For employers · Ireland
The Labour Market Needs Test, explained
What it is, how long it takes, what the notice has to say, and what we do so it does not hold up your hire.
Checked against the Department's published guidance on 17 September 2026. Straight to the rules
- 28 days of advertising. We run it in the right places, in the right form, and keep the evidence.
- Candidates trade tested while the notice runs, so the shortlist is ready the day it closes.
- No retainer, fixed fee, nothing charged to the candidate. Licensed Irish agency EA 5649.
Or ring +353 1 903 8249, Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm.
Tell us the role
Martin, Lance or another member of our team will get back to you. Who we areLooking for work? This form is for employers. Register here instead, it is free.
We work directly with employers. We do not take on other recruitment agencies, labour suppliers or sub-agents.
Who we already work with
What it is
Before a General Employment Permit is granted, you have to show the job was offered here first
The Labour Market Needs Test is the Department's way of checking that. You advertise the vacancy in the places it specifies, for the period it specifies, and the permit application goes in afterwards with the evidence. It applies to General Employment Permit and Contract for Services Employment Permit applications, which is where most driving and trade roles sit.
It is not a test of the candidate. It is a test of the vacancy: was it open to Irish and EEA workers, in a form they could find, for long enough to reply.
Source: Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, checked 17 September 2026.
In one line
Two notices, 28 days each, five things in each notice, apply within 90 days of the first one going up.
Get any one of those wrong and the application can be refused, and the 28 days start again.
The rules, as published
What the Department requires
- 1
A notice with the Department of Social Protection Employment Services / EURES
Placed through the public employment service so it appears on the EURES European jobs network. It must run for a minimum of 28 days, continuously.
- 2
A second notice on an online jobs platform
A platform whose principal purpose is publishing offers of employment, also for a minimum of 28 days, continuously. The old requirement to advertise in print was removed by the Employment Permits Act 2024. We publish this one on our own jobs board.
- 3
Five things every notice must contain
A description of the employment, the name of the employer, the minimum annual remuneration, the location or locations of employment, and the hours of work. A notice missing any one of them does not count.
- 4
Do not touch the vacancy while it runs
The Department's guidance is that vacancies should not be amended or extended at any time during the 28 days. If the salary, the location or the hours change, the clock starts again.
- 5
Apply within 90 days
The permit application must be made within 90 days of the day the notice was first published (120 days for a third level institution). Miss that and the advertising has to be repeated.
Source: Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, checked 17 September 2026.
When it is not needed
The exemptions
The Department lists five cases where a General Employment Permit application does not need a Labour Market Needs Test:
- The job is an occupation on the Critical Skills Occupations List.
- The job offer carries a minimum annual remuneration of €68,911 or more.
- Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland has made a recommendation in relation to the job offer.
- The job is as a carer for a person with exceptional medical needs, and the person has been providing that care.
- The person held a General Employment Permit, was made redundant, and the redundancy was within the previous six months.
A Critical Skills Employment Permit never needs one: the Department's position is that those skills are already identified as being in short supply.
Source: DETE, General Employment Permit, checked 17 September 2026.
Which means
HGV drivers, bus drivers, mechanics, welders, fitters and most construction trades go through the General Employment Permit at ordinary trade salaries, so the test applies to nearly every role we fill. We build the 28 days into the plan from day one rather than discovering it at the end.
The General Employment Permit minimum annual remuneration is generally €36,605, and at least half of your employees must be EEA nationals (the 50:50 rule), with exceptions for start-ups. We check both before anything is advertised.
Source: DETE, General Employment Permit, checked 17 September 2026.
What we do with it
The 28 days are not dead time
Where applications fall over
Five mistakes we see
Changing the ad while it is running
A salary tweak, a second location added, hours changed from 39 to 45. The Department's guidance is that the vacancy should not be amended or extended during the 28 days. Any of those and you are back to day one.
A notice missing one of the five items
The one that goes missing most is the minimum annual remuneration. An ad that says "competitive salary" does not meet the requirement.
Letting the 90 days lapse
The advertising is done, the candidate is chosen, and the application sits in someone's in-tray past the window. The advertising then has to be repeated.
Advertising below the threshold
If the salary in the notice is below the minimum annual remuneration for the permit, the 28 days count for nothing. We check the figure against the Department's current threshold before the ad goes up.
Assuming the test does not apply
The exemptions are narrow. A trade role at a trade salary is not exempt because the trade is hard to fill. If you think you are exempt, we will show you which line of the Department's list you fall under, or tell you that you do not.
Two pools, one call
People already in Ireland, and people we bring in
Already here
No permit. Interviews in days, not months.
Drivers, mechanics, welders and fitters who are in Ireland now with the right to work, and register with us because they want a change: indoors, days, nearer home, a better yard. Start date is their notice period, not a Department timeline. The quickest thing we do.
Overseas, trade tested
Tested before you see a CV. Permit handled with you.
Where the local pool is dry for your trade, or you want a bench for the year, we test people on real kit before anyone travels and handle the permit paperwork with you. Longer, and the timeline is the Department's, but it is how the biggest yards in the country fill their rosters.
Most clients use both: the local pool for the gap now, the overseas bench for the growth. Nothing is charged to any candidate, in either pool.
For employers
Tell us the role and we will run the test with you
A member of our team gets back to you within one working day with what the test means for that role, what the salary has to be, and how long the whole thing takes from today.
- No retainer. Nothing to sign until you have met people.
- Trade tested before you see them, not after.
- Nothing is ever charged to the candidate.
Would rather talk now? +353 1 903 8249
Martin, Lance or another member of our team will get back to you. Who we areLooking for work? This form is for employers. Register here instead, it is free.
We work directly with employers. We do not take on other recruitment agencies, labour suppliers or sub-agents.
This page is general information for employers, not legal advice. The rules and figures were checked against the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment's published guidance on 17 September 2026 and they change. The Department's pages linked above are the authority; before you rely on a figure, open the link or ring us and we will check it that day.