Hiring a tradesperson in Ireland: 10 things to check before you pay anyone

6. Get tax clearance certificate confirmation before any job over €1,000

A Tax Clearance Certificate from the Revenue Commissioners is easy to issue and easy to verify. If a tradesperson cannot produce one for a job over a thousand euro, the work is happening outside the tax system. That may be their problem in the short term and your problem in the long term — if Revenue investigates, money you paid in cash without a paper trail becomes part of an investigation you did not ask to be in.

7. Avoid cash-only operators for substantial jobs

There is a difference between cash-preferred (some sole traders find it simpler) and cash-only. The former is a habit; the latter is a policy that removes your dispute leverage. Cards, bank transfer, and platform-held payments all create a paper trail that protects both sides. WorkMate holds payment through Stripe until the work is confirmed complete — neither side can disappear with the money.

8. Photograph the work area before, during, and after

Especially for plumbing, electrical, and building work. Photos are the single best piece of evidence for any dispute. They cost you nothing to take and are worth disproportionately more than verbal recollection when something needs investigating later. Take time-stamped photos with your phone — most do this automatically.

9. Do not pay 100% upfront — ever, for any reason

A standard pattern across Ireland is thirty percent deposit, fifty percent on milestone, twenty percent on completion. For smaller jobs (under five hundred euro) some tradespeople ask for nothing upfront and invoice on completion. Anyone demanding the full amount in advance is asking you to take all the risk — that is not a professional relationship.

10. If something feels off, walk away — and report

Every county has a regional office of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). For more serious matters, the Garda Síochána accepts reports online at gardaireport.ie. For platform-mediated work, WorkMate accepts dispute filings through the dashboard — and we read every one.

What WorkMate does about each of these

Every WorkMate provider clears Stripe Connect identity verification before they can receive a single euro. Their Stripe Verified status shows on their profile. WorkMate no longer collects insurance, Safe Pass, or tax-clearance documents (that upload feature was retired), so for any licence or insurance your job needs, ask the provider directly. Customers pay through Stripe — which holds the money until you confirm the work is done. The ten rules above are the offline version of what we automate online.

If you would rather not have to remember all ten rules every time, post a job on WorkMate and we apply most of them for you by default.