Work in Ireland 2

[MedicineEng]

Dear All:
In the future I might have the possibility to work in Ireland (Republic). But for better evaluate any potential offer, I would like to know a little bit more about cost of living, taxes, if fringe benefits pay taxes, Social Security, labour law, etc. Furthermore, is there anything in particular that I should be aware when I negotiate my employment terms (holidays, health, bonus, etc.)?
By law how many months has the employer to pay? I say this as in my homecountry, by law, we receive 14 months (12+1holidays+1Christmas). Then, now I am working in a country where I receive 13, but this double pay is not mandatory.
Can anyone direct me to a good site where I can see this?
For instance a salary of 50000Euros/year is considered high or low?
Thanks for your help.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

http://www.irishlinks.co.uk/

http://www.ask-ireland.com/work.asp

 

[KENAT]

Not sure on a website or link but I'm pretty sure Ireland is subject to the various european laws on employment. These are generally better for the employee than say the US. However, there is still variation in Europe.

 

[ajack1]

This might help

http://www.fedee.com/natlaw.html#ireland

 

[MedicineEng]

Than you all for your answers. I was looking to hear someone that actually lives and works in Ireland to know their oppinion and also the information that is not in the law, for instance the standard fringe benefits that you get when you are in a medium manager or technical expert position.
And also taxes and things like that.

 

[ajack1]

Fringe benefits and salary will vary greatly from company to company and are negotiable and yes they are taxed. Holidays are I believe 10 days bank holidays, personal days will be between 20 and 30 and negotiable.

Most of Ireland is very laid back are rural, you will either love or hate that. Most other stuff can be found on the web.

 

[GTstartup]

Absolute #1 issue in Ireland right now for people thinking of working there is housing. I don't think it's too much of an exageration to say that you wont find a decent condo in Dublin for under $500,000. Other areas are less expensive, of course, but Cork, Limerick and the other "larger" cities are probably more expensive than you think. Apart from that, the cost of living is somewhat the same as the US. (not gas, it's about $6/gallon I think). Pint of Guinness US = ~ 5 bucks, same in Ireland.

I highly recommend it, go for it, you will have a blast

 

[michfan]

I worked in the UK for over a year and lived in a Marriott. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The work was awful, it was a project with no end and no way to win, but we all had a great time anyway and we start each conversation about England with..."remember the pizza place in Windsor we used to go to..." and comments like that. You'll make memories to last you your entire life.

Make sure you (1) are getting paid enough to live comfortably - I loved the Marriott, company paid the tab, and I wound up with 2 big screen tv's from all the points - (2) that you make time to see the country - don't spend 80 hours a week working like I did - and (3) don't bring peanut butter from the US in your suitcase because it makes the bomb detectors go off at every airport.

Take a lot of pictures, see everything and TRAVEL while you are over there! Airplane flights to other European cities can be had for 10 pounds, so take advantage of your days off! You should try it - you can always quit and come home if you can't stand it, unless you sign a contract...

 

[michfan]

Oh, part of the time I stayed in a B&B for 35 pounds a night. It was a nice room, had it's own bath, and breakfast was included, within walking distance of the place I was working at.

If you do go, check the web for B&B's - a lot of business people used them in England and maybe Ireland has them too. Comfortable, clean, homey...but they don't give you big screen tv's.

 

[csd72]

MedicineEng,

Dublin is expanding at a great rate due to EU sunsidies to encourage growth. As a result the cost of living is very high (maybe as much as london).

If you are out of Dublin then everywhere is small, so you need to be happy to be a bit isolated.

 

[MedicineEng]

Dear all:
Thank you all for your feedback. My expectactions is to go somewhere near Tipperary or Cork, in the south of Ireland. I already know that it is a more rural setting, but neither myself nor my wife have anything against rural settings.
I was more interested to know where can I find information about cost of living, income taxes, fringe benefits taxes to make an assessment of the offers (if I ever receive one). As some of you noted, I don't want to go for an offer that in absolute terms seems good just to arrive there, move family and so on and see that the "good offer" turns out a substandard one due to cost of living, taxes and so on.
I am European so I lived and worked in Europe before, and I know that taxes can be quite high (in my last job in Europe, IRS and social security were taking me around 40% of my monthly salary). Then now I am in a country where there is no social security and the income taxes are quite low (now I pay somewhere between 10/11%). But despite the news regardign the economic growth of Ireland and its low taxes environment, I think that this is more related to corporate taxes rather than income individual taxes. Maybe I am wrong, but I think that the taxes for income will be closer to what I was used to pay when I was working in Europe.

 

[KENAT]

http://www.irishlinks.co.uk/

http://jobmarket.nytimes.com/pages/jobs/?excamp=GGJMcostofliving

http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-ireland-currency-costs

http://working.monster.ie/articles/finance/cost/

http://www.liveabroad.com/articles/ireland.html

http://www.finfacts.ie/costofliving.htm

I suggest you do your own google search.

Be warned I did some investigating before moving to the States, my wife is US so I figured she'd know most pit falls etc.

Doesn't quite work like that. Each persons situation is a bit different. Unless you really know about such things just asking locals info won't give you the whole picture.

 

[prohammy]

MedicineEng,

I am Irish (but living in UK now, jobs in my line of work are getting pretty scarce in Ireland these days) and will try to address some of the issues that I think you should look out for. You say that you are European (being a bit more specific may help me here) but the comparisions I will give are based on Ireland/UK

Cost of living - COL in Irl is high. Food/clothing are approx 10% greater than UK. Petrol/diesel 10% lower. Eating out in restaurants in very expensive. Cost of motoring (tax, insurance, mechanics etc) is 20% greater than UK.

