This week's top 5:

1. Half of employers say hybrid working has made it more difficult to manage staff absence
2. A four-day week can work – if staff and employers can deal with the challenges
3. European AI Office call to participate in first general-purpose AI Code of Practice
4. Parent's Leave and Parent's Benefit extended
5. €45k win for tech firm staff left without full pay for months 

And in other news…………. In this week's episode, Barry Phillips analyses the many versions of ChatGPT so far and gives his view on which was the most important for HR. Listen here! Have a great bank holiday on Monday and enjoy the break!

CONTENTS

1. Case Law Review
2. AI and Employment Law
3. Is it fair for young people to be paid less than adults?
4. Employee Benefits
5. Garda recruitment numbers fall short of government targets for second year in a row
6. Companies warned about impending fines for non-compliance with new cyber security law
7. Flexible Working
8. DEI
9. Just in Case You Missed It...
10. HR Developments
11. Health & Safety Developments
12. Employment News in the Media
13. Free Webinars This Month

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1. Case Law Review

Courtney Carey v WIX Online Platforms Limited [2024]

Reference: ADJ-00048434

Applicant: Courtney Carey

Respondent: WIX Online Platforms Limited

Keywords: Redress, Unfair Dismissal.

Summary Sentence: Worker awarded €35,000 for unfair dismissal.

Practical Guidance for Employers:
Employers should ensure procedural fairness in all dismissal processes to avoid unfair dismissal claims. Clearly document and follow established procedures, including proper notice and opportunity for employees to address concerns.

The full case review can be found here:
https://www.legal-island.ie/articles/ire/case-law/2024/july/courtney-carey-v-wix-online-platforms-limited-2024/

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://www.legal-island.ie/employment-law-hub/case-law-search-page/

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2. AI and Employment Law

Which version of ChatGPT4 was the game changer for HR?

Barry Phillips analyses the many versions of ChatGPT so far and gives his view on which was the most important for HR:

https://www.legal-island.ie/articles/ire/resources/ai-for-hr-weekly-podcast/2024/august/which-version-of-chatgpt4-was-the-game-changer-for-hr/

European AI Office call to participate in first general-purpose AI Code of Practice

The European AI Office has opened a call for expression of interest to participate in the drawing-up of the first general-purpose AI Code of Practice. The Code will facilitate the proper application of the rules of the AI Act for general-purpose AI models 9 months from the AI Act’s entry into force on 1 August 2024. The closing date is  6 p.m. on 25 August 2024 and you can find out more here:
https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/consultations/european-ai-office-consultation-general-purpose-ai-code-of-practice.html

Generative AI Myths: The 5 biggest misunderstandings

Most people can find a way to use AI to help them in their work or day-to-day lives, but first, they need to understand it. Hopefully, this is helpful for cutting through the hype and getting to the facts writes Bernard Marr:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2024/07/30/generative-ai-myths-the-5-biggest-misunderstandings/?ss=ai

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3. Is it fair for young people to be paid less than adults?

Legislation allows employers in Ireland to pay those under 20 less than their older colleagues - but is this fair? RTÉ has more on this:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/0728/1462022-is-it-fair-for-young-people-to-be-paid-less-than-adults/

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4. Employee Benefits

What do Irish workers identify as the most important employee benefit?

Irish workers have identified their most important employee benefit, according to a survey from the Dooley Insurance Group. The study of 1,000 people nationally found that 56% of employees regard health cover as the most preferable of work benefits ahead of pensions (49%), four-day weeks (49%) and better work-from options (35%). You can read more here from Business Plus:
https://businessplus.ie/jobs/most-important-employee-benefit/

Workers missing out on ‘lost’ pension benefits of more than €500m

More than €500 million in pension benefits remain unclaimed in Ireland as people have lost track of pensions they put money into in previous jobs. Part of the problem, according to James Dorrian from the National Pensions Helpline, is that there is “no single platform or infrastructure in place in Ireland allowing deferred scheme members to access information on their pension savings and to trace their pension entitlements”. Moreover, the problem is only likely to get worse in an era where people are more likely than previously to move jobs, even leaving the country for employment before possibly returning at a later date. More from the Irish Times:
https://www.irishtimes.com/your-money/2024/07/27/workers-losing-out-on-lost-pension-benefits-of-more-than-500m/

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5. Garda recruitment numbers fall short of government targets for second year in a row

