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Payroll for Retail and Hospitality Businesses in Ireland
Retail and hospitality payroll rarely sits still. One week can bring extra weekend shifts, card tips, a new starter and a public holiday. The next can bring shorter rosters, sick leave, seasonal staff finishing up and several pay changes at once. Payroll has to turn that moving information into accurate pay and timely Revenue reporting.
Payrollcompany.ie provides managed payroll for restaurants, cafes, hotels, pubs, bars, shops and other customer-facing businesses. We process the payroll cycle while keeping the sector-specific inputs organised.
Payroll pricing snapshot
Monthly · 1–9 employees
€30 / employee
Monthly · 10–20 employees
€25 / employee
21+ employees
Custom quote
Weekly payroll
from €15 / payslip
Fortnightly payroll
from €25 / payslip
variable rosters
Payroll Built Around Variable Rosters
A fixed monthly salary is relatively predictable. A weekly hospitality or retail payroll can depend on the exact hours worked, overtime, Sunday arrangements, tips, leave, bonuses and last-minute roster changes for dozens of people.
The practical challenge is not simply calculating gross-to-net pay. It is collecting the right information before each cut-off, checking unusual movements and making sure each pay element has been set up correctly before payroll calculates it.
We can process:
- Weekly, fortnightly and monthly payroll.
- Overtime and contractual premiums.
- Tips, gratuities and service charges routed through the employer.
- Statutory sick pay and employer sick-pay schemes where applicable.
- Seasonal and casual starters and leavers.
- MyFutureFund deductions and employer contributions based on the official payroll notification.
- Hourly and variable-hours pay.
- Sunday compensation where it is provided through payroll.
- Holiday and public holiday pay.
- Bonuses, commission and other variable pay.
- Enhanced Reporting Requirements (ERR) information where relevant.
- Digital payslips, payroll reports and corrections.
Pricing
Retail and Hospitality Payroll Pricing
The approved Payroll Company pricing supplied for this project applies by employee number and pay frequency.
| Employees | Monthly Payroll Cost |
|---|---|
| 1-9 | €30 per employee per month |
| 10-20 | €25 per employee per month |
| 21+ | Custom quote |
Weekly payroll is priced from €15 per payslip and fortnightly payroll from €25 per payslip in the supplied pricing information.
charges
Tips, Gratuities and Service Charges
Tips can affect both payroll tax and employment-law administration, and the treatment depends on how the money reaches the worker. For hospitality businesses in particular, the tip policy, distribution records and payroll treatment need to describe the same process.
Electronic Tips and Mandatory Service Charges
Irish tips legislation gives workers a legal entitlement to electronic tips and gratuities and requires them to be distributed fairly. An employer generally cannot retain a share of electronic tips, although the legislation allows limited deductions in specified circumstances, such as certain tax or bank charges, or a fair allocation where the employer regularly performs substantially the same work as employees.
A mandatory charge described or presented to the customer as a service charge must be distributed to staff as if it were an electronic tip or gratuity. Employers also need a clear policy explaining how tips, gratuities and service charges are distributed, and the policy forms part of the employee information required by the tips legislation.
Tips Cannot Be Used to Make Up Contractual Pay
Tips and gratuities cannot be used to make up an employee’s contractual rate of pay. For National Minimum Wage purposes, tips or gratuities paid into a central fund and through payroll are specifically listed by the WRC as non-reckonable pay.
Service charges require a narrower distinction. The WRC lists a service charge paid through payroll as potentially reckonable, but excludes a charge distributed by the employer where section 4D(1) of the Payment of Wages Act 1991 applies. A service charge that falls within that statutory exclusion should therefore not be relied on to bring ordinary pay up to the minimum wage.
How Employer-Handled Tips Are Taxed
Where tips are received by the employer and then paid to an employee, Revenue treats the amount as pay in the period in which it is paid out. The employee’s wages and employer-handled tips are reported together through payroll, with PAYE, USC, PRSI and Local Property Tax applied where relevant using the current Revenue Payroll Notification.
Tips received directly from a customer by the employee, without being received or controlled by the employer, are different. Revenue does not treat those amounts as employer PAYE pay, although they remain taxable income for the employee and must be declared by the employee.
