Changing Employer in Ireland: The 9-Month Rule Explained

The two ways to move to another employer

1. Change of Employer application

“Change of Employer” is the formal name of a specific Employment Permit process.

Under this process, your existing Employment Permit is updated with the details of your new employer.

You do not receive a completely new permit period. Your permit is reissued with the new employer’s information, but the original expiry date remains the same.

This process is available only to eligible holders of:

• A General Employment Permit; or
• A Critical Skills Employment Permit.

You must have completed the required nine months, and the new position must fall within the type or category of employment permitted under the process.

2. A new Employment Permit application

If you do not qualify for the Change of Employer process, you may need to submit a brand-new Employment Permit application.

This may happen if:

• You hold a different type of Employment Permit;
• The new position is outside the occupation or occupational category covered by your existing permit;
• The duties or nature of the new position are materially different;
• Your existing permit does not have enough time remaining; or
• You are moving to another employer within your first nine months under an exceptional circumstance, such as redundancy.

A new Employment Permit application is assessed under the rules applying to the relevant permit type.

Understanding which of these two processes applies is essential before you resign or agree to start another job.

What is the nine-month rule?

If you are working under your first Employment Permit in Ireland, you are generally expected to remain with the employer named on that permit for at least nine months.

The nine months are counted from the date you started working in Ireland under your first Employment Permit.

They are not counted from the date the permit was approved or issued.

For example, if your Employment Permit was issued on 1 January but you started working on 15 January, the nine months would be counted from 15 January.

The nine-month period relates to your first Employment Permit in the State. It does not restart every time you receive another permit.

After the nine months have passed, eligible General and Critical Skills Employment Permit holders may apply under the Change of Employer process.

However, completing nine months is only one requirement. The new position, salary, employer and remaining validity of the existing permit must also meet the applicable conditions.

Why is there a nine-month rule?

Employers can spend significant time and money recruiting someone who requires an Employment Permit.

At the same time, employees should not be unnecessarily tied to one employer.

The nine-month rule aims to balance these interests. It gives the original employer a reasonable expectation that the employee will remain for a period following recruitment, while still allowing the employee to move to another employer later.

Who can use the Change of Employer process?

The Change of Employer process is available to eligible holders of:

• A General Employment Permit; or
• A Critical Skills Employment Permit.

However, holding one of these permits and finding a position with a matching SOC code does not automatically mean that the Change of Employer process can be used.

The Department may also consider:

• The actual duties the employee will perform;
• The nature of the proposed employment;
• The setting in which the work will be carried out; and
• Whether the new position is genuinely within the type or category of employment covered by the existing permit.

An SOC code is a number used by the Government to group similar occupations. It is an important part of the assessment, but the job title or SOC code alone may not be enough.

General Employment Permit holders

A General Employment Permit holder must move to the same type of employment for which the original permit was granted.

This is identified using the relevant four-digit SOC code.

However, it is not enough for the two positions to be in the same industry or involve similar products.

For example, a meat processing operative may be able to move to the same type of meat processing position with another employer.

However, a meat processing operative could not use the Change of Employer process to move into a butcher position. Although both roles involve working with meat, they belong to different occupational categories and the nature of the work is different.

There can also be situations where the job titles or occupational codes appear similar, but the nature of the employment is different.

For example, a healthcare assistant working in a nursing home may not qualify to use the Change of Employer process to move to a home-care position that requires travelling to and caring for different patients in their individual homes.

Although both positions may be described as healthcare assistant roles, the duties, work setting and way in which care is provided may be considered different.

The proposed position must therefore be assessed based on:

• The correct SOC classification;
• The actual duties the employee will perform;
• The nature and setting of the employment; and
• Whether the new position is genuinely the same type of employment covered by the existing permit.

If the new position is not considered the same type of employment, a brand-new Employment Permit application may be required instead.

Critical Skills Employment Permit holders

Critical Skills Employment Permit holders have more flexibility when changing employer.

Instead of having to remain within the same four-digit SOC code, they may move to another position within the same broader three-digit SOC employment category.

For example, an electrical engineer may be able to move to a mechanical engineer position under the Change of Employer process.

Electrical engineers and mechanical engineers have different four-digit SOC codes, but both fall within the broader three-digit engineering category. The move may therefore be permitted, provided the proposed position and new employer satisfy all the other requirements.

This is different from the rule for General Employment Permit holders, who must remain within the same type of employment identified by the four-digit SOC code.

However, matching the three-digit SOC category does not guarantee approval. The Department may still consider:

• The actual duties of the proposed position;
• Whether the SOC classification is correct;
• Whether the role genuinely falls within the relevant employment category; and
• Whether the position and new employer satisfy the applicable Employment Permit requirements.

If the proposed position falls outside the three-digit SOC category covered by the existing Critical Skills Employment Permit, a new Employment Permit application may be required.

What other conditions apply?

Completing the nine months is only one of the requirements.

For a Change of Employer application:

• Your existing Employment Permit must still be valid;
• It must have at least two months of validity remaining when the application is submitted;
• The new position must fall within the type or category of employment allowed under your current permit;
• The actual duties and nature of the new position must be appropriate;
• The salary offered by the new employer must meet the Employment Permit salary threshold in force when the Change of Employer application is submitted;
• The new employer and employment must satisfy the other applicable Employment Permit requirements;
• The terms and conditions of the new employment must satisfy the requirements of the Change of Employer process; and
• You must receive the updated permit before starting work with the new employer.

