Developments 8th February 2018

The Mediation Act 2017 came into effect as of 1st January 2018

The Mediation Act 2017 came into effect as of 1st January 2018. The prime objective of the Act is to promote mediation as an effective and efficient alternative to court proceedings and thereby alleviating the high costs associated with court...

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Developments 8th February 2018

Retirement Code of Practice published by Work Relations Commission

The issue of mandatory retirement age remains an extremely contentious issue both legally and politically. The increasing number of age discrimination cases before the courts has emanated in extreme caution being exercised by employers regarding the retirement age of their...

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Developments 21st December 2017

Transparency under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Implementation date 25th May 2018 Guidelines The EU Article 29 Working Party (WP29) has recently published guidelines on the obligation of transparency concerning the processing of personal data under the GDPR. The concept of transparency appears as one of six...

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Insights 21st December 2017

The end of zero hour contracts?

On 5th December 2017 Regina Doherty, Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection published the Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 (the “Bill”). This Bill apparently seeks to provide clarity and protection to employees who are employed under ‘zero-hour’ contracts. The...

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News 21st December 2017

Employee summarily dismissed for postal error awarded €15,000

Workplace Relations Commission: ADJ-00006889, A Worker v A Retail Company Facts The Complainant commenced employment in the legal department on the Respondent. As part of her job, she handled confidential information on a day-to-day basis. In error the Complainant sent...

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News 4th December 2017

Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) 2017

The bill introduces a new ground of discrimination, known as “mental health status”, which will be prohibited under the Employment Equality Act 1998 and Equal Status Act 2000. The Irish equality legislation will be amended to ensure that no person...

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Developments 1st December 2017

High Court compels Defendant to make a Data Access Request as part of an Order for Discovery

On 24th November 2017 Ms Justice Baker in the case of Susquehanna International Group Limited v Daniel Needham (2016 No.3300P) made a far reaching Order for Discovery against the Defendant on the basis that it was both necessary and relevant....

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Insights 1st December 2017

Employer’s Failure to be pro-active leads to Labour Court Award of €25,350

Facts This case was an appeal against the decision of an Adjudication Officer who held the claim made by Pauline O’Connell against her former employer, Homecare Medical Supplies, for constructive dismissal was not well founded. Pauline was initially employed by...

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News 1st November 2017

Employers, What if there is a Harvey Weinstein in your company?

Whether you are an employer or an employee, male or female, sexual harassment should not be acceptable in your workplace. The Harvey Weinstein case should put employers on alert of this risk and re-assess how it addresses sexual harassment in...

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Developments 1st November 2017

WRC awards €16,640 for victimisation rather than discriminatory dismissal

On 6th October 2017, the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”) issued a decision (ADJ- 00005899 – An Employee v. A Transport Company) that although there was no discriminatory dismissal on the ground of disability, the dismissal was victimisation under the Employment...

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