Contract reviews
Audit and update employment contracts to meet current legislation.
Make the right call, early
Employment law advice for Irish employers, start to finish
Employment law in Ireland changes constantly, and a single misstep on a contract, a dismissal, or a working-time record can become a WRC claim. PurpleTree gives Irish employers clear, practical employment law for employers across the full employment lifecycle, from everyday HR questions to representation at the Workplace Relations Commission, so you make the right call before a small issue escalates.
Who we work with
Trusted by businesses across Ireland
Complex rules explained in plain English.
Employment Law Advice
Employment law in Ireland is constantly evolving, and getting it wrong can be costly. We stay fully up to date with the Terms of Employment (Information) Acts, the Organisation of Working Time Act, the Unfair Dismissals Acts and all WRC compliance requirements, translating complex legislation into clear, practical advice. From drafting compliant employment contracts for Irish retail businesses to advising on working time, minimum notice and leave entitlements, we make sure your business stays protected at every stage. For employers who want that advice on tap, it is built into our outsourced HR retainer.
Time and leave
Advice on working time, leave entitlements and minimum wage compliance.
Inspection ready
Prepare your business for WRC inspections and audits.
Covered whether you operate here or in the UK.
Cross-border HR Support
For businesses that operate across Ireland, the UK, or wider Europe, particularly in sectors like healthcare, HR compliance can quickly become complex. Post-Brexit, significant differences between Irish and UK employment law require careful navigation, from TUPE transfer obligations to divergent UK Employment Rights Act provisions. We provide specialist cross-border advice for employers moving people and operations from Ireland to the UK or from the UK into Ireland, ensuring your contracts, benefits and policies are aligned with each jurisdiction so you can operate with confidence.
- Navigate post-Brexit differences in Irish and UK employment law
- Ensure TUPE compliance for cross-border transfers and restructures
- Align multi-jurisdiction contracts, benefits, and HR policies
An impartial outside view when you need one.
HR Investigations
From misconduct to workplace disputes, a thorough and independent HR investigation process is critical. Our consultants act as trusted third parties, conducting investigations in line with the WRC Code of Practice on Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures (SI 146/2000) and the principles of natural justice. We deliver clear findings and practical recommendations, helping you resolve issues fairly while maintaining trust in your workplace. Where an investigation involves a discrimination or harassment complaint, handling it correctly is also the first line of defence against employer liability for workplace discrimination at the WRC.
- Handle sensitive cases with impartiality and discretion
- Protect your business with legally sound, WRC-aligned processes
- Maintain fairness and trust within the workplace
Help the day it lands on a desk.
Disciplinary & Grievance Handling
Handling grievances or disciplinary cases can be daunting for managers, especially when issues arise around contacting employees on leave or following the correct disciplinary procedure under the Industrial Relations Acts. We provide expert support to ensure every case is managed correctly, fairly and in full compliance with WRC adjudication standards. The result is smoother processes, less risk of claims at the Workplace Relations Commission, and stronger confidence across your leadership team.
- Resolve issues fairly and efficiently under Irish law
- Reduce escalation to WRC adjudication or Labour Court appeals
- Safeguard your company reputation and ongoing compliance
The hard calls, handled with care.
Redundancy & Dismissals
Sometimes difficult decisions have to be made. We provide redundancy and dismissal support for Irish employers, helping you follow a fair process in full compliance with the Unfair Dismissals Acts 1977 to 2015 and the Redundancy Payments Acts, including statutory notice periods and the calculation of lump-sum entitlements. Our employer guide to the redundancy process walks through the sequence step by step. Facing broader HR challenges? With PurpleTree alongside you, you reduce legal risk and protect your reputation while treating employees with dignity during periods of change.
- Conduct redundancies and dismissals with full statutory compliance
- Reduce risks of unfair dismissal claims under the 1977 to 2015 Acts
- Protect employee dignity and manage transitions compassionately
Real people you will actually deal with.