A permit holder may have a maximum of three Change of Employer applications approved under this process.

Which salary threshold applies?

The new employment must meet the salary threshold that applies when the Change of Employer application is submitted.

It is not enough for the new employer to offer the same salary shown on the employee’s existing Employment Permit.

Employment Permit salary thresholds can increase over time. If the existing permit was granted when a lower threshold applied, the new employer may need to offer a higher salary.

For example, if the minimum salary increased after the current permit was granted, offering the salary printed on the existing permit may no longer be sufficient.

The new position must meet the salary requirement in force at the time of the Change of Employer application.

The applicable threshold may depend on:

• The type of Employment Permit;
• The occupation;
• Whether a special or reduced threshold applies to that occupation; and
• The employee’s contracted weekly working hours.

The current salary requirement should therefore be checked before the new employment contract is signed and again before the Change of Employer application is submitted.

Is another Labour Market Needs Test required?

A new Labour Market Needs Test is not required for an eligible Change of Employer application.

The Labour Market Needs Test is the recruitment and advertising process required for many new General Employment Permit applications.

It is not required under the Change of Employer process because the employee is moving within the occupation already covered by the existing permit.

However, if the new position falls outside the Change of Employer process and a brand-new Employment Permit application is required, a Labour Market Needs Test may be necessary unless a separate exemption applies.

Does changing employer give you a new permit period?

No.

When a Change of Employer application is approved, the existing permit is reissued with the details of the new employer.

Its expiry date does not change.

For example, if the current permit expires in December, the updated permit will normally continue to expire in December. It does not begin again for another two years simply because the employer has changed.

This is why the existing permit must have at least two months of validity remaining when the application is submitted.

Can you move to another employer before completing nine months?

In certain exceptional circumstances, it may be possible to move to another employer before completing nine months.

However, this would not be done through the Change of Employer process.

The formal Change of Employer application is only available after nine months have passed since the employee started working in Ireland under their first Employment Permit.

Before the nine months have passed, an employee who is permitted to move will normally need to apply for a brand-new Employment Permit with the new employer.

What happens if you are made redundant?

If you are made redundant during the first nine months, you may be allowed to seek employment with another employer.

The process involves:

• Notifying the Employment Permits Section of DETE of the redundancy within four weeks, using the prescribed Redundancy Notification Form;
• Finding another eligible position;
• Submitting a brand-new Employment Permit application for the new employment; and
• Waiting until the new Employment Permit has been approved before starting work with the new employer.

This is not a Change of Employer application. The existing permit is not simply updated or reissued with the new employer’s details.

A person who has correctly notified DETE of their redundancy has up to six months from the date of redundancy to find another job.

Where the redundancy was notified within the required four-week period, certain exemptions may apply to the new Employment Permit application, including an exemption from the Labour Market Needs Test.

However, the six-month period does not itself give the person permission to work for another employer. The new Employment Permit must be approved before the new employment begins.

Redundancy is also different from:

• Choosing to resign;
• Being dismissed because of conduct or performance; or
• Reaching the end of a fixed-term contract.

You should confirm which rules apply to your circumstances as soon as your employment ends.

What if the employment circumstances change significantly?

The Department’s guidance also refers to circumstances that were unforeseen when the original Employment Permit application was made and that fundamentally change the employment relationship.

One example is an employer deciding to relocate the business to a location a significant distance from its current premises.

In practice, a change of this nature may result in the employee’s position ending or the employee being made redundant.

If the employee is formally made redundant, the redundancy procedure explained above would apply. The employee would need to:

• Notify DETE of the redundancy within four weeks;
• Find another eligible position; and
• Apply for a brand-new Employment Permit with the new employer.

This would not be a Change of Employer application.

It is important not to assume that a major change automatically amounts to redundancy. The circumstances in which the original employment ends should be clearly established before the employee resigns or takes any action.

How does the Change of Employer application work?

The application is submitted through the Employment Permits Online system.

It is a joint application involving the employee and the prospective employer.

The application may be prepared by:

• The employee;
• The prospective employer; or
• An appointed agent.

Where an agent is appointed, the agent completes the relevant parts of the application on behalf of the party they represent.

For example:

• If the agent represents the employee, the agent completes the employee’s part of the application; or
• If the agent represents the prospective employer, the agent completes the employer’s part of the application.

The agent must then sign the application in their capacity as the appointed agent.

However, appointing an agent does not remove the requirement for the employer and employee to sign. The prospective employer and employee must also electronically sign the application, even where an agent has prepared and completed the relevant sections on their behalf.

The application will remain in draft until all required parties have completed and signed their respective parts.

Documents normally required include:

• A new employment contract signed by the employee and prospective employer;
• A recent statement from the Revenue Commissioners showing the prospective employer’s monthly statutory returns; and
• Any additional documents required for the particular employer, business or sector.

The exact requirements should always be checked before the application is submitted.

What about your IRP and immigration permission?

An Employment Permit and immigration permission are not the same thing.

Your Employment Permit gives you permission to work in the employment stated on the permit. Your immigration permission allows you to live in Ireland and is normally shown on your Irish Residence Permit, or IRP.

Approval of a Change of Employer application does not automatically extend your IRP or other immigration permission.

You must make sure that:

• Your immigration permission remains valid;
• You complete any required IRP renewal or registration; and
• Your immigration permission allows you to take up the employment.

Both your Employment Permit and immigration permission should be checked when planning a move to another employer.