My brother is Irish, he starts a job as manager of a bar in France. He provided his Irish Passport for id, and the employer wants an original birth certificate.
My understanding is birth certificate, without being notarised, are not recognised outside there country of issue. In addition, they are not official documents for id (since they lack a photo). However, my understanding is passports are officially recognised internationally as id. Two other brothers live in Germany and Spain, both residents of those countries, both obtained their residency without any need for birth certificates (just passports).
Birth certificates can be used as part of identity theft so alarm bells ring for me.
Is there any reason why an employer might demand a birth certificate? Is there any reason why an Irish passport would not suffice?