Pay rates
The National Minimum Wage in 2026
The National Minimum Wage applies to most full-time, part-time, temporary, casual and seasonal employees. From 1 January 2026, the WRC lists the following age-based hourly rates.
| Age | Minimum Hourly Rate | Percentage of Adult Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 20 and over | €14.15 | 100% |
| 19 | €12.74 | 90% |
| 18 | €11.32 | 80% |
| Under 18 | €9.91 | 70% |
The minimum wage calculation is based on average hourly reckonable pay over the employer’s selected pay reference period. Commission and bonuses can be reckonable, while Sunday premiums, overtime premiums, public holiday premiums and tips paid through a central fund are among the items that are not used to make up the minimum wage.
Retail and Hospitality Are Not Currently Listed as ERO Sectors
The WRC’s current Employment Regulation Order list covers Contract Cleaning, Security, and Early Learning and Childcare. Retail and hospitality are not separately listed there, so the National Minimum Wage is the general statutory floor for workers who are not covered by another applicable sectoral instrument.
The worker’s actual sector still needs to be identified. For example, a cleaner employed by a contract-cleaning company and assigned to a hotel or shop can fall under the Contract Cleaning ERO even though the premises itself is a hospitality or retail business.
Premiums
Sunday working
Sunday work has a separate statutory treatment from the National Minimum Wage. If Sunday compensation has not already been included in the employee’s rate of pay, the employee is generally entitled to compensation for Sunday working.
The compensation can take the form of an allowance, an increased rate of pay, paid time off or a combination. There is no single statutory percentage that every retailer, restaurant or hotel can simply apply.
For retail employers, the WRC also publishes a Code of Practice on Sunday Working in the Retail Trade. The payroll system should calculate the arrangement the employer has lawfully adopted, but the underlying Sunday-pay structure needs to be established correctly before the hours reach payroll.
Public holidays
Public Holidays in a Rostered Workforce
Ireland has ten public holidays. Full-time workers have immediate entitlement to the statutory public holiday benefit, while a part-time employee qualifies once they’ve worked at least 40 hours in the five weeks before the holiday. Where an employee qualifies, the employer chooses the statutory benefit: a paid day off on the holiday, a paid day off within a month, an additional day of annual leave, or an additional day’s pay. If the employee works on the holiday, payment for the hours worked is separate from the holiday benefit.
Two staff, two different calculations
Two people working in the same restaurant or shop can have different public holiday calculations because their normal work patterns differ. The roster and each employee’s normal daily or weekly hours need to feed into the payroll input, rather than relying on one standard payment for everyone.
Annual leave
Annual Leave for Variable-Hours and Seasonal Staff
Full-time, part-time, temporary and casual employees earn annual leave from the time they start work. The statutory entitlement is calculated using whichever applicable method gives the greater result, subject to a maximum of four normal working weeks.
Method 1
Method 2
One-third of a working week for each calendar month in which the employee works at least 117 hours.
Method 3
8% of the hours worked in the leave year, capped at four normal working weeks.
The 8% method is often practical for variable-hours staff, but payroll shouldn’t assume it’s always the correct result where another statutory method gives a greater entitlement, the greater entitlement applies.
Onboarding
Seasonal and Casual Starters
Short contracts do not reduce the need for proper onboarding. A seasonal worker can still be entitled to the applicable minimum wage, annual leave and public holiday benefits, and the employer still has PAYE reporting obligations.
Getting the PPSN and employment setup right quickly helps reduce avoidable emergency tax. Our Revenue Payroll Notification guide explains how the latest RPN is used and what happens when Revenue cannot yet make one available.
Where turnover is high, a simple starter checklist prevents the same omissions repeating every week:
- Correct name and PPSN
- Role
- Normal pay frequency
- Bank details
- Start date
- Hourly rate
- Pension information
- Any recurring pay element
Younger Workers Need Extra Roster Controls
Retail, hospitality and licensed premises often employ people under 18, and their working-time rules are not the same as the rules for adult staff. The Protection of Young Persons legislation restricts working hours, start and finish times, rest periods and breaks for children and young people.
