship.

You need a Secondment Agreement when you are: assigning an employee to work for a client or partner organisation as part of a commercial arrangement; seconding an employee to a group company or subsidiary for a specific project or to fill a temporary vacancy; participating in a cross-sector secondment programme (public to private or vice versa); assigning an employee to an international organisation or EU institution; or providing an employee with a developmental secondment to broaden their experience and skills.

The agreement should be signed by all three parties (secondor, host, and employee) before the secondment commences. It should be reviewed periodically during the secondment and should be updated if the terms change.

From the secondor's perspective, a written secondment agreement is essential to protect the employer's position and to confirm clarity about which party bears legal liability for the employee's actions and welfare during the assignment. Without a written agreement, there is a risk that the host organisation could be found to have become the employee's employer by operation of law — a finding that would expose the host to all the statutory employment obligations of an employer under Irish law, and would potentially prejudice the employee's continuity of service with the secondor.

From the host's perspective, the agreement provides certainty about the duration of the assignment, the employee's role and reporting line during the assignment, and the respective responsibilities of the secondor and the host for salary, benefits, insurance, and statutory obligations. The host should confirm that it is protected against claims arising from the employee's conduct during the secondment, and that the secondor has adequate employers' liability insurance and has indemnified the host against claims arising from the employment relationship.

From the employee's perspective, a clear secondment agreement protects their employment rights by confirming that their employment with the secondor continues throughout the assignment, that their salary, benefits, and pension entitlements are maintained, that their continuity of employment is preserved, and that they have a right to return to a suitable role with the secondor at the end of the secondment. Under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 and the Protection of Employees (Part-Time Work) Act 2001, seconded employees retain all the statutory employment rights of a permanent employee and cannot be treated less favourably than comparable employees of the secondor or the host on grounds of the temporary nature of their assignment.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is the body with jurisdiction to investigate employment complaints in Ireland, including complaints arising from secondment arrangements. Employees who believe their employment rights have been breached during a secondment — including claims of unfair treatment, breach of contract, or failure to comply with the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts — may refer a complaint to the WRC within six months of the date of the contravention (extendable to 12 months where reasonable cause is shown under section 41(8) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015). The WRC's 2023 Annual Report recorded 27,004 complaints received in that year, reflecting the continued high volume of employment disputes across all sectors. Appeals from WRC adjudication decisions lie to the Labour Court under section 44 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, and further appeal on a point of law lies to the High Court.

A thorough Irish Secondment Agreement should contain several essential provisions.

The parties clause should identify the secondor (full legal name, registered address, and company registration number), the host (full legal name, registered address, and company registration number), and the employee (full name, address, and PPS number where required for PRSI purposes).

The duration clause should specify the start date, end date, and any provision for extension. The agreement should address the minimum notice required from any party to extend or curtail the secondment period, and the consequences (if any) for the employee's continuity of employment if the secondment is terminated early.

The duties clause should describe the role, responsibilities, and reporting line during the secondment. It should confirm the employee's job title at the host, the team or department within the host organisation to which the employee is assigned, and the name and title of the employee's line manager at the host.

The salary and benefits clause should confirm that the secondor will continue to pay the employee's salary and all contractual benefits (including bonus entitlements, pension contributions, health insurance, company car, and other benefits in kind) during the secondment. It should also address any additional allowances or expenses payable by the secondor or the host — for example, travel and accommodation expenses if the secondment is at a location distant from the employee's normal place of work.

The cost reimbursement clause should specify whether and to what extent the host will reimburse the secondor for the salary and benefit costs attributable to the secondment period, and the mechanism and timing for such reimbursement. This clause should also address the VAT and transfer pricing implications of any inter-company cost reimbursement.

The PRSI and tax clause should confirm that the secondor will continue to operate PAYE, PRSI, and USC on the employee's behalf throughout the secondment, that the employee remains within the Irish social insurance system, and (where the secondment is cross-border) how the parties will manage any tax or social security obligations in the host country.

The management clause should specify that the host will have day-to-day management and supervision of the employee, including setting the employee's working hours, tasks, and objectives during the secondment, and that the host will comply with the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 in respect of the employee's working hours and rest periods.

The health and safety clause should allocate health and safety responsibilities between the secondor and the host in accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, confirming the host's primary responsibility for health and safety at the host's premises and the secondor's residual duty to confirm the suitability of the working environment.

The confidentiality clause should address the employee's obligations regarding confidential information of both the secondor and the host during and after the secondment, and should specify that any confidentiality obligations in the employee's employment contract with the secondor continue to apply.

The intellectual property clause should address the ownership of any IP created by the employee during the secondment, specifying whether ownership vests in the secondor or the host, and including appropriate assignment provisions if IP is to vest in the host.

The data protection clause should address the sharing and processing of the employee's personal data between the secondor and the host, including the lawful basis for the sharing, the categories of data shared, and the data protection roles of each party, in compliance with the GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

The return to work clause should confirm the employee's right to return to a suitable role with the secondor at the end of the secondment and should address how the employee's reintegration will be managed.

The termination clause should address the circumstances in which the secondment may be ended early by any party, the notice required, and the consequences for the employee, including their immediate return to the secondor and the continuation of their employment rights under the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977–2015 and the Protection of Employment Acts 1977–2014.

The dispute resolution clause should confirm that employment disputes may be referred to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) under the Workplace Relations Act 2015, that appeals from WRC adjudication decisions lie to the Labour Court under Section 44 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, and that further appeals on a point of law lie to the High Court of Ireland. The WRC has jurisdiction over complaints under the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994–2014, the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, the Payment of Wages Act 1991, the Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015, and the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977–2015. The Companies Registration Office (CRO) maintains records of corporate entities under the Companies Act 2014, and where either the secondor or the host is a company, their CRO registration numbers should appear in the parties clause. The Data Protection Commission (DPC) supervises processing of the employee's personal data under the Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR Articles 6 and 9. Revenue Commissioners require that the secondor continues to operate PAYE/PRSI/USC correctly throughout the secondment under the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 and the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. The forms-legal.com Secondment Agreement (Ireland) template covers the mandatory elements under the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994–2014, the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005, and the Employment Equality Acts 1998–2015.