Littler (JD Supra Ireland)

This week in the Republic of Labour Law, we discuss an upcoming change to Parent’s Leave. Currently, Parent’s Leave entitles each parent to two weeks’ leave during the first year of a child’s life, or in the case of adoption, within one year of the placement of the child with the family.

Welcome to our February edition of Republic of Labour Law, a monthly newsletter in which we distil the most important Irish legal and HR updates from the last month in 500 words or less.

Welcome to a very special January edition of Republic of Labour Law, a monthly newsletter in which we distil the most important Irish legal and HR updates from the last month in 500 words or less.

This week in the Republic of Labour Law, we look at the employment law winners and losers from 2020. In January, Brexit was the headline. In December, Brexit is the headline once more. There is a grim symmetry to this year’s news cycle which was largely filled with Covid.

Welcome to our Halloween edition of Republic of Labour Law, a spooky newsletter in which we distil the most frightening Irish legal and HR updates from the last month in 500 words or less.

The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) across the globe remains a significant concern in the workplace. Employers are confronting difficult questions regarding how to handle safety and health rules, travel restrictions, compensation, immigration, and other employment issues.

Welcome to our inaugural edition of the Republic of Labour Law, a monthly newsletter in which we distill the most important Irish legal and HR updates from the last month in 500 words or less.

Supreme Court Confirms When an Employee is Entitled to Legal Representation - Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency - On November 11, 2019, the Supreme Court upheld last year's decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of Iarnród Éireann/Irish Rail v Barry McKelvey.

The Supreme Court of Ireland recently examined the extent of the obligation on employers, under Irish Employment Equality legislation, to put in place “appropriate measures” to adapt a place of work to reasonably accommodate disabled employees.

Changes to Immigration Law Help Address Skills Shortages - New Legislation Enacted - Three recent developments in the area of corporate immigration will improve access for foreign workers to the Irish labor market. These developments include changes to the list of occupations deemed as critical to the Irish economy and will help to address skills shortages in certain industry sectors,...

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018, which came into effect on March 4, 2019, requires employers to provide new recruits with five core terms of employment in writing within five days of starting employment and prohibits the use of zero hour contracts, except in very limited circumstances.

Employers Caution: Out-of-Hours Emails and the 48-Hour Working Week - Precedential Decision by Judiciary or Regulatory Agency - The Irish Labour Court case of Kepak v. Gráinne O’Hara recently illustrated the risk for an employer when its employee is found to have worked excessive hours.

A bill is making its way through the Oireachtas (the Irish parliament) that would bring shared parental leave to the Republic of Ireland. The Shared Maternity Leave and Benefit Bill would allow parents to split the first 26 weeks of maternity leave between the mother and a "relevant parent," usually the father.

The Irish parliament (the Oireachtas) recently passed a bill to bring gender pay gap reporting to Ireland. The Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2017, if signed into law as expected, would operate along broadly similar lines to the current UK legislation and undoubtedly Irish companies will be looking to learn from the experience of their UK peers.

New Data Protection Act - New Legislation Enacted - On May 24, 2018, Ireland enacted the Data Protection Act of 2018 (Act) as a supplement to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which became law in Ireland on May 25, 2018.