Garda numbers have risen to 14,100 at the end of June, but projected recruitment levels for this year will fall short of Government targets, for the second year in a row. Speaking at the authority meeting, Garda Chief Corporate Officer Siobhan Toale said that around 600 students were recruited in 2023 and that “all going well” over 700 would be taken into Templemore College this year. But she said these numbers were “not sufficient to meet current and growing needs of the organisation”. The Irish Examiner has more on this story:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41445958.html

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6. Companies warned about impending fines for non-compliance with new cyber security law

The majority of Irish businesses are unprepared for the next big cyber-attack and risk massive fines for non-compliance with the EU’s latest IT security law, according to three Irish universities. The warning, from the Cyber Skills collaboration between Munster Technological University, University of Limerick and Technological University Dublin, comes after a number of organisations have yet to recover from the global “blue screen of death” outage triggered by a faulty update from the IT security firm CrowdStrike. Jacqueline Kehoe, a project manager for Cyber Skills, said most companies are unprepared for the upcoming NIS2 EU directive on proactive cyber security reports the Irish Independent:
https://www.independent.ie/business/technology/companies-warned-about-impending-fines-for-non-compliance-with-new-cyber-security-law/a87985922.html

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7. Flexible Working

Hybrid arrangements key for most working parents

74% of working parents would look for a new job if they were asked to travel to their office five days a week, new research shows. The study was carried out by International Workplace Group with over 1,000 parents in hybrid working roles. It found that 83% felt they were better parents due to the flexibility offered by hybrid working reports RTÉ:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/0730/1462622-hybrid-arrangements-key-for-most-working-parents/

A four-day week can work – if staff and employers can deal with the challenges

It sounds like a dream for many people currently working five days a week: how about just doing four days and having a long weekend? When the weekends feel too short and the pressure of holding down a full-time job pushes workers to the limit, a four-day working week may appear very attractive. How does this happen in practice though, and can it become commonplace? Well, recent news about four-day working week trials show different outcomes and University of Reading outlines key learnings:
https://research.reading.ac.uk/research-blog/a-four-day-week-can-work-if-staff-and-employers-can-deal-with-the-challenges/

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8. DEI

New grants of up to €25,000 to support people with disabilities in workplace

Companies and other employers will be able to apply for up to €2,500 for a workplace needs assessment and up to €25,000 to carry out workplace adaptations intended to facilitate employees with disabilities. The workers will be able to apply for up to €12,500 to help with the purchase of personal assistance equipment and additional funding will be made available for specialist work coaches and personal readers. The Irish Times has more here:
https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/social-affairs/2024/07/30/new-grants-of-up-to-25000-to-support-people-with-disabilities-in-workplace/

Parent's Leave and Parent's Benefit extended

From 1st of August, Parent’s Leave and Parent's Benefit will be extended from seven weeks to nine weeks. The measures were announced as part of Budget 2024. Employers do not have to pay workers who are on Parent’s Leave, although some may 'top-up’ Parent’s Benefit payments. More from RTÉ:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/0801/1462915-parents-leave-benefit/

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9. Just in Case You Missed It...

Protected Disclosures - How Do I Handle It?

“We held a six-month probationary review meeting with our employee and decided to extend probation by a further three months, as some performance issues have arisen with this employee. She claims that we are penalising her as a result of having made a protected disclosure. What is a protected disclosure? How do I handle it?” 

Antoinette Vahey from RDJ LLP answers this dilemma for us here:
https://www.legal-island.ie/articles/ire/features/how-do-i-handle-it/2024/july/protected-disclosures---how-do-i-handle-it/

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10. HR Developments

Employers’ hybrid headache: Half say absence now more difficult to manage

Half of employers say that adopting a hybrid working model in their organisation has made it more difficult to manage staff absence, according to a new survey by WorkNest. 98% of the employers surveyed said staff say that they are sick and unable to come into the office but are working from home, with almost one quarter (23%) saying that this scenario occurs often.  HR Director provides guidance here:
https://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/hybrid-work/employers-hybrid-headache-half-say-absence-now-difficult-manage/

Women and minorities more at risk of being quietly fired, says expert

We have all heard of quiet quitting, but what is quiet firing and why would a manager choose this route? Quiet firing can be achieved “by reducing their responsibilities, excluding them from projects, denying raises or promotions or giving them poor performance reviews without concrete feedback or examples to back up reasoning”, explained Dr Rosina Racioppi, the CEO and president of Women Unlimited. “These unfavourable work conditions eventually cause the employee to quit their position.” You can read more here from Silicon Republic:
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/careers/women-minorities-at-risk-quiet-firing-signs

