WRC Enforcement Update

Irish employers are legally required to track employee working hours.
Are you compliant?

Since 2019, every employer in Ireland must record the working hours of all employees. The Workplace Relations Commission is actively enforcing this — with fines of up to €2,500 per offence.

Check if you're compliant — free checklist ↓ Takes 60 seconds. No email required.
€2,500 Max fine per offence
5,156 WRC inspections in 2024
3 yrs Records must be kept
The Law

What does Irish law actually require?

Under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 and a 2019 ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union, every Irish employer must keep detailed records of employee working hours. This applies to all employees — full time, part time, and casual workers.

Your records must include:

These records must be kept for at least three years and must be available for inspection by a WRC inspector at any time. Inspectors do not need to give advance notice.

This is not optional. The WRC carried out 5,156 workplace inspections in 2024 — and prosecutions were up 27% year on year. Failure to have proper records is one of the most common violations found.
The Risk

What happens if you're not compliant?

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WRC Inspection

An inspector can visit your premises unannounced and request your time records on the spot. If you can't produce them, you are in breach.

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Fixed Penalty

Employers found in breach can receive a fixed penalty notice. Fines can reach up to €2,500 per offence — per employee, per violation.

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Legal Proceedings

Serious or repeat breaches can result in prosecution through the courts. This is on your company record and is publicly searchable.

Self-Assessment

Are you compliant? Check in 60 seconds.

Tap YES or NO for each item.

Do you record start and finish times for every employee every day?
Do you record rest breaks taken?
Do you keep these records for at least 3 years?
Are your records available immediately if a WRC inspector asks?
Do you track overtime separately?
Do your records cover part-time and casual workers as well as full-time?
The Solution

The simplest way for Irish businesses to stay compliant

Paper timesheets and WhatsApp messages don't hold up under a WRC inspection. You need a proper digital record that timestamps every clock-in and clock-out automatically.

We recommend clockin — a time tracking app used by thousands of businesses across Europe, built specifically for teams with field and deskless workers. Your employees clock in and out on their phone, you see the records in real time, and everything is stored securely and ready for inspection.

  • Employees clock in from their phone in seconds — no hardware needed
  • Records are stored automatically and available instantly
  • Starts from €4 per employee per month — less than one hour of labour
Start your free trial
No credit card required. Get compliant in under 10 minutes.
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14-day free trial · Cancel anytime
Setup takes less than 10 minutes
FAQ

Common questions from Irish employers

Yes. The working time recording requirement applies to all employers regardless of size — even if you have one employee.
Paper timesheets are technically acceptable but extremely difficult to maintain accurately and are often challenged during inspections. Digital records with automatic timestamps are far more reliable.
Yes. All employees regardless of contract type must have their hours recorded.
An inspector arrives at your workplace — sometimes unannounced — and requests your employment records including time records. They check for compliance on the spot. If records are incomplete or unavailable, you can receive a penalty notice before leaving.
clockin operates fully within Irish and EU data protection law including GDPR. Your employee data is stored securely in the EU.