Top 5 reads for busy people: 

1. High‑risk AI rules hit education, jobs and policing from December 2027✨
2. New study to examine flexible work impact on Ireland’s economy 👩‍💻
3. Q&A: What are the latest changes to the employment permits system? 🎟️
4. Leaders, Treat resistance to change as valuable data 💡
5. HSA: Employers urged to take UV exposure seriously ☀️

And in other news....Want to negotiate with confidence? Learn how four smart preparation steps can strengthen workplace negotiations and support collective bargaining in Dr Gerry McMahon’s latest How to article.

1. Case law reviews
2. AI and employment law
3. Employee engagement in modern workplaces
4. Public consultation on potential new working age and targeted child payments
5. Pensions: Government will not back law giving retirees right to challenge 'pension raids'
6. How can European governments help employers address the labour shortage crisis?
7. Building Pathways Together first annual report
8. New study to examine flexible work impact on Ireland’s economy
9. HSE to pause some recruitment, overtime due to €250m overspend
10. Just in case you missed it....
11. HR developments
12. Employment news in the media
13. Health and safety developments
14. Friends of Legal Island
15. Free webinars this month

Michael Reynolds v Oleson Ltd. (ADJ-00057273)

Summary:

Procedural Unfairness leads to Award

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should:

• Ensure that both the substantive and procedural aspects of the process are carefully handled. Even where a genuine redundancy situation clearly exists, deficiencies in consultation or documentation may still result in a finding of unfair dismissal. Employers should maintain comprehensive written records of all meetings, consultation discussions and alternative roles considered throughout the process. 
  
  
• Ensure consultation be meaningful and transparent. Employees should receive copies of meeting notes or minutes, clear explanations regarding selection criteria, and sufficient opportunity to respond to proposals. Where more than one employee is affected, employers should apply objective and consistent criteria across all individuals to avoid allegations of unequal treatment or procedural inconsistency. 
  
  
• Ensure that contractual entitlements are fully reviewed before termination. Discrepancies between historic and updated contracts can create liability for unpaid notice or redundancy calculations. A formal appeal mechanism should always be incorporated into redundancy procedures, even where redundancy appears unavoidable. Independent HR advice and robust internal processes can significantly reduce legal exposure and demonstrate procedural fairness if the dismissal is later scrutinised before an adjudication body or employment tribunal. 
  
  

Read the full Review here.

Azhar Pervaiz v Synergy Security Solutions (ADJ-00056036)

Summary: 

Unfair Dismissal Claim Fails

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should:

• Distinguish clearly between removing an employee from a client site and terminating employment. Where a complaint has been made about an employee, the employer should promptly invoke an investigation or disciplinary process, communicate in writing, and confirm whether the employee remains employed, suspended, reassigned or rostered elsewhere.  
  
  
• Disputes should also be managed carefully, particularly where employees allege contractual entitlement to specific hours, shift patterns or locations. Employers should retain contracts, TUPE records, roster histories, correspondence and evidence of alternative work offered. Where hours or sites change, the business reason should be explained, and any employee concerns about childcare, travel time or cost should be considered and documented. 
  
  
• Direct to the grievance procedure and attempt early resolution. However, where the employee refuses shifts, fails to attend work or resigns while pursuing other employment, the employer should still document all offers of work and attempts to engage. Clear communication, written records and consistent use of procedures will assist in defending both ordinary unfair dismissal and constructive dismissal claims.

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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The EU just moved the AI Act

Here's what changed and what it means for Schools in the EU:

1. AI systems that create child sexual abuse material, or that depict the intimate parts of an identifiable person without consent, are now prohibited.
   
   
2. Obligations on high-risk AI systems, including those used in education, employment, biometrics, critical infrastructure, law enforcement, and border management, now apply from 2 December 2027.
   
   
3. Obligations to watermark AI-generated content move to 2 December 2026. Two months earlier than the Commission proposed in November, but still a delay against the original AI Act timeline.

Matthew Wemyss, AI Governance Professional and International School Leader has more on this.

Most Irish companies say AI won’t hit their staff numbers

Just over half of employers in Ireland still believe artificial intelligence will not impact their headcount, according to a new survey by co-working and serviced office space provider Glandore. Respondents to the company’s 2026 Pulse Survey suggested they may have to hire in new skill sets as a result of the rapidly developing technology but 51.7 per cent said they believed overall numbers would remain largely unchanged. More here.

From Copilot to Colleague: How agentic AI is reshaping work, governance and risk

Dr Barry Scannell, a Partner in William Fry’s Technology Group discusses the rapid shift from AI copilots to fully autonomous agentic AI systems with Irish tech entrepreneur Sean Blanchfield, founder of Jentic. Listen to it here.