For 16 and 17 year olds, the WRC sets specific daily and weekly rest rules and restrictions on late working. Licensed premises also have a specific Code of Practice for the employment of 16 and 17 year olds. Employers of workers under 18 must keep additional records, including date of birth, start and finish times and wages paid.
Payroll can calculate the approved hours and rates, but it does not replace roster controls. A pay run can be arithmetically correct while the underlying working pattern breaches the rules that apply to a young person.
Absence
Statutory Sick Leave
Ireland’s statutory sick leave entitlement remains five days per calendar year. An employee must have completed 13 weeks’ continuous service and provide the required medical certification.
The statutory payment is 70% of usual daily earnings, capped at €110 per day. The legislation does not distinguish between full-time and part-time employees, so variable-hours workers can qualify once the statutory conditions are met.
Where an employer operates a more favourable sick-pay scheme, the payroll setup should reflect the employer’s own terms as well as the statutory floor.
working time
Working Time and Breaks
Retail and hospitality schedules can involve long days, split shifts and busy seasonal periods. Adult employees are generally entitled to 11 consecutive hours of daily rest, 24 consecutive hours of weekly rest after a daily rest period, a 15-minute break after more than 4.5 hours and a 30-minute break after more than 6 hours, which can include the first break.
The general maximum working week is 48 hours on average, normally calculated over four months, although different averaging periods can apply in specified circumstances. These are roster and employment-law controls rather than payroll calculations, but payroll hours can provide a useful cross-check when a pattern appears unusual.
Pensions
MyFutureFund With Changing Hours and Earnings
Retail and hospitality workforces can include changing hours, multiple employments and seasonal earnings. Payroll should not try to decide eligibility locally. NAERSA runs the eligibility process and issues the Automatic Enrolment Payroll Notification (AEPN), and our MyFutureFund employer guide explains how employers use that official enrolment information in payroll.
When an employee is enrolled, payroll applies the current AEPN and processes the required employee and employer contributions. If the employee’s enrolment status changes, payroll follows the updated notification rather than making an assumption based only on a particular week’s roster or pay.
REPORTING
Expenses, Benefits and ERR
Certain tax-free expenses and benefits have a separate reporting process under Enhanced Reporting Requirements. Revenue currently requires the relevant ERR submission on or before the payment date. View reportable categories, records and correction process in detail in our Enhanced Reporting Requirements guide.
For a retail or hospitality payroll, the main practical control is to collect the required expense and benefit information before the reporting deadline. A fixed payment described internally as a travel, meal or fuel allowance is not automatically tax-free simply because it is called an allowance.
Each payroll
What We Need From You Each Payroll
The payroll process works best when each pay element has one agreed source and one cut-off. For each payroll, you send the information that has changed since the previous run.
- Hours worked and approved overtime.
- Tips, gratuities or service-charge amounts being paid through payroll.
- Sick leave and other payroll-relevant absence information.
- Bonuses, commission and other variable pay.
- Pension and MyFutureFund information supplied through the applicable process.
- Sunday hours and the applicable compensation arrangement.
- New starters and leavers.
- Holiday and public holiday information.
- Approved expenses, benefits and ERR information where relevant.
- Any correction affecting an earlier payroll.
We calculate the payroll, apply the latest Revenue information, produce payslips and reports, and make the agreed Revenue payroll submissions. Revenue still places the legal responsibility for payroll compliance with the employer, even where a payroll company is used.
Switching provider
Switching an Existing Retail or Hospitality Payroll
You can switch provider during the tax year. The handover needs to reconcile what has already been reported and preserve the pay setup for variable elements that will continue after the move.
Check payroll pricing and use it alongside the handover review so the quote reflects your actual pay frequency, employee numbers and payroll workflow.
What goes wrong
Common Retail and Hospitality Payroll Problems
Late roster changes.
If approved hours arrive after payroll is finalised, the business needs a clear correction process rather than informal net adjustments outside payroll.
One Sunday rate copied across every employee.
Sunday compensation can depend on the contractual arrangement and comparable sector practice. There is no universal statutory percentage.
Seasonal starters paid before onboarding is complete.
Missing Revenue information can create emergency tax and additional corrections on a short employment.
Fixed allowances assumed to be tax-free.
