Going rates
Current pay for comparable roles in your sector and region, matched to the real scope of each job.
Not too high, not too low
Salary benchmarking that gets the number right
Paying too much erodes margins. Paying too little costs you talent. PurpleTree provides salary benchmarking grounded in current Irish market data, so you can set competitive, sustainable pay and defend every decision with evidence.
Clear answers to your toughest pay questions.
What Salary Benchmarking Tells You
We combine hands-on HR expertise with live analysis of the Irish labour market, weighted for your sector, region and company size. The result answers the four questions behind every pay decision: what comparable roles actually pay, whether your offers will win the candidates you want, where your existing team sits against the market, and how to direct your payroll budget for the most impact. The average salary in Ireland has been rising, and the employers most exposed to losing people are the ones who have not benchmarked their pay in the last year.
Competitive offers
Whether the salary on your offer letters will win candidates or lose them at the final stage.
Retention risks
Where existing staff sit against the market, flagging the people most likely to be tempted away.
Smart budgeting
How to allocate payroll budget toward the roles that carry genuine flight risk, not across the board.
Comparisons built on the job, not the title.
How It Works in Practice
Accurate benchmarking starts with matching roles properly, not comparing job titles. We discuss each role with you, understand its real responsibilities and seniority, and match it to verified Irish market data weighted for sector, region and company size.
From there we show you where your pay sits against the market median and across the wider range, so you can see at a glance which roles are competitive, which are lagging, and which are already ahead.
Every benchmark sits above the legal floor set by the national minimum wage, which rose to €14.15 an hour in January 2026, and reflects what the market is actually paying above it. The written output is captured in a market rate report you can take into any pay review or hiring decision.
- Discovery of your roles, structure, challenges and pay goals
- Role matching to verified Irish data, weighted for sector, region and size
- Analysis of where each role sits against the market median and range
- Clear reporting with a plain discussion of findings and implications
- Practical recommendations linked to your pay and reward strategy
The right combination for your situation.
Benchmarking, or a Market Rate Report?
These two services answer different needs, and many employers use both. A market rate report is the deliverable: accurate pay data for the specific roles you ask us to cover, at a point in time, ideal when you are about to hire or set a salary for one role.
Salary benchmarking is the ongoing exercise of comparing your whole pay structure against the market, interpreting what it means for retention and budget, and advising on what to do next. If you are building a longer-term compensation framework, benchmarking feeds directly into your wider pay and reward strategy and the way roles are valued and graded across the business.
- A report when you need point-in-time data for specific roles
- Benchmarking when you want your whole structure reviewed against the market
- Interpretation of what the numbers mean for retention and budget
- A clear route from one-off report into an ongoing pay strategy
Get the figure right where it matters most.
Where Salary Benchmarking Pays Off
Benchmarking is most valuable at the moments where a single number drives a real cost. Used at the right point, it manages candidate expectations, justifies pay decisions internally, and keeps your structure fair as roles change. It also gives you defensible evidence behind every figure, which matters more each year as pay transparency and grading obligations tighten in Ireland.
New hires and offers
Set salary ranges for new roles with confidence and avoid losing a preferred candidate on money alone.
Pay reviews and promotions
Make sure annual reviews and promotional rises reflect both market movement and increased role value.
Retention and counter-offers
Identify the people sitting below market before a resignation lands, and respond with data rather than panic.
Restructures and grading
Anchor new grades and pay bands to real market evidence when you reorganise or build a structure.
A clear report you can act on.
What You Receive
Every benchmarking engagement delivers decision-ready outputs rather than raw spreadsheets. We customise the analysis to your industry, region and seniority levels, break it down role by role, and translate the numbers into a clear view of your competitive position.
Effective reward goes beyond base salary, so where it is relevant we also look at typical bonus and incentive schemes, common benefits and pensions, and the non-financial elements such as flexible working that shape a competitive offer. The recommendations connect straight into your pay and reward planning, and our overview of employee benefits in Ireland sets out the wider reward picture.
- Market analysis customised by industry, region and seniority level
- Role-by-role breakdowns covering base salary, bonuses and benefits
- Competitive positioning against Irish market medians and ranges
- Total reward context, from incentive schemes to benefits and pensions
- Actionable recommendations tied to your pay and reward strategy
Evidence when it's challenged.