AI for HR Weekly Podcast with Barry Phillips 🎙️

Hub subscribers are beginning to request that our Chairman, Barry covers a particular AI topic in a future podcast. If you have a request, send it to him directly at barry@legal-island.com - he’ll feel like a DJ from the 80s…...🎧

You can tune into the latest episode right here - or, if you’re on the move, why not take us with you?
Listen on all major platforms: 🎧 Spotify or Apple Podcasts
Simply search for “AI for HR Weekly Podcast” and enjoy expert insights anytime, anywhere.

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The Government’s programme for government, Securing Ireland’s Future, includes commitments to explore two schemes:

1.    A new targeted Child Payment
2.    A new working age payment

You are invited to share your views and the deadline for receipt of submissions is 5pm on Friday 12 June, 2026. You can find out more here.

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The Government has refused to endorse proposed laws to give retired people greater rights against “raids” to their pension schemes. First proposed five years ago by then People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith, the proposed legislation would enable retired persons negotiate with their former employers when their pension schemes may be impacted by changes that would affect their accrued benefits, when trade unions are in talks with employers. You can read more on this from the Irish Examiner. 

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With the latest figures showing the job vacancy rate in the euro area increased to 2.2% in the latter stages of 2025, and approximately 2.5 million job vacancies across the EU, it’s clear that European employers are suffering a significant labour market crunch.  Some of the bloc’s biggest hitters are suffering the most – Germany with 1.7 million vacancies and more than 250,000 unfilled positions in France, while other European countries are also impacted. The EU Talent Pool – the  first EU-wide platform designed to support the recruitment of skilled non-EU nationals – will be launched shortly, matching jobseekers from non-EU countries with European employers through suitable vacancies based on their skills. More from the EU Reporter. 

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The first Annual Report of the Building Pathways Together: Criminal Justice Reintegration Through Employment Strategy was published. This Report is the first Annual Report outlining the progress achieved to provide the appropriate supports and opportunities to those who have ceased offending and are seeking stability throughout the first year of the strategy. More here.

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The Western Development Commission (WDC) and Atlantic Technological University (ATU) will partner to examine how remote and hybrid work is reshaping Ireland’s economy, communities and quality of life.  The two-year project, which is called Connected Futures: The Economics of Remote and Hybrid Work in Ireland and its Impacts on Wellbeing, Mobility, and the Local Economy, is funded under the TU Rise programme.  Silicon Republic has more on this.

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The HSE has told its health regions to control spending on overtime, agency staff and recruitment. In a letter to senior managers, its CEO Anne O' Connor said the financial position is now significantly over budget and at the end of March was €250m in excess of its spending plan for the year. Each of the six health regions have been notified of the measures they need to take to get back in budget, including some having recruitment pauses for non-frontline non-critical posts. You can read more from RTÉ.

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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.....

How to negotiate: The art of good bargaining

Have you got what it takes to get what you want at the negotiating table? Dr Gerry McMahon from Productive Personnel outlines how you can prepare.

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:

Javier Osorio v Cognizant Technology Solutions Ireland Limited

In this case, the WRC held that the employer had considered the employee’s remote working request in an objective, fair and reasonable manner, as required under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. The WRC accepted that the employer’s client delivery model required employees on the relevant project to attend the office in person, and that the employer had consulted with the client, considered the employee’s childcare responsibilities, and explored alternative roles which could facilitate remote working.

Read the full case review here.

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Half of Irish employees say their work teams are understaffed

Just under half of Irish workers believe their teams are understaffed, raising concerns about burnout and their ability to manage daily workloads under current labour market conditions, according to a new survey. More from the Irish Times.

82% would apply if salary included on job post – Indeed

82% of Irish respondents say they would be more likely to apply for a job if a salary range is included, according to new data from Indeed. It found that 39% of Irish job postings include salary information, up just 3% from March last year. Read more.

The State of Workforce Planning 2026

Org Chart surveyed 409 HR leaders in the US who work at organizations with more than 200 employees and who participate in workforce planning exercises. They asked them how they workforce plan, which tools they use, which challenges they face and how they deal with them, and the impact of poor workforce planning. Key findings include:

• There is no consistent timeline for planning. Organizations planned anywhere from less than one month to 5+ years out, but 78% participated in planning exercises at least on a quarterly basis.  
   
  
• 90% of respondents reported at least one issue with their current workforce planning tools, and 84% of respondents are interested in using different workforce planning tools.
   
