Top 5 Reads for this Week: 

1. Why return to office policies are all pain and no gain 😩
2. Implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive is delayed 😴
3. Ireland - Employment Updates Q1 2026 🚨
4. How do you deal with workplace grievances in the age of AI🤖
5. Employees do not quit jobs, they quit bad managers 🙃

And in other news....Biscuitgate: Employment Tribunal Weighs in on Office Snack Rights. Catch up with the full decision.

1. Case Law Reviews
2. AI and Employment Law
3. Mastering DSARs
4. Pay Transparency
5. Ireland - Employment Updates Q1 2026
6. Return to Office Policies
7. Minimum Wage
8. Cybersecurity
9. Just In Case You Missed It....
10. HR Developments
11. Employment News in the Media
12. Health and Safety Developments

Magdalena Butan v Key Guard Security Ltd. ADJ-00058771

Summary: Employee successfully challenged her dismissal because, although there was a genuine redundancy following the loss of a client contract, the employer failed to carry out proper consultation or explore alternatives before terminating her employment.

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should:

• Treat redundancy as both a substantive procedural exercise. Even where a genuine business rationale exists, such as the loss of a contract, this alone is insufficient to defend an unfair dismissal claim.
  
  
• Engage directly with affected employees, outlining the reasons for the potential redundancy and actively exploring alternatives such as redeployment, restructuring, or adjusted duties. Records of meetings and communications should be maintained to demonstrate compliance with fair procedures.
  
  
• Ensure that grievance or complaint processes run in parallel but separately from redundancy procedures. Allegations of bullying or discrimination should be handled independently and thoroughly.

Read the full Review here.

Karen McVeeney v Belfort Capital Limited ADJ-00059062

Summary: Employee’s sexual harassment and late provision of written employment terms claims succeeded, but unfair dismissal and protected disclosure claims failed due to lack of formal notification to the employer.

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should:

• Ensure managers understand the boundaries of acceptable workplace conduct and the legal consequences of harassment. Sexual remarks, innuendo, and humiliating comments, even if presented casually, could amount to unlawful harassment where they violate dignity or create an offensive environment.  
  
  
• Operate robust complaint-handling mechanisms. When concerns are raised informally, management should document them, follow up promptly, and offer a safe route for escalation outside the immediate line manager.   
  
  
• Comply strictly with statutory obligations concerning written terms and conditions. Core terms must be issued within the first five days, with fuller particulars within two months of employment. This reduces legal risk and demonstrates that an employer takes workplace rights seriously.

Read the full Review here.

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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.

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CIPD: Practical Guidance for responsible adoption of AI

Three new guides launched this month tackle the real challenges people professionals face:

• Navigating AI standards: a practical guide for people professionals
• How people professionals can develop, deploy and use AI in an ethical, legal and sustainable way
• How organisations can take a people-centred approach to AI adoption

You can find out more here. 

AI for HR Weekly Podcast with Barry Phillips 🎙️

From Dartmouth to DeepSeek: The AI Timeline Every HR Leader Needs to Know

You can tune into the latest episode right here - or, if you’re on the move, why not take us with you?

Listen on 🎧 Spotify or Apple Podcasts

Simply search for “AI for HR Weekly Podcast” and enjoy expert insights anytime, anywhere.

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EU Guidelines for Gender-Neutral Job Evaluation: Compliance with the Pay Transparency Directive 2026

To help employers ensure that their job evaluation processes under the Pay Transparency Directive are fair, objective and gender neutral, the European Commission and the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) have issued updated EU wide guidelines and practical toolkits, offering a clear roadmap for implementing gender neutral job evaluation systems. Lewis Silkin explains so that HR teams and business leaders can achieve compliance while promoting fair pay across the workforce. Read here.

Implementation of the EU Gender Pay Transparency Directive is delayed

Ireland is required to transpose the EU Gender Pay Transparency Directive (Directive) into national law by 7 June 2026.
The Department of Children, Disability and Equality confirmed on 10 March 2026 that the transposition of the Directive will not occur within the required timeframe. Presently, the Irish government has only published a General Scheme relating to Article 5 of the Directive, namely the provisions on pay transparency in the recruitment process. A General Scheme is a 'Heads of Terms' of sorts for draft legislation.

