Happy Friday HR pros—grab your coffee, put the spreadsheets down for a moment, and let's round up the week before the weekend rounds us up!
Top 5 Tea-Break Reads for Busy People 🚀
1. 📜 EU AI Act Kicks In – As of Feb 2, Irish businesses must boost staff AI literacy. Ready or not, it's time to learn!
2. 💰 Retirement Rules Refresh – The code of conduct for personal retirement savings accounts just got an update.
3. 📉 Job Vacancies Down, Hybrid Steady – Fewer job openings, but flexible work is holding strong.
4. ❤️ Love at Work? – How employers should handle office romances (without the drama).
5. 🤒 Sick Leave Showdown – When is a company’s sick pay better than the legal minimum? Find out in this week's blog!
And in other news…..📢Join our employment law experts, Dr Gerry McMahon and Bernadette Daly, Partner at CC Solicitors for our upcoming FREE webinar on case law insights into bullying and harassment on Wed, 26th Feb at 11am. BOOK your place today!
CONTENTS
- Case Law Review
- AI and Employment Law
- Recruitment
- Pensions
- DEI
- Remote and hybrid working
- Employment Permit Statistics 2025
- Just in Case You Missed It...
- HR Developments
- Employment News in the Media
- Friends of Legal Island
- Free Webinars this Month
1. Case Law Reviews
Gheorghe Toader v The Historic Flooring Company Ltd
Reference: ADJ-00050566
Complainant: Gheorghe Toader
Respondent: The Historic Flooring Company Ltd
Keywords: Constructive Dismissal, Delayed Wage Payments, Employment Contracts
Summary Sentence: Complainant successfully claimed constructive dismissal after enduring chronic wage delays, lack of a written contract, and no grievance procedure.
Practical Guidance for Employers:
Employers should:
- Ensure Timely Wage Payments: Delayed wage payments can constitute a fundamental breach of contract, leading to constructive dismissal claims. Employers should prioritise payroll reliability and explore alternatives, such as temporary layoffs or structured payment plans, during financial difficulties. Transparent communication and documented agreements with employees are crucial to maintaining trust.
- Provide Written Employment Contracts and Grievance Procedures: Employers are legally required to provide employees with written terms of employment under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994. A clear grievance procedure helps address disputes internally, reducing the risk of legal action. Delays in implementing these documents can weaken an employer’s defence in a dispute.
- Handle Workplace Disputes Professionally and Proactively: When an employee raises a complaint, it should be taken seriously and addressed promptly. Offering training or return-to-work discussions after a resignation does not rectify previous contractual breaches. Employers should seek HR or legal advice to manage disputes and avoid costly legal consequences.
The full case review can be found here:
https://legal-island.ie/employment-law-hub/gheorghe-toader-v-the-historic-flooring-company-ltd-2025
Iulia Andreea Zamfir v Automatic Amusements Limited t/a D1 Club Casino
Reference: ADJ-00049843
Complainant: Iulia Andreea Zamfir
Respondent: Automatic Amusements Limited t/a D1 Club Casino
Keywords: Workplace Harassment, Gender Discrimination, Equal Pay
Summary Sentence: Complainant faced sustained workplace harassment, gender discrimination, and unequal pay.
Practical Guidance for Employers:
Employers should:
- Implement and Enforce a Strong Anti-Harassment Policy: Employers must establish a zero-tolerance policy for workplace harassment, ensuring all staff understand their rights and obligations. This includes regular training on sexual harassment and discrimination, clear reporting mechanisms, and swift, impartial investigations when complaints arise.
- Ensure Fair Pay and Equal Treatment: Employers should conduct regular pay audits to identify discrepancies in pay between male and female employees performing equal work. In this case, the employer failed to justify why a male colleague was paid more, leading to a successful equal pay claim. Transparent pay structures and objective performance-based criteria should be used to prevent gender-based pay discrimination.
- Protect Employees from Retaliation: Retaliation against employees who report workplace issues is unlawful and can worsen liability. Instead of disciplining the complainant, the employer should have properly investigated and taken action to address harassment. Employers must ensure that employees feel safe to report concerns without fear of reprisal.
The full case review can be found here:
https://legal-island.ie/employment-law-hub/iulia-andreea-zamfir-v-automatic-amusements-limited-t-a-d1-club-casino-2025
These case reviews were written by Patrick Barrett BL.
Patrick's legal education is robust, beginning with a BCL Law Degree from University College Cork (2012-2016), followed by an LL.M in Business Law from the same institution (2016-2017), and culminating in a Barrister-at-Law Degree from The Honorable Society of King’s Inns in Dublin (2019-2021). He has extensive experience on the South-West Circuit, handling Civil, Family, and Criminal Law cases, as well as advising the Citizen Advice Service. He has worked as an employment consultant, dealing with workplace investigations and bankruptcy procedures.