Benchmarking, Pay Transparency and Fair Pay
Fair pay is increasingly a legal obligation, not only good practice. Under the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 the reporting threshold has been falling toward employers with 50 or more staff, and the EU Pay Transparency Directive is set to require defensible, evidence-based pay structures across Irish workplaces.
Benchmarking gives you a consistent rationale for what each role pays, which underpins compliant gender pay gap reporting and fair job evaluation and grading. It also reduces the risk of an equal pay challenge, where weak documentation has proved costly: see how equal pay claims land on Irish employers when the rationale for pay differences is not recorded.
- Evidence behind every pay figure, ready for scrutiny
- A consistent basis for gender pay gap reporting and action plans
- Pay decisions that align with job evaluation and grading
- Reduced exposure to equal pay and pay transparency challenges
Fee agreed up front.
Irish Market Data and a Longford-Based Team
PurpleTree is an Irish HR consultancy based in Longford, serving employers across Ireland. Our consultants benchmark against Irish market conditions and apply Irish employment law and reward practice, rather than adapting figures from a UK playbook.
We scope each engagement to the roles and depth of analysis you need, then agree the fee with you in writing before we begin, so the cost is clear from the outset.
For employers on an outsourced HR retainer, benchmarking is often covered within the agreed level of support, and it sits naturally alongside the rest of our strategic consulting work. See how we price HR support before you book.
- Benchmarking grounded in Irish market data, not an adapted UK approach
- Scope and fee agreed in writing before we begin
- Often included for employers on an outsourced HR retainer
Get in Touch
Tell us the roles you need benchmarked and the decisions you are facing. We will give you a clear, data-backed view of your competitive position in the Irish market and a fee scoped in advance. See how we price HR support, then talk to us about your business specifically.
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Common questions from employers
Salary benchmarking compares the pay for a given role in your business against current market rates for comparable roles in the same sector, region and company size. We match each of your roles to verified Irish market data, allow for differences in responsibility and seniority, and show you where your pay sits against the market median and the wider range. The result is an evidence base you can use to set salaries, justify decisions internally and plan your payroll budget with confidence rather than guesswork.
We apply HR judgement to Irish market data rather than pulling a single online average. Job titles vary widely between businesses, so the accuracy comes from matching roles properly: a manager in a ten-person firm and a manager in a multinational are not the same job and should not be benchmarked against the same number. Our consultants weight the data for sector, region and the actual scope of each role, so the comparison reflects your business rather than a national headline figure.
They are closely related. A market rate report is the written deliverable: accurate pay data for the specific roles you ask us to cover, at a point in time. Salary benchmarking is the broader exercise of comparing your whole pay structure against the market, interpreting what it means for retention and budget, and advising on what to do about it. Many employers start with a report for a handful of roles and move to ongoing benchmarking as part of their wider pay and reward strategy.
We scope each engagement to the number of roles and the depth of analysis you need, then agree the fee with you in writing before we begin, so the cost is clear in advance. For employers on an outsourced HR retainer, benchmarking is often covered within the agreed level of support. See how we price HR support and ask us for a tailored quote.
For most Irish employers, once a year is the right cadence. The labour market moves quickly, both the national minimum wage and average earnings rose in 2026, and benchmarks from two or three years ago no longer reflect what candidates expect. We recommend a full annual review with interim updates for any business-critical or hard-to-fill roles where the market is shifting faster.
Yes. Defensible, well-documented pay decisions are exactly what the incoming pay transparency rules and existing gender pay gap reporting obligations call for. Benchmarking gives you a consistent, evidence-based rationale for what each role pays, which underpins fair job evaluation and grading and reduces the risk of an equal pay challenge. Read our guide to the pay transparency mistakes Irish employers are making for the wider context.
Not in our experience. Benchmarking is as likely to show where you already pay at or above market as where you have fallen behind, which lets you redirect budget to the roles that actually carry retention risk rather than applying across-the-board rises. The point is to spend your payroll budget where it changes outcomes, not to inflate it.
Yes, and arguably more so. A larger employer can absorb one or two mispriced roles. For an SME, losing a key person to a better offer or overpaying for a hard-to-fill hire has a far bigger impact. Benchmarking even a handful of critical roles gives you the data to make confident offers, hold on to the people who matter, and manage a tight payroll budget. It is a core part of the support we provide to Irish SMEs without an in-house HR function.