Hiring a UK employee from Ireland: what Irish companies need to know

Of all the cross-border hires, Ireland to the UK is the closest fit: same language, both run PAYE, and Irish citizens already have the right to work under the Common Travel Area. The systems are close cousins, not twins, and the differences are where mistakes happen. Here's the practical version for Irish founders, HR and accountants.

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The five differences that surprise Irish employers

• PAYE looks familiar. The names underneath don't. UK payroll deducts National Insurance (NI) each payday, and income tax too on a full PAYE scheme; there's no USC and no PRSI. UK NI splits into employee NI (8% on earnings in the main band, 2% above) and employer NI, rather than Ireland's single PRSI classes.
• Employer NI has a higher rate than Irish employer PRSI, but only above a threshold. The UK employer pays NI of 15% on pay above £5,000/year. Irish employer PRSI is charged at a lower rate on all of the employee's pay, so which costs more depends on the salary: compare at yours. The Apprenticeship Levy (0.5% of pay bill) only applies if your annual UK pay bill is over £3 million, so most small hires won't pay it. Add a 3% minimum pension for the all-in on-cost.
• Irish citizens don't need a visa, but you still record the check. Under the Common Travel Area, Irish citizens have an automatic right to work in the UK. You still run and retain a right-to-work check for every hire; British citizens show a passport, and anyone else, including people with settled or pre-settled status or a visa, usually proves their right to work online with a share code.
• Auto-enrolment already exists and is mandatory. The UK's workplace-pension auto-enrolment (minimum 3% employer / 8% total on qualifying earnings) has been running for over a decade, so it's established and enforced.
• Holiday and tax codes differ in the detail. 5.6 weeks' statutory paid holiday (which can include UK public holidays, and the UK and Irish bank-holiday calendars don't match). UK tax codes and the cumulative PAYE basis also work differently from Irish revenue payroll notifications (RPNs).

Your three routes, and the one most Irish companies miss

However you hire, UK payroll runs one of three ways: your own UK PAYE scheme (an employer abroad can register one without a UK entity), an NI-only scheme in your company's name (no UK entity needed, because you stay the direct employer), or an Employer of Record (a third party employs them for you, at a premium). The NI-only route is the one most Irish companies overlook, and it is usually the leanest way to hire one to ten UK staff without incorporating. Compare the three routes side by side, or answer four quick questions to find yours.

Cross-border staff and social security

Ireland and the UK have a long-standing bilateral social-security arrangement that sits alongside the EU rules, so a worker moving between the two is generally covered in one system at a time. If you're moving an existing Irish employee to the UK rather than hiring locally, it determines whether PRSI or UK NI applies. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.

UK payroll quick facts

Estimate the all-in cost of a UK hire with our free employer-cost calculator, or see what a UK employee really costs.

Common questions

Does an Irish company need a UK company to employ someone in the UK?

Not to run UK payroll. The company can employ the person itself, either through an NI-only scheme registered in the company's own name or by running UK PAYE in its own name. When someone works in the UK for an employer based in the EU and UK National Insurance is due, it is due on both sides, the employee's and the employer's, so the scheme is an NI-only scheme in the employer's name and not a DPNI or DCNI. We will ask HMRC for the scheme that fits your facts, and they may suggest a different one once they have the full facts.

Does an Irish company pay UK employer's National Insurance?

Usually, yes. An employer based in the EU can owe it as well, when the employee works in the UK and UK National Insurance is due. Under the UK and EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, an employer based outside the UK pays these contributions just as if it were based here. For most employees, UK employer's National Insurance is 15% of pay above £5,000 a year. It is the employer's cost, not the employee's.

Does the UK and Ireland social security convention change this?

No. The UK and Ireland have their own Convention on Social Security, made to protect Common Travel Area rights after the UK left the EU. Its Article 14 says an employer based in one of the two countries pays the contributions due under the other country's law as if it had its registered office or place of business there. That is the same rule as the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, so the answer on employer's National Insurance comes out the same.

How does the employee pay income tax on an NI-only scheme?

This scheme doesn't take your employee's income tax off their pay. They pay their income tax through their own Self Assessment or, if they'd rather, through a tax-only scheme in their name.

How soon can an Irish company pay its UK employee?

We'd allow four to eight weeks for HMRC to set the scheme up, and that's our own estimate, not a figure from HMRC. Nothing goes to HMRC until the engagement is signed and our identity checks are done, so our four to eight weeks starts then, not today. The scheme should be registered before the first payday. If pay starts before the scheme is in place, payroll still runs every payday and is reported to HMRC late once the scheme exists.

Working in the same time zone

The easiest part of all: Ireland and the UK share a time zone, so approvals, queries and calls fit naturally inside the same working day. We reply within one UK business day, and your employee's payslips, RTI filings and pension submissions all run on UK statutory deadlines without you tracking them.

This guide is general information, not tax, legal or immigration advice, and reflects our understanding of the rules as at June 2026. Your circumstances may differ, so please get specific advice before acting.