Remember: Our Irish case law reviews are now held in our case law section on our fully searchable employment law hub website:
https://legal-island.ie/employment-law-hub/case-law?query=§ion=hubArticles&siteId=2&page=1&perPage=12&sort=postDate+DESC&entryTypes%5B%5D=caseLaw
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2. AI and Employment Law
EU AI Act
On Sunday 2nd February, Article 4 of the EU AI Act came into effect, requiring organisations in Ireland to take proactive steps to ensure their staff members attain a sufficient level of AI literacy. Next month, Legal Island is launching a new Safe Use of ChatGPT at Work micro eLearning course. This course is quick, practical and will help your staff to:
• Understand ChatGPT’s strengths – and its limits
• Learn essential tips for protecting sensitive data
• Build confidence to integrate ChatGPT safely in your workflow
Incorporating this course into your broader AI literacy strategy can help employees build the knowledge and confidence needed to use ChatGPT responsibly and effectively.
If you are interested in finding out more, you can register your interest below:
https://share-eu1.hsforms.com/1vOHdaiC5QAOfBFAE0-raYQ2dfmah
Legal Island is also planning a webinar or online half-day workshop explaining how to conduct an AI audit of systems to ensure compliance with the Act. Watch this space for more info…..
Read more about your obligations under the EU AI Act in these guides:
- Article 50: Transparency Obligations for Providers and Deployers of Certain AI Systems | EU Artificial Intelligence Act
- AL_Goodbody_-_Guide_to_the_AI_Act.pdf
- The William Fry AI Guide - WILLIAM FRY
Podcast: 2025 McKinsey Report on AI- What are the Key Takeaways for Employers
Barry Phillips gives his views on the top ten takeaways from the McKinsey survey on AI published on Monday of this week
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3. Recruitment
75% of recruiters struggling to find talent – survey
Three-quarters of Irish recruiters faced challenges finding qualified talent in the past year according to a new survey from professional network LinkedIn. The primary barrier identified by the research was finding candidates with the right technical skills, which was flagged by over half of HR professionals. 70% of HR professionals reported spending more time proactively sourcing candidates due to a lack of qualified applicants, with only 40% of applications on average meeting all preferred qualifications. More from RTÉ:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/0203/1494363-recruiter-survey/
Re-skilling and up-skilling: how to win the ‘war for talent’
The digitalisation of work is having a profound impact on the skills that employers need from their workforce, resulting in the competing challenges of skilled worker shortages and widespread redundancies. The solution to these challenges and the ‘war for talent’ that has emerged, could lie with re-skilling and up-skilling the workforce. Ius Laboris explores the benefits of investing in skills as a way of winning this ongoing battle:
https://iuslaboris.com/insights/re-skilling-and-up-skilling-how-to-win-the-war-for-talent/
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4. Pensions
Personal retirement savings account provider code of conduct revised
Ireland’s Pensions Authority has published a revised personal retirement savings account (PRSA) code of conduct. The revised code follows a public consultation and the authority said it is “relevant for all PRSA providers”. The revised code includes additional sections on conflicts of interest, risk warning, and product oversight and governance:
https://pensionsauthority.ie/prsa_providers/
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5. DEI
Google scraps diversity-based hiring targets
Alphabet's Google is scrapping its goal to hire more employees from underrepresented groups and is reviewing some of its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, joining a slew of US businesses scaling back diversity initiatives. "In 2020, we set aspirational hiring goals and focused on growing our offices outside California and New York to improve representation," Fiona Cicconi, Alphabet's chief people officer, said in an email to staff, a copy which was reviewed by Reuters. "...but in the future we will no longer have aspirational goals." More from RTÉ:
https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/0206/1494985-google/
DE&I’s detour: Why good intentions backfired
Traditional DEI initiatives often fall short, focusing on surface-level changes rather than addressing the root causes of exclusion. This article from HRD Connect argues that true workplace inclusion stems from genuine human connection. By fostering a culture of trust, respect, and psychological safety, organizations can unlock the full potential of their diverse workforce:
https://www.hrdconnect.com/2025/02/03/deis-detour-why-good-intentions-backfired/
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6. Remote and hybrid working
Civil servants to keep existing remote working arrangements pending talks process with unions
Staff in parts of the Civil Service will retain existing working-from-home arrangements pending a new talks process. The move heads-off a potentially serious dispute in the Department of Social Protection from next week over what critics had described as attempts by the Government to row back on remote working rules introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Irish Times has more on this:
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/work/2025/01/31/civil-servants-to-keep-existing-remote-working-arrangements-pending-talks-process-with-unions/
Online performance reviews: How technology has changed manners and etiquette
With the rise of modern technologies, the dynamics of these appraisals have changed dramatically, especially in terms of manners and etiquette. Adhering to netiquette helps maintain a professional tone and reduces the risk of misunderstandings in virtual settings. The Conversation provides guidance here:
https://theconversation.com/online-performance-reviews-how-technology-has-changed-manners-and-etiquette-244056
Fall in job vacancies but level of hybrid roles remains stable – IrishJobs
There was a 9% quarterly decrease in the number of new job vacancies created on hiring platform IrishJobs in the fourth quarter of 2024. Manufacturing, IT, finance and science were among the sectors that posted vacancy decreases according to the latest Jobs Index from IrishJobs. The research shows that the level of hybrid working vacancies remained unchanged, despite several high-profile cases of employers bringing workers back to the office reports RTÉ:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/0204/1494546-irishjobs-latest-jobs-index/
Irish bosses looking to tackle unofficial 'hushed hybrid' deals
Employers in Ireland are increasingly taking the power to decide working arrangements away from local managers in a bid to stymie 'hushed hybrid' deals with staff, research from CIPD in Ireland has found. The study shows there has been a 10% increase in workplace deciding at a more central level how flexible and remote working policies should apply and comes amid a trend of local managers signing off on work arrangements that don't follow company policy. You can read more from Business Plus:
https://businessplus.ie/jobs/cipd-hushed-hybrid/
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7. Employment Permit Statistics 2025
The total number of employment permits for January was 3769. Here are details of sectors with the highest number of permits issued for the month:
• Accommodation and Food Services Activities – 547
• Health & Social Work Activities – 1038
• Information & Communication Activities – 527
You can view more here including nationalities, companies and counties:
https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/publications/employment-permit-statistics-2025.html
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8. Just in Case You Missed It...
The Sick Leave Act 2022: When is an employer's sick leave scheme more favourable than the statutory sick pay scheme?
Kate Heneghan, A&L Goodbody LLP answers you most pressing questions on the statutory sick pay scheme in our latest Q&A series. Read her guidance here:
The Sick Leave Act 2022: When is an employer’s sick leave scheme more favourable than the statutory sick pay scheme
High Court Injunctions and Disciplinary Procedures: What HR Professionals Need to Know
Triona Cody, Partner and Head of Employment Law, Kane Tuohy LLP answers your most pertinent questions on why employees would bring an injunction to the High Court. Read the full article here:
High Court Injunctions and Disciplinary Procedures: What HR Professionals Need to Know
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9. HR Developments
Has the long weekend had its day? And other questions about bank holidays answered
Are public holidays outdated or do we get too few? Do you lose out if they fall on days you are not rostered to work, and how much is this new one costing businesses? We answer some common questions about these extra days off work. Dr Laura Bambrick looks at these questions are more in this ICTU article:
https://www.ictu.ie/news/has-long-weekend-had-its-day-and-other-questions-about-bank-holidays-answered
Why is confidence in staff retention so low?
