Top 5 Reads for Busy People 🕒

1. Newsflash!! ChatGPT5 has dropped and scores a clear round in our legal test..⚡
2. Ireland hit with €1.5m fine for dragging its heels on flexible work laws ⏳
3. New AI rules land — can you still tell what’s real and what’s not? 🤖
4. Do your company values vanish when things get tough? You’re not alone 🤔
5. Tips aren’t wages or bonuses — they’re “gestures of appreciation”, says TD 💸
   

And in other news....Seen the sneak peek of Legal Island’s Annual Review of Employment Law this November? It’s looking sharp—join us in-person or online! 📅✨ More info HERE

**If you have any difficulties accessing the article or resetting your password (if you haven’t already done so in 2025) please email hub@legal-island.com and we’ll be in touch with you as soon as possible.**

1. Case Law Reviews
2. AI and Employment Law
3. Flexible Working
4. Protecting Employees - Useful resources
5. Should hospitality workers have to pay tax on tips?
6. Employment Permit Statistics 2025
7. Garda ‘very unlikely’ to hit target of 5,000 more officers
8. Just In Case You Missed It....
9. HR Developments
10. Employment News in the Media

Karl Hegarty v LSC Education Corporation Limited Leinster Senior College ADJ-00046283

Summary: An employee’s dismissal was upheld as fair due to breach of trust arising from running a competing business and destroying evidence, following a fair disciplinary process.

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should ensure all employees are provided with clearly worded contracts, including clauses on confidentiality, competing business activity, and outside employment. Where misconduct is suspected, follow fair disciplinary procedures in line with the WRC Code of Practice. This includes giving the employee notice of allegations, an opportunity to respond, and the right to representation and appeal. Maintain impartiality throughout and document all steps. Destruction of evidence by the employee may justify dismissal, but it is essential that the process remains procedurally fair. Finally, ensure all employment contracts are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect changes in law and business operations.

Read the full Review here:
Karl Hegarty v LSC Education Corporation Limited Leinster Senior College

Seamus Behan v Liberties Recycling Training & Development ADJ-00053118

Summary: Employee’s dismissal for gross misconduct was upheld as fair following a reasonable disciplinary process despite minor procedural flaws.

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should:

• Ensure that disciplinary policies, including the use of CCTV footage, are clearly documented, GDPR-compliant, and communicated to all staff. Regularly review and update the employee handbook and require staff to acknowledge receipt of any updates.
  
  
• Follow fair disciplinary processes, including giving the employee notice of allegations, the right to representation, and a chance to respond. Maintain objectivity, document all stages, and keep investigations and disciplinary processes clearly separated.
  
  
• Before dismissal, especially for gross misconduct, assess if the sanction is proportionate to the behaviour in question. Consider mitigating factors such as length of service and prior conduct, and ensure the decision falls within the “band of reasonableness” expected of employers.

Read the full Review here:
Seamus Behan v Liberties Recycling Training & Development

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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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Newsflash!! ChatGPT5 has dropped and scores a clear round in our legal test..

This week Barry Phillips puts ChatGPT5 to the test and witnesses another big leap forwards.

You can also access the episode here.

Duracell become first company to adopt new integrated AI-augmented contracting solution

Global battery leader Duracell has become the first company to adopt a new integrated AI-augmented contracting solution developed by Eudia, in partnership with recently acquired Irish legal services provider Johnson Hana. The announcement marks a significant milestone for Eudia, a US-based leader in Augmented Intelligence for Fortune 500 legal departments. More here.

'What is real and what is not' - AI rules come into force

New rules came into force yesterday requiring makers of artificial intelligence (AI) models to ensure their systems are safe and transparent. The latest phase of the EU's AI Act also means the Government must put structures in place to police the companies providing AI tools. Advances in technology mean the AI chatbot being used in the project has an Irish accent and sounds human. The new AI rules mean it must be made clear to consumers if a realistic voice they are engaging with is in fact an AI chatbot. More from RTÉ.

Small Irish firms 'have not yet explored full potential of AI', survey finds

Just 40% of small Irish firms have implemented AI in some form across their business, but its use remains “shallow” and is mostly confined to content generation and simple data analysis, a new survey has found. According to research conducted by Amárach on behalf of the Small Firms Association, 8% of firms have already incorporated AI into most of their business areas, while 13% said they had started incorporating it into some of their business. A further 19% said they had started to experiment with AI in some business areas, reports the Irish Examiner.

5 Things to Know When Your HR Team Is Implementing AI

As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms the business landscape, HR departments