The department’s new employment permits system ‘Employment Permits Online’ will launch on Monday, 28 April 2025.
Downtime
To facilitate the move to Employment Permits Online, our existing EPOS website will need to be taken offline. During this time no employment permit applications will be able to be submitted.
The EPOS website will be taken offline from 6pm on Thursday, 17 April. This will mean that EPOS will be offline for 5 business days.
Importantly, all completed draft employment permit applications must be submitted before the EPOS system is taken offline. Draft employment permit applications prepared but not submitted before the EPOS system is taken offline will not be transferred to Employment Permits Online. Only fully completed and submitted applications will be transferred to Employment Permits Online for processing.
Why the change?
The current employment permit service utilises older technologies which were first introduced some years ago and now require updating. Our move to a modern cloud-based system will transform the way in which employment permits are submitted, processed and issued. The new system will deliver an improved customer experience and a more efficient and responsive service.
What will be different?
The new system will introduce a portal space with separate and individual accounts for both employers, employees and agents, making it easier to get up-to-date information on the status of applications. It will also provide individual users with more ownership over the management of their accounts.
The new employment permits system will make the application process easier, more secure, more intuitive and in so doing will reduce inaccuracies in the submission of applications, resulting in more streamlined processing.
Details about the new system
Registration
Employment Permits Online will require all users (employer, employee and agent) to set up a portal account, in order to access the system and to submit future employment permit applications. This will involve confirming an email address and password and verifying these via a secure Multi Factor Authentication process (using mobile phone confirmation). This process is necessary to ensure that the integrity and security of Employment Permits Online is maintained for all users.
For employers, registration will also require the provision of some key additional documents, that is, Revenue and CRO details. Once these documents have been uploaded and validated (by the Employment Permits Unit) accounts will be ready to go.
The initial email address used to register a portal account will be set as the ‘Administrator’ for the account. More than one administrator can be assigned for an account.
Once the account is verified by the Employment Permits Unit, the administrator for any employer or agent account will be able to add or remove additional contact points (email addresses) listed under the account. There is no limit to the number of additional contact points that can be added to an account. All contact points can prepare and submit employment permit applications.
Portal account
Once registration has been completed (including verification), users will have access to their new portal accounts. Portal accounts will provide a record of current and historic applications, as well as a new ‘status update’ feature – allowing users to see at what stage of the process any current applications have reached (draft, awaiting payment, processing, requested information, issued, refused, appeal and so on).
Another key feature of portal accounts is the level of control users will have over them. Accounts will be managed via the use of Core and Non-Core requirements. Changes to Core requirements such as the submission or renewal of Revenue or CRO documentation, involve additional validation by the Employment Permits Unit, while non-Core requirements (that is, employer business locations or additional contact details) can be updated directly by the user.
Enhanced data protection
Requests from DETE will issue as an email from Employment Permits Online direct to the verified email addresses of the parties (employer, employee or agent) linked to the application. The parties can then ‘reply’ to this email, which is then returned directly to the application record on the employment permits system.
The portal itself can be used by the account holder to update their profile as well as certain permit information. Changes to core requirements such as business address, renewal of Revenue or CRO details, involve additional validation by the Employment Permits Unit. While non-core requirements (business locations or additional contact details) can be updated directly by the relevant party.
Additionally, the submission of requests for permit; renewals, change of employer, appeals, withdrawals, cancellations, and so on) all take place through the portal account. Any relevant documents associated with the processing of these requests by the employment permits team, will also be requested to be provided.
Joint applications
An additional feature of Employment Permits Online, is that all employment permit applications will be jointly completed online by the parties involved, the employer and prospective employee (as well as the appointed agent, if applicable). The employee will directly provide the personal information relevant to themselves, with the employer completing the fields relevant to their sections of the application. For agents, they will be able to provide the details for the party on whose behalf they are acting. The application will be signed by all parties involved using an e-signature.
Support tools
Employment Permits Online has been designed to be as intuitive as possible. However, the look and feel of the system will be different, especially the portal account area. Therefore, to assist users in their understanding of how Employment Permits Online will operate, the Employment Permits Unit will be launching a number of support tools prior to the launch date.
These support tools will include:
- ‘how to’ videos on creating a portal account
- a new user guide detailing all aspects of registration and maintenance of portal accounts as well as the submission of applications
- an FAQ document
Trusted Partner initiative
In order to set up and maintain a valid portal account, employers are required to submit relevant Revenue documentation in addition to their CRO number. These would be the key documents required for Trusted Partner status. Therefore, the Trusted Partner initiative will no longer operate under Employment Permits Online. As all employers will now operate from portal accounts, this will deliver more efficient processing of applications, benefiting all users.
Further information on the launch
The department will keep this dedicated webpage updated with further information.
In addition, in the immediate period following the launch of Employment Permits Online and the weeks thereafter we are aware that users will need to become familiar with the new layout, flow and functionality. This will also be the case for the Employment Permits Unit and so we are anticipating some minimal impact on processing timelines during this initial phase. We would ask for your patience during this period while familiarity with Employment Permits Online beds in for all users.
We would strongly advise all users of the existing EPOS system to familiarise themselves with the new features and additional functionality of Employment Permits Online. This approach should assist users in avoiding any potential delays in the submission of future permit applications.
Employment Permits Team