Start a Recruitment Company in Ireland

Updated on Friday 09th April 2021

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A recruitment company in Ireland offers information on the available jobs on the local market, which can address to both local and foreign persons. The recruitment company’s main activity is to identify the most suitable candidate for a particular job provided by another company operating on the Irish market, by analyzing the experience of the persons who applied for the respective job.

In the last years, recruitment companies have set up their operations in the online environment, as this option offers more advantages to all the parties implied in the process. Our team of lawyers in Ireland can offer legal assistance on the main aspects that must be completed during the registration of a recruitment business.

Setting up an online recruitment business in Ireland

Regardless if the company will set up an online business or not, the company’s representatives will need to conclude the same registration steps available for any other commercial entity in Ireland. After deciding on the legal entity of the company, the investors will need to register for taxation purposes, establish a business office, hire employees and numerous other compulsory aspects. Most of the recruitment companies carry their operations in the online environment by setting up a website where persons interested in finding a job in Ireland can study the available offers.

As a general rule, a recruitment website will provide the possibility of creating a new account, where the applicants can submit their CVs. The jobs are usually organized by industries or by regions and numerous other filters can be added, to further refine the types of jobs the applicants are searching for (by experience, type of contract and others). Our team of Irish lawyers can provide further assistance of the legal requirements for setting up a website. We also assist clients in a wide range of personal matters, such as divorce in Ireland.

What are the licensing formalities for an Irish recruitment company?

A recruitment company in Ireland, also known as a recruitment agency, has to obtain a license for developing this type of activity in this country. The license provides the right of developing recruitment activities and it provides an evidence on the fact that the applicant company complied with all the legal procedures imposed by the applicable law. Our team of lawyers in Ireland can provide legal representation to those applying for a recruitment license in this country; the procedure is comprised by the following:

private entities that develop recruitment activities are regulated by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation;
the recruitment license is issued by the Workplace Relations Licensing Section of the above mentioned institution;
in order to obtain the license, the applicant company needs to complete specific steps, imposed by the institution;
it is necessary to publish a notice through which the company announces that it wants to obtain a recruitment license, in one of the national newspapers approved by the institution;
the applicant company also has to complete a form and make a proof on the payment of the fee.

What are some of the issues to keep in mind when applying for a license?

Certain costs are to be taken into consideration when opening and licensing a recruitment company in Ireland. Our lawyers list some of these below:

an Irish company interested in obtaining a license must know that the fee is set up at EUR 500;
the penalty for doing business without a license is a Class C fine that does not exceed 2,500 EUR;
when the company continues to operate without the license, it will further receive a Class D fine that will not exceed 1,000 EUR per each day of the offence.

To these license costs (excluding the penalties), investors will need to add the general company formation costs according to the chosen legal entity type (briefly described below by our lawyers in Ireland).

The validity of the recruitment license is of one year, and upon its expiration, the holder of the license must renew the document, provided that the company will develop this type of activity in the following financial year.

As a general rule, the formalities involved in the licensing process takes approximately two weeks. It is also important to find out that the formalities for the renewal of the license have to be started with a month prior to the date when the document loses its validity.

However, during the renewal of the recruitment license in Ireland, the issuance of the new document will be done in a much shorter period compared to the period of time necessary for the initial issuance of the license. Companies developing recruitment activities in Ireland should know that if the license was not renewed in due time, the recruitment agency is no longer entitled to continue its operations. Once the license is renewed, the company can start again its recruitment activities.

What types of documents are necessary for a recruitment license in Ireland?

As presented above, the recruitment company interested in obtaining a recruitment license has to submit a form with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation. The application must contain a set of documents and the company has to register for this purpose with the National Vetting Bureau as well. The vetting process is a verification, a confirmation that the person applying for the license is one of good character. The verification is performed through independent references, parties that are able to vouch for the good character of the applicant. Moreover, the applicant’s record will be checked – he or she must not have any issues in their record that would make them unsuitable to hold this type of license for employment agencies.

In order for the Irish institutions to provide their consent, the application should contain all the required documents (in the case that the application lacks particular documents, the form will be sent back to the applicant, which will prolong the duration of the licensing formalities). A complete application should contain the following:

the company’s statutory forms that are established under the regulations of the Employment Agency Act 1971;
a proof on the ad placed in one of the Irish national newspapers, through which the company announces the intention to obtain a license;
the proof on the payment of the licensing fee imposed by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation;
the company must also provide evidence on the fact that it follows the regulations of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act;
proof on the fact that the applicant company is registered with the Companies Registration Office.