Housing (availablility and price) is very contentious at home in Ireland at the moment. Housing market has boomed during the last decade. Prices in Tipp/Cork area will be high and your best best chance will probably be to buy a new build house which could be 1/1.5 years of a wait. Buying a second hand house will incur a levy/stamp duty based on the value of the house (see government sites for info).

If you are working on a permanent basis you will be required to pay income and PAYE (pay as you earn) taxes. Again these are on government web sites (google search them). You will need to pay health insurance (BUPA & VHI are the two biggest suppliers, but there are others now).
There are also a number of 'stealth taxes', similar to UK, attached to most items you can purchase.

After saying all that, Ireland is a great place to live and if I had a choice I would be back there in the morning. The lifestyle is relaxed, most places have a strong sense of community and are generally welcoming to new people. You will find that children and families are always welcome.

In terms of working as an engineer, I am of the opinion that many jobs/companies are much more US in outlook than European (mainly because most of the major employers are US multi-nationals)

Hope this helps



Kevin Hammond

Mechanical Design Engineer
Derbyshire, UK

 

[MedicineEng]

prohammy:
Thanks a lot for your information. That was the type of information that I was looking for. I am European from one of the EU countries so working in Ireland is not a issue since I don't need any special permit.

Not wanting to getting advantage you, but taking the opportunity of having a knowlegeable person of Irish reality, I would like to know the following:

-In your perception, a salary of 50000 Euros/year is a good salary for Irish standards?
-By law, you receive, 12,13 or 14 salaries in a year? As I mentioned above, for instance in my country by law we receive 2 double pays, one in July/August and other in December. Now I am working outside Europe and here we receive 12 months +1 additional month that is not mandatory by the local law;
-Is there any common fringe benifits for medium management/senior management positions? In my country is relatively common that a medium/senior manager has a company car, for instance. Is this common in Ireland?
-How is the education system? Mainly public or mainly private? Is it expensive?
Thanks a lot for your help. As I said there is at small possibility (at this stage) that I go to work in Ireland and I need the maximum information that I can gather in order to negotiate the conditions and not have any nasty surprise.

 

[prohammy]

MedicineEng,

1. 50,000/year as a salary is very hard to judge without knowing exactly what position you are applying for. The following is what I would aspire to (see my info for my experience). Junior engineer (just out of college/1/2 years experience) approx 25/30K. 2-7 years exp 35/45K, anything more 50K+. When it comes to management positions, I'm afraid I can't help you there, I'm just a poor engineer.

2. I'm not sure what you are talking about in the second question. I'm not sure what you mean by salaries. Are these payments by the company you work for (in which case it is at their descretion) or are these government benifits (in which case they are usually monthly)

3. Fringe benifits are usually at the descretion of the company you work for. If it's a US based company then they will be similar to the parent company's policies. Many companies do give company cars, but under Irish tax law, if you do not do a certain amount of milage per year, the taxman will see this as benefit-in-kind and adjust your tax credits accordingly. (That reminds me, you will receive tax credits, similar to the UK, these are increased by various conditions, wife who is at home minding children etc, maybe that is what you were asking about above. If so these are taken into account at source with whatever company you work for. Contact the Irish Tax Office about these, there are very helpful, I have nothing but praise for them)

4. Education system in Ireland is predominantly public, but there are private schools as well. Either are excellent.

Hope this helps


Kevin Hammond

Mechanical Design Engineer
Derbyshire, UK

 

[MedicineEng]

Thanks a lot for al this valuable information.
Just some more clarification on this issue of the salaries with an example: In my country, if your monthly salary is let's say 1000 Euros/month, you know upfront that you yearly income will be 14000Euros becuase by law the employer has to pay you an additional salary in July/August (called the "Holidays'double pay")and in December (called the "Christmas double pay"). This is mandatory and the employer cannot refuse to pay whether your performace was good or bad.
Regarding working experience, I have over 8 years of professional experience having worked in up to now in 2 countries and I am now head of a department of around 20 persons and I in the Pharma business.
That was why I asked the question of the 50 000Euros level.

 

[prohammy]

Ahhhhh, I see what you mean by salary payments. What you will find is that there is no such scheme in Ireland. It is very (I mean very/unheard of) rare that you will get July/August bonuses. Some companies do run Christmas bonus schemes (this is getting rarer all the time) but they don't tend to be much, and when times are tough they disappear.

Looking at the experience you have, I would say that 50,000 would be the minimum you could expect. In that industry, I would think that there would be the possibility of up to 70,000. Talk to any of the recruitment agencies (especially those based in Cork, which is really the centre for the Irish Pharma Industry) and they will advise you. Remember don't take the word of just one agency, talk to two or three to get an overview of the general industry.

One or two agencies of the top of my head that may be worth talking to are
CPL
Brunell
ICDS




Kevin Hammond

Mechanical Design Engineer
Derbyshire, UK

 

[MDAPSEY]

Medicine Engineer you seem to be avoiding the question of where you live now. I don't think it is too hard of a question to answer. Prohammy has answered most of your questions very openly and honestly.

Why are you afraid to say where you are from?

 

[HgTX]

Why should he have to?

Hg

Eng-Tips policies: faq731-376

 

[MedicineEng]

Mdapsey:
First, nobody asked me where did I live now;
Second, where I live now it is not relevant for decision making process, if it was I would have mentioned;
Third, why do you want to know that?