  
• 46% of respondents said economic uncertainty was a current strategic challenge that impacted workforce planning while only 36% said the impact of AI on org structure was a current strategic challenge.

You can download the report here.

Leaders, Treat Resistance to Change as Valuable Data

When a team member questions a leadership decision, drags their feet, or shows visible frustration, it triggers something in the leader: They feel challenged. Undermined. Slowed down. And under pressure to deliver results, the instinct is to move past the discomfort as quickly as possible. So, leaders default to interpretation instead of diagnosis. But when they label pushback as “just resistance,” they’ve already made a judgment: that the problem is the person, not the signal they’re sending. If they treat resistance as noise, they’ll miss what it’s trying to tell them. But if they treat it as data, they can refine their approach, strengthen your people, and improve the outcome. Harvard Business Review has more.

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A security guard who was fired after he was found asleep on duty at a primary care centre in Dublin has lost his unfair dismissal case. Amen Kifle had argued at an adjudication hearing of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) that he had merely closed his eyes due to a migraine and was not asleep. However, the hearing was told Mr Kifle had admitted to falling asleep in a signed statement after the incident, and a supervisor had had to knock on a door for a full minute before the security guard let him in. BusinessPlus has more.

The High Court has confirmed a decision of the Teaching Council to remove a teacher from the register for falsely representing his qualifications, professional status and experience to Cork Education and Training Board. Irish Legal News has the full story.

The Irish Times reports an Aer Lingus manager has said a senior flight attendant’s role as a trade union shop steward was “absolutely not” an influence on her decision to confirm his dismissal. Marie Walsh, manager for customer and on-board service at the airline, was being questioned at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on points of appeal raised by Alan O’Neill, a senior flight attendant sacked by the airline in 2024. More here.

The Irish Mirror writes that a café worker has been awarded €3,000 in compensation after claiming she was bullied by a supervisor who left her to "deep clean someone’s faeces-covered underwear" that were discovered in a bathroom. The incident took place at a coffee shop franchise in Dublin, where the worker said management had failed to address a "horrendous" period of bullying and harassment. Read here.

A High Court judge has asked people to come forward with information about an allegation that a senior garda shared a photograph taken inside a courtroom of a whistleblower and three people who were accompanying him. Any audio or visual recordings of court proceedings are forbidden under the Practice Directions and Rules of the Superior Courts. More from the Irish Examiner.

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Outdoor workers at elevated skin cancer risk as HSA announces summer inspection and awareness raising campaign

With over 11,000 new cases of skin cancer diagnosed each year, this week marks the start of the Health and Safety Authority’s (HSA) Sun Exposure Campaign, aimed at protecting outdoor workers from the harmful effects of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. The HSA is urging employers to ensure practical protective measures are in place for workers who are exposed to UV from sunlight as part of their job, even on cloudy days or when overcast.

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A&L Goodbody proves popular at gradireland Graduate Recruitment Awards

A&L Goodbody has won the ‘Most Popular Graduate Recruiter in Law’ award at the gradireland Graduate Recruitment Awards. On the night, ALG also received Silver awards in the following categories:

• Graduate Employer of the Year intake up to 40
• Best Candidate Application, Onboarding or Induction Experience

Congratulations from Legal Island!

More here. 

Sarah Faulkner features in IEL 2026 Tomorrow’s Leaders

Sarah Faulkner, Partner in Arthur Cox's Employment Group, is featured in the International Employment Lawyer (IEL) 2026 Tomorrow’s Leaders thought-leadership survey. Sarah, the only Ireland‑based practitioner featured in this year’s survey, advises on a wide range of contentious and non‑contentious employment matters, including health and safety and immigration issues. In her survey responses, she shares her perspectives on absenteeism, the polarised workforce, and what is driving change in workplace power dynamics. Read more here.

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The AI Revolution in HR & Payroll – Five AI Tools Already Reshaping Both

In partnership with Payescape 

📅Thursday, 14th May 
⏰11am to 11:30am 
📍Online

Hear from industry trailblazers as they reveal the GenAI tools already reshaping the HR and Payroll functions.

Our expert speakers, Barry Phillips, CEO, Legal Island and Jonathan Trainor, Technical Support Lead, Payescape will share their top five favourite tools, along with practical use cases, showing how GenAI is transforming everyday work, improving productivity and opening up new possibilities for HR and Payroll teams like never before.

A must-attend event for anyone who wants to get ahead by clever use of GenAI.

Register here.

Check out previous discussions:
Legal Island's Webinar & Podcasts

Enjoy the weekend!

Legal Island

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