Data from Robert Walters’ Salary Survey has revealed that 65% of professionals are responding to uncertainty by making plans to actively apply and take interviews for new opportunities in 2025. Chris Eldridge, CEO of Robert Walters UK & Ireland comments: “Employers should take note that professionals are actively pursuing new job opportunities despite their confidence in the market being low. The new year has introduced a new wave of economic pressures for professionals – and it’s clear if they don’t feel confident enough with their current employer, they’ll respond with their feet.” HR Director has more here:
https://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/staff-retention/confidence-staff-retention-low/
Monitoring and managing romantic relationships in the workplace
As Valentine’s Day approaches, Ethan Diver from Taylor Walton Solicitors explains how employers should handle the difficult and sensitive issues thrown up by office romances in this article from People Management:
https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1904736/monitoring-managing-romantic-relationships-workplace
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10. Employment News in the Media
An order of nuns which "callously" sacked a manager after making allegations which included a false accusation about her work-from-home arrangements, has been ordered to pay out over €70,000, with an adjudicator calling the case "extraordinary" and "one of the most egregious examples of mistreatment" he had ever encountered. More:
Order of nuns that sacked manager ordered to pay €70,000
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/0206/1495146-order-of-nuns-which-sacked-manager-ordered-to-pay-70-000/
Tens of thousands of Asda store workers have moved closer to potential payouts after the latest judgment in a historic equality claim in the UK. An employment tribunal has ruled that most shop workers in the case have jobs of “equal value to higher-paid positions” in Asda’s warehouses. The claim, which compared store roles largely occupied by women and distribution roles mostly performed by men, is being considered a landmark case for pay equality. Unions have suggested the fresh tribunal ruling could pave the way for staff to receive back pay collectively worth up to £1.2 billion. More from the Irish News:
https://www.irishnews.com/news/uk/thousands-of-asda-shop-workers-move-closer-to-payouts-in-historic-equality-case-LC4U7WD3QRJDHIAFW5KC2US7GE/
The US government’s humanitarian agency USAID announced it was placing its staff in the United States and around the world on administrative leave as it moved to recall employees from overseas postings. The agency said in a statement on its website – which reappeared yesterday after going dark over the weekend – that the staff leave will begin shortly before midnight on 7 February. The move is part of Trump’s – and his billionaire ally Elon Musk’s – radical drive to shrink the US government, which has shocked Washington and caused angry protests from Democrats and the human rights community. More from the Journal:
https://www.thejournal.ie/usaid-places-global-staff-on-leave-trump-white-house-6613712-Feb2025/
A construction firm manager who was “chased” through an office by his bosses after being pulled up for “insubordination” over sending an email to 41 colleagues about the dismissal of another worker has won €4,000 at the Workplace Relations Commission. The employment tribunal has directed Bretland Construction to pay senior project manager Brendan Burke €3,180 for unfair dismissal and a further €979 for unpaid wages. The tribunal was told that Mr Burke sent the mass email on November 14th 2023 after a pregnant female employee of the company was let go during her probation period by a new senior manager. You can read more here from the Irish Times:
https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2025/02/04/construction-firm-manager-chased-through-office-by-bosses-wins-4000-for-unfair-dismissal/
Big tech player Amazon’s newest wind farm will be one of six on the island of Ireland. Amazon has signed a new power purchase agreement in Northern Ireland for the Corlacky Hill Wind Farm. Once operational, the wind farm, located near Swatragh, will consist of 11 turbines with a total capacity of 47 megawatts (MW). The wind farm is projected to inject £2.5 million into Northern Ireland’s economy, according to the wind farms developer ERG, and will support Amazon’s Climate Pledge commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions across its operations by 2040. More from Think Business:
https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/amazon-wind-farm-northern-ireland/
A migrant chef with no English was put to work for around €25 a day at a Chinese takeaway while working up to 73 hours a week to pay off an "illegal" €30,600 debt he took on as a "recruitment fee", a tribunal has been told. The worker, Xiaofeng Gao, said he was "so afraid" of his boss that he did as he was told and never questioned his working hours. His employment permit had stated he was meant to be getting €16.76 an hour to work as a chef de partie but was actually receiving just €150 a week for six days' work - and €60 extra when he was required to work the seventh day as well, his advocate said. More from RTÉ:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/0205/1494850-chef-worked-70-hour-weeks-for-under-3-an-hour-wrc-hears/
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11. Friends of Legal Island
Human resources consultancy company ‘Buddy’s’ up in Limerick with new opening
Limerick Live reports that HR Buddy, already located in Kerry and Dublin, will also expand to Cork city. Damien McCarthy, who founded HR Buddy in 2017, says given the growth of the company, “it made sense” to open in new regional locations. Congratulations Damien from all of us at Legal Island!
https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/business/1716651/human-resources-consultancy-company-buddys-up-in-limerick-with-new-opening.html
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12. Free Webinars this Month
Case Law Insights: Lessons Learned from Key Bullying and Harassment Cases in Ireland – Free Webinar
Wednesday, 26th February 2025
11:00 AM – 12:00 Noon
Online
Bullying and harassment remain pressing issues in Ireland, with nearly 1 in 3 workers experiencing them firsthand according to Matrix Recruitment’s recent study. Despite complaints being raised to HR or senior leaders, only 20% felt they were resolved promptly and discreetly. This begs the question, are the current Codes of Practice enough?
Laura McKee, Knowledge Partner, Legal Island will be joined by Bernadette Daly, Partner, CC Solicitors and Dr Gerry McMahon, MD at Productive Personnel Ltd. and Bernadette Daly, Partner at CC Solicitors as they unpack key cases, share legal insights, and explore practical strategies to foster respectful workplaces.
Dealing with bullying and harassment at work can be tricky, messy, and downright confusing, and this session will help you tackle bullying issues head-on, protect your people, and create a better workplace for everyone!
Register here:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3180520347239188824?source=Round
Enjoy the weekend.
Legal Island