The government has indicated a further General Scheme will be published to cover the remaining provisions of the Directive, however they have not indicated a timeline for implementation. More from DLA Piper here.

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As we approach the end of the first quarter of 2026, Sinead Morgan, Legal Director, DAC Beachcroft highlighs some key changes which have already impacted and will impact employers and business owners in 2026. Read it in full here.

Why return to office policies are all pain and no gain

Professor Kevin Murphy from the University if Limerick explains why he thinks these policies have moved from being questionable to being a red flag and are now a strong indication of a badly run organisation in this article for RTÉ.

Tip of the Week: Right to Request Remote Work: Prepare for greater Scrutiny

The Government is set to strengthen the Code of Practice on the Right to Request Remote Work, following a review by the Department of Enterprise. The updated code is expected to require employers to give employees more detailed and transparent reasons for refusals, along with clearer templates and guidance for employees when making such applications.

The Government conducted a public consultation as part of the review, which received over 8,000 responses. The review revealed that fewer than half of employees in Ireland are aware that a formal legal right to request remote work has existed since March 2024. A national awareness campaign is now planned to address this. More from Fieldfisher here.

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More employers availing of lower youth rates as minimum wage goes up, report finds

Recent increases to the minimum wage in Ireland did not lead to low-paid workers losing their jobs, despite concerns aired, new ESRI research found – but an increase in younger employees on the lower rate of minimum wage shows employers may be offsetting some of their labour costs. The minimum wage in Ireland increased every year from 2016 to 2025. From 1 January 2025, Ireland’s national minimum wage increased to €13.50 per hour for employees aged 20 and over, up from €12.70 in 2024. It increased again in January of this year to €14.15 for employees aged 20 and over. The Journal has more on this. 

Minimum Wage - At a glance

There is a new headline minimum wage rate of EUR14.15 per hour.
The new rate has been in effect since 1 January 2026.
The statutory minimum wage is dependant on the age of the employee. The minimum wage rates currently effective are:

Aged 20 and over: EUR14.15
Aged 19: EUR12.74
Aged: 18: EUR11.32
Aged under 18: EUR9.91

In April 2025, the Irish government announced plans to implement a national living wage by 2029. The living wage will be set at 60% of the median wage in any given year and phased in via incremental increases to the minimum wage. 

Read this on DLA Piper's website.

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ShinyHunters claims responsibility for European Commission breach

The extortion group ShinyHunters has been linked to the 24 March breach of the European Commission’s Europa.eu platform, in which a reported 350GB of data, across multiple databases, was accessed and stolen.  In a statement issued after the incident, the European Commission stated its early findings suggest that private data had been accessed and it would be contacting EU entities affected by the attack. Silicon Republic has more.

E-Learning - Cybersecurity Awareness

It is vital that your employees have an understanding of the importance of workplace cyber security and the dangers that may be present online. Legal Island’s Cyber Security Awareness training for employees in Ireland is tailored specifically to be compliant with Irish law. It provides comprehensive compliance training for all employees on cyber security practices in the work environment. Request a free demo for this course here.

We also have a dedicated Phishing Awareness e-learning course. More details here.

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The Employment Law Hub is a comprehensive, jurisdiction-specific resource designed for HR professionals, legal advisors, and business leaders. It centralises essential employment law and HR updates, expertly curated and written by leading HR and legal specialists to provide reliable, practical, and authoritative insights. We have over 700+ in depth articles and 1000+ case law reviews. As a subscriber, you have access to all of this. Check it out the full Hub here and below are some recent articles you may have missed.....

Workplace Grievances in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

While employees are availing of AI in order to improve efficiency when carrying out their duties of employment, they are also using AI to assist in dealing with issues that arise in relation to their employment – in particular, we are seeing an increase in the number of AI generated grievances that employers are receiving. This represents a difficulty for employers: AI generated grievances tend to be substantially longer and more complicated than grievances that are prepared in a traditional manner. Read the full piece by Bláthnaid Evans, Partner, Philip Lee LLP. 

