We run payroll and pensions for Northern Ireland startups and work out the full cost of each hire before you make the offer.
Hiring your first employees in Northern Ireland
PAYE, National Insurance and pensions work as they do in Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own employment law, with a statutory dismissal procedure, a registration duty and its own tribunals.
A Northern Ireland startup runs payroll, National Insurance and auto-enrolment exactly as one in Great Britain. Employment law is separate: dismissals follow a statutory three-step procedure, employers with more than 10 staff register with the Equality Commission, and the Labour Relations Agency gives the advice Acas gives in Great Britain.
Rules that are the same as Great Britain
- PAYE and National Insurance
- Employer National Insurance is 15% above the £5,000 secondary threshold in 2026/27.
- Employment Allowance
- Up to £10,500 a year off employer National Insurance, once you employ someone other than a sole director.
- Auto-enrolment
- The same duties and minimum 3% employer contribution, regulated by The Pensions Regulator UK-wide.
- Minimum wage
- The National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates are UK-wide.
Rules that differ in Northern Ireland
- The statutory dismissal procedure
- A written statement, a meeting and an appeal before any dismissal or disciplinary action. Skipping it makes a dismissal automatically unfair.
- Fair employment registration
- Register with the Equality Commission within a month of having more than 10 employees working 16 hours a week or more, then send a monitoring return every year.
- Separate discrimination law
- Northern Ireland's own orders apply in place of the Equality Act 2010, and they protect religious belief and political opinion.
- Industrial Tribunals and the LRA
- Claims go to an Industrial Tribunal or the Fair Employment Tribunal, and the Labour Relations Agency gives the advice Acas gives in Great Britain.
The cost of a £30,000 hire in 2026/27
A first employee on £30,000 costs the company £3,750 of employer National Insurance (15% of the £25,000 above the £5,000 secondary threshold) and £712.80 of pension (3% of the £23,760 of qualifying earnings between £6,240 and £30,000), a total of £34,462.80 a year before laptops, software and insurance.
Once the company employs someone other than a single director, it can usually claim the Employment Allowance, which takes up to £10,500 a year off employer National Insurance. On a first hire that covers the £3,750 in full and brings the cost down to £30,712.80.
Before your first hire in Northern Ireland
- Register the company as an employer with HMRC and set up payroll
- Choose a pension scheme and enrol the employee if they qualify
- Take out employers' liability insurance
- Issue a written statement of terms that follows Northern Ireland law
- Write a disciplinary and dismissal procedure that includes the statutory steps
- Diary the fair employment registration for when the team passes 10 people
Northern Ireland pages
- Startup accountants in Northern Ireland
- Our Ballymena office, the funding open to Northern Ireland startups now, and the rules that differ from the rest of the UK.
- Grants for startups in Northern Ireland
- Founder Labs, Ambition to Grow, the Business Innovation Grant and Go Succeed: what each pays and when it opens.
- Raising investment in Northern Ireland
- Co-Fund NI, Techstart, the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland and NI angels, and how they fit with SEIS and EIS.
- Your first hire
- Payroll set-up and the full cost of a first employee, step by step.
Common questions
Is payroll different in Northern Ireland?
PAYE, National Insurance, the National Minimum Wage, the Employment Allowance and pension auto-enrolment work the same way across the UK.
What is the statutory dismissal procedure in Northern Ireland?
Before dismissing an employee or taking disciplinary action, a Northern Ireland employer must set out the problem in writing, hold a meeting, and offer an appeal. Great Britain abolished this procedure in 2009. In Northern Ireland, a dismissal that skips it is automatically unfair, and a tribunal can increase the award.
When does a Northern Ireland employer register with the Equality Commission?
Within one month of having more than 10 employees working 16 hours a week or more in Northern Ireland. Registered employers then send an annual monitoring return, and failing to register or to send the return is a criminal offence (Equality Commission for Northern Ireland).
Does the Equality Act 2010 apply in Northern Ireland?
Northern Ireland has its own discrimination laws in place of the Equality Act 2010, and they also protect religious belief and political opinion. Claims go to an Industrial Tribunal or the Fair Employment Tribunal.
Who gives employment advice in Northern Ireland?
The Labour Relations Agency does the job Acas does in Great Britain, including early conciliation before a tribunal claim (Labour Relations Agency).