Tax treatment depends on the underlying Revenue conditions, not the label used in the payroll input.
Tips mixed into ordinary wages.
Tips routed through the employer need their own records and payroll treatment. They should not be used to disguise or replace contractual pay.
Public holiday pay treated as a flat bonus.
Entitlement can vary according to full-time or part-time status and the employee’s normal work pattern.
Young workers rostered like adults.
Under-18 working-time and record-keeping rules require a separate control before payroll ever sees the hours.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about Retail Hospitality
How Much Does Retail or Hospitality Payroll Cost?
The supplied monthly pricing is €30 per employee for 1 to 9 employees, €25 per employee for 10 to 20 and a custom quote for 21 or more. Weekly payroll is priced from €15 per payslip and fortnightly payroll from €25 per payslip.
What Is the National Minimum Wage in Ireland in 2026?
From 1 January 2026, the National Minimum Wage is €14.15 per hour for employees aged 20 and over. The age-based rates are €12.74 at age 19, €11.32 at age 18 and €9.91 for employees under 18.
Can Tips Be Used to Bring Pay Up to the Minimum Wage?
Tips or gratuities paid into a central fund and through payroll are non-reckonable for National Minimum Wage purposes. Employers also cannot use tips and gratuities to make up an employee’s contractual rate of pay.
Can a Service Charge Count Towards the Minimum Wage?
Some service charges paid through payroll can be reckonable, but the WRC specifically excludes charges distributed by an employer where section 4D(1) of the Payment of Wages Act applies. A service charge that falls within that exclusion should not be relied on to meet the minimum wage.
Are Employer-Handled Tips Taxable Through Payroll?
Yes. Where the employer receives the tip and then pays it to the employee, Revenue requires it to be included in payroll pay for the relevant period and the normal PAYE, USC, PRSI and LPT treatment is applied where relevant.
What About Cash Tips Given Directly to an Employee?
Where a customer gives a tip directly to the employee and the employer does not receive or control it, Revenue does not treat it as employer PAYE pay. The amount remains taxable income for the employee and must be declared by the employee.
Can an Employer Keep Part of Electronic Tips?
Generally not. The legislation allows limited deductions in specified circumstances, including certain tax or bank charges, and can allow a fair allocation to an employer who regularly performs substantially the same work as employees.
Do Employees Always Get Time-and-a-Half for Sunday Work?
No. Irish law does not set one universal Sunday percentage. If Sunday compensation has not already been included in the rate of pay, the employee is generally entitled to an allowance, increased rate, paid time off or a combination based on the applicable circumstances.
How Does Public Holiday Pay Work for Part-Time Staff?
A part-time employee qualifies for the statutory public holiday benefit if they worked at least 40 hours in the previous five weeks. The form of the benefit and the employee’s normal work pattern affect the payroll calculation.
Do Casual and Seasonal Staff Earn Annual Leave?
Yes. Full-time, part-time, temporary and casual employees earn annual leave from the start of employment. The statutory calculation uses the applicable method that gives the greater entitlement, subject to the four-week maximum.
Does Statutory Sick Leave Apply to Part-Time Staff?
Yes. Once the employee has 13 weeks’ continuous service and meets the medical-certification conditions, the statutory scheme does not distinguish between full-time and part-time employees.
Are Under-18 Employees Subject to Different Hours Rules?
Yes. Children and young people are subject to specific restrictions on working hours, breaks, daily and weekly rest, and late-night work. Licensed premises also have additional rules for 16 and 17 year olds.
How Does MyFutureFund Work for Seasonal or Variable-Hours Staff?
Payroll follows the enrolment information issued by NAERSA through the AEPN. The employer or payroll provider should not decide eligibility simply from a single week’s hours or earnings.
Can You Take Over an Existing Weekly Payroll?
Yes. The handover reconciles year-to-date figures, employees, pay elements and the existing Revenue position before the first payroll is processed under the new arrangement.
Disclaimer: This page provides general information about payroll administration and employment-related pay in Ireland. It is not legal or tax advice. Contractual terms, sector coverage, working-time arrangements and individual employee circumstances can affect the correct treatment. Employers remain responsible for payroll compliance and should obtain specialist advice where a particular employment-law or tax issue requires it.