Pay Transparency: Preparing for Equal Pay and Compliance in Ireland

Pay transparency is transforming how organisations approach fairness, recruitment and reward. With new EU rules imminent, understanding these changes now is essential to ensure compliance and build equitable workplaces. Read more from Caroline Reidy, Head of HR Solutions, NFP. 

Duncan's Case Law Reviews

Duncan Inverarity, Former Partner & Head of Employment at A&L Goodbody LLP reviews the most important case law relevant for Irish employers from the past year. Keep an eye out on our Hub every week for a new update. This week he is discussing the case:

Debenhams Retail Ireland Limited [In Liquidation] v Crowe [2025]

Following Debenhams’ 2020 Irish store closures and prolonged redundancy dispute, nearly 800 employees brought WRC claims alleging failures to inform and consult under sections 9 and 10, which require timely consultation and provision of relevant information in collective redundancies.

Read the full case review here. 

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Poor management is driving workers away, report shows

A report from Aerotek shows a wide range of factors influencing the job search in Q1 2026, including an interest in skilled trades. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they left their shortest-tenured job due to “poor culture or management. HR Dive has more. 

Chief people officer appointments down by a fifth

Global hiring of chief people officers has dropped by more than a fifth over the past three years, according to a survey of how the role is evolving. Almost three-quarters of chief people officer appointments in the last year have been women, and this is particularly strong in the UK and Australia, where women account for 80% and 87% of appointments, respectively. In Asia, appointments were more heavily skewed towards men – in Japan, just 22% of roles were taken by women, and in India 38%. Personnel Today has more.

Are Apprenticeships becoming the first choice for SME Talent?

This article from HRD Connect looks at new research from Employment Hero which reveals a growing shift in how SME employers view early careers, with apprenticeships increasingly valued alongside or above degrees. As productivity, skills and immediate impact take priority, HR leaders are rethinking how they attract, develop and retain early-career talent.

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The Journal reports there is no confidence in the power of senior garda management to arbitrarily suspend gardaí indefinitely, the group representing middle management in the force said. Garda members are being left on suspension for extended and undefined periods, with investigations often taking years to conclude. Read here.

RTÉ reports the Unite trade union has accused the Government of "dragging its feet" on elements of the current public sector pay deal. The agreement is due to expire at the end of June and talks on a successor deal are expected to begin in the coming weeks. More here. 

British Airways is reported to be considering offering pilots a bonus if they can use less fuel. According to a document seen by Bloomberg, pilots would be eligible for a bonus worth up to 1% of base pay if the airline achieves a collective reduction in carbon emissions of 60,000 tonnes beyond its 2025 baseline levels. Personnel Today has more here.

The Irish Times reports more than 200 jobs are set to go at bookmaker Ladbrokes with the UK firm informing staff that up to 39 of its shops in Ireland are to close. Ladbrokes operate more than 100 shops across the country and so the closures would represent more than a third of its bricks and mortar operations if all go ahead. A small number of shops in Northern Ireland are also said to be at risk. Read here.

An 'exploited' migrant worker from India with no English alleged to have been paid an effective hourly rate of €1.61 has been awarded a cumulative €79,214 compensation by a State workplace watchdog. In the case at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), Adjudicator Brian Dalton ordered restaurant operator, Madhu Foods Limited to pay Vasantkumar Barot €79,214 for a series of workplace legislation breaches. RTÉ has more.

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SIPTU ambulance workers’ survey reveals lack of confidence in HSE to address welfare issues

A survey of SIPTU members in the National Ambulance Service has found 78% of respondents express a lack of confidence in the HSE’s ability to adequately address welfare and health and safety issues highlighted by staff within the organisation. Read here. 

OSH risks in the health and social care sector

Did you know that health and social care workers are most likely to be exposed to both musculoskeletal and psychosocial risks, compared to other economic sectors? OSH News shares a new flyer which highlights key occupational safety and health (OSH) risks and good prevention practices in the health and social care sector. You can download a copy here.

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Have good long weekend and enjoy your easter eggs! 🐣

Legal Island

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