Irish Employment Law Advice, Based in Longford
PurpleTree is an Irish HR consultancy based in Longford, advising employers across the country on Irish employment law as it actually applies here, not adapted from a UK template. When you call, you speak to the consultant who already knows your business, your contracts and your open issues, rather than a rotating help desk.
We give you a straight read on where you stand, including the risk, and we agree any project fee in writing before we start, so advice never arrives as an open-ended hourly bill.
Day-to-day advice is built into an outsourced HR retainer, and if an employee files a claim, our WRC representation service takes the case from notification through to hearing and any Labour Court appeal. See how we price HR support before you commit.
- Irish employment law expertise, grounded in WRC and Labour Court practice
- A named consultant who knows your business, not a rotating help desk
- Project fees agreed in writing in advance, with no open-ended hourly billing
- Day-to-day advice included in an outsourced HR retainer
Talk it through
Get clear, practical employment law advice for your business, or fast representation to respond to a WRC claim, before a small issue escalates. For employers on an outsourced HR retainer, day-to-day advice and WRC support are part of your monthly fee. See how we price HR support, then talk it through with our team.
Free 5-minute HR Health Check
See where your business stands before the WRC does
Answer 40 straightforward questions on contracts, working time, pay, leave and policies, and get a clear read on where your compliance gaps sit and what to fix first.
Common questions on Employment Advice
It covers the full employment lifecycle: compliant contracts and a staff handbook, day-to-day advice on disciplinaries, grievances and absence, workplace investigations, redundancy and dismissal, and representation if an employee brings a claim to the WRC or the Labour Court. In practice it is the difference between handling a people issue correctly the first time and learning the procedure during a hearing.
Most day-to-day employer matters, and WRC adjudication itself, are handled by HR and employment-law specialists rather than solicitors. Employers are routinely represented at the Workplace Relations Commission by advisers like PurpleTree. We tell you plainly when an issue genuinely needs a solicitor and when it does not, so you are not paying legal fees for advice a HR specialist should give.
PurpleTree provides unlimited phone and email employment-law advice as part of a fixed monthly retainer, so you are not billed by the hour every time a question comes up. Defined pieces of work such as a WRC hearing or a redundancy programme are scoped and quoted in writing before they begin. Check our HR pricing for a rate based on your headcount.
The moment a situation could end up in front of the WRC. That includes any dismissal, a disciplinary that might lead to one, a grievance you are unsure how to investigate, a redundancy, or a sick-leave or absence case that is dragging on. Getting the process right at the start is far cheaper than defending a flawed one later.
Failing to issue compliant written terms within the statutory timeframe, skipping steps in a disciplinary or dismissal procedure, and keeping thin working-time and leave records. Each one is avoidable and each is a frequent reason employers lose claims at the WRC. Our guide to employment contract mistakes covers the documents most often caught out.
For most claims an employee has six months from the act they are complaining about to lodge a complaint with the WRC, extendable to twelve months where the adjudicator accepts there was reasonable cause for the delay. Once a claim is filed you are given a fixed date to file your written response, so the right time to seek advice is well before that point.
Yes. For employers on an outsourced HR retainer, day-to-day employment-law advice, contract and policy updates, and disciplinary and grievance support are part of the monthly fee. Larger projects such as a contested WRC hearing are scoped in advance, and for retainer clients are often covered within the agreed level of support.
Irish employment law specifically. Our advice is grounded in the Acts that apply here and in WRC and Labour Court practice, not adapted from a UK playbook. We are a team serving Irish employers directly, so the guidance fits Irish obligations rather than approximating them.
Keep reading
Leave & Absence
Nine Maternity Leave Questions Irish Employers Keep Asking
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Pay & Pensions
Employer PRSI Mistakes That Cost Irish Businesses Thousands
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Dismissal & Disciplinary
Probation Periods in Ireland Protect Employers Less Than You Think
A probation period in Ireland does not give employers a free pass to dismiss without process. These seven common mistakes expose Irish SMEs to WRC claims, financial penalties, and operational disruption.