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11. Health and Safety Developments

Occupational Safety and Health Guidance on Vulnerable Workers in the Workplace

The HSA has published guidance specifically aimed at ensuring the safety of vulnerable workers, including new/inexperienced workers, migrant workers and people more at risk due to health conditions:
https://www.hsa.ie/eng/publications_and_forms/publications/latest_publications/occupational_safety_and_health_guidance_on_vulnerable_workers_in_the_workplace.109709.shortcut.html

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12. Employment News in the Media

The Supreme Court has found that the Labour Court was wrong to order the reinstatement of a Co Wexford Gaelscoil principal to the job he had been removed from a decade ago. The five-judge court said that while the Labour Court was entitled to find that Gaelscoil Moshíológ's board of management had unfairly dismissed Aodhagan Ó Suird in 2015, it had erred in law in finding that he should have been re-engaged. More:
https://www.rte.ie/news/courts/2024/0801/1462975-school-principal-court/

Two former staff of a tech company who quit after going without their full pay for five months have won more than €45,000 for non-payment of salary and constructive dismissal. The workers, Anoushka Anilkumar Parmar and Tushar Joshi, told the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) they received just €2,000 from Cleandata Limited between late January and early June 2022 – less than a fortnight's salary each in the space of five months RTÉ reports:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/0730/1462676-tech-firm-staff-left-without-full-pay-for-months-win-45k/

An accountant suspended after being accused of "naively" breaking her employer's anti-bribery and corruption policy by discussing a tender process directly with an employee of the contracting firm has lost a claim for constructive dismissal. Her claim was rejected by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) despite a finding that the company was "unreasonable" to suspend her – given that she had been "actively encouraged" to discuss work matters with this person. More from RTÉ:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/0726/1462063-accountant-suspended-over-tender-discussion-loses-case/

The PSNI say an internal investigation has been launched after footage emerged following Armagh GAA's win in the All-Ireland final on 28 July. The footage which has been widely circulated on social media is believed to have been filmed in Camlough and appears to show a PSNI patrol vehicle with its blue lights on and circling the roundabout before an Armagh GAA flag is hung out the window. More from Belfast Live:
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/psni-launch-internal-investigation-after-29631586

A US jury awarded $22.1 million to a former Wells Fargo Securities managing director who alleged he was laid off after requesting to work from home as a disability accommodation. The employee’s impairment mandated frequent and quick access to a restroom, so he pre-emptively requested the accommodation before pandemic restrictions were lifted and workers recalled to the office. His managers, however, allegedly pushed back and selected his role for elimination before the matter was resolved. The jury determined this amounted to violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and state law. HR Dive has more here:
https://www.hrdive.com/news/work-from-home-ADA-accommodation/722691/

US bank Wells Fargo is facing a lawsuit claiming it defrauded shareholders by conducting ‘sham interviews’ for non-white and female applicants as part of a public commitment to increasing diversity. A shareholder group is citing interviews with former employees, an internal whistleblower email, and the “sudden retirement” of a senior wealth manager who is alleged to have encouraged a colleague to conduct the fake interviews, according to a report by Reuters. Personnel Today has more here:
https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/wells-fargo-fake-interviews/

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13. Free Webinars This Month

Horizon Scanning with Duncan Inverarity, Partner A&L Goodbody

If you missed our previous webinar, never worry!

We are delighted to announce that the Annual Review of Employment Law is set to return in-person at Aviva Stadium, Dublin and online once again this year – make sure to mark the on 12th November 2024 in your diary! In the meantime, Duncan Inverarity of A&L Goodbody and Legal Island’s Victoria Smith gave a sneak preview of the issues you need to be aware of to future-proof your organisation. Duncan provided his expert insights on what legal issues employers will need to deal with in 2024/25. You can listen to the recording here:
https://www.legal-island.ie/articles/ire/resources/webinars/june/horizon-scanning-with-duncan-inverarity-partner-al-goodbody-llp/

All of our Legal Island webinar recordings and searchable transcriptions are posted online within this section of our employment law hub and are available to stream and research:
https://www.legal-island.ie/resources/webinar-recordings/

Enjoy the bank holiday weekend!

Legal-Island