Additional documents have to be added to the application in the case in which the owner of the Irish recruitment company is represented by a foreigner who is a citizen of a country outside the European Economic Area (EEA). Our team of Irish lawyers can assist foreign investors with advice on the regulations addressed to this category of businessmen; however, in this particular case, it is necessary to add documents regarding the person’s residency in Ireland (a photocopied document).

The additional documents required in the case of investors who are citizens of countries located outside the EEA are necessary in this situation as they provide information on the fact that the respective businessman does not need to obtain a Business Permission document; this type of document is issued only by the Department of Justice and if needed, other formalities are necessary.

We invite you to watch a video about opening this type of business in Ireland:

Recruitment agency compliance in Ireland

Once the company has obtained the needed licenses (and the applicant has gone through the vetting process), compliance becomes an ongoing proves, with the company being subject to verifications in order to make sure that they comply with the rules in force. In order to verify compliance, inspectors from the Workplace Relations Commission may perform the following:

enter the premises when the recruitment company carries out its business;
inspect the books and records, when the inspectors have reasonable motive to believe that the business has contravened with the rules in force; they may also take copies of the said documents or of the entries in the books or records;
request information from individuals who carry out the business of an employment agency as may ne needed to determine whether or not the said agency has been acting in accordance with the law.

Our team of lawyers in Ireland can help you with more information on the ongoing compliance for recruitment/employment agencies in the country. An employment agency license can be withdrawn when the holder has been convicted of an offence, when the holder is no longer a vetted suitable individual to hold this type of license or when the Minister believes that the premises do not conform to the standards. Likewise, the license is revoked if false information was provided in the application.

Hiring consultants in Ireland

When opening a business in Ireland performing recruitment operations, it is compulsory to hire employees with an in-depth experience in the field of human resources. The recruitment agents will analyze the CV sent by local and foreign applicants and will select the best candidates. Further on, the recruitment agent should also be able to deliver the interview, which can now be held by online means of communication, if the selected candidates are located in another city or another country.

Another aspect that should be completed by a recruitment agency in Ireland refers to the licenses that are issued in this sense. The recruitment license is compulsory for any company that performs direct recruitment services or through another recruitment agency. The license is issued in Ireland by the Commission for Public Service Appointments, as long as the applicant is registered as a public body.

Public institutions in Ireland can also have their own recruitment services, in which case they need to receive a license for this purpose, issued by the above mentioned institution. In this particular case, the applicant must make the proof on the fact that it has employees who are prepared in the field on human resources and who have the necessary expertise in order to select the most appropriate candidates.

Public institutions do not need by default a license for recruitment activities; instead, they only need it in particular situations, when they want to carry out their own recruitment operations. In Ireland, numerous public institutions are the holders of a public recruitment license, which follows the regulations established by the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointment) Act.

Company formation in Ireland

As previously mentioned, opening a recruitment company in Ireland is subject to the regular company incorporation requirements, a process that starts with choosing the suitable business form. The differences start after incorporation, when the licensing process starts, and the founder(s) of the company need to observe all the applicable rules and regulations in order to run a business that is properly regulated and licenses (to avoid the mentioned penalties).

A corporation is the business type of choice when starting a recruitment business. This is because the founders have limited liability (their assets are separate from those of the company and, in case of business failure, they are only liable to the extent of their contribution to the company’s capital). The following types of companies can be taken into consideration:

The private limited company (LTD): a commonly used business form because of its simplicity and the members’ limited liability; unlike other companies, it can have only one director;

The public limited company: common for larger businesses, it also offers limited liability and it can list its shares on a stock exchange, thus offering them to the public; this characteristics, along with others, make it subject to more stringent requirements as well as a minimum share capital of 25,000 EUR;

The company limited by guarantee: this can be either in the form with a share capital or without a share capital; it must have at least two directors and other conditions apply;

The designated activity company: a business form with limited activities (these are only those includes in its Articles of Association).

Foreign recruitment companies can choose to open a branch in Ireland. In this case, the parent company abroad will be the one liable for the debts and obligations of its Irish branch.

Our lawyers in Ireland can give you more details about each of these business forms, their advantages and special considerations.

Investors may contact our law firm in Ireland for more details on the registration of a recruitment company. Starting a business is a straightforward process, however, given the nature of the licensing formalities, working with a team of experts is helpful for those who wish to open this type of company. Our lawyers also provide assistance in Family Law issues, including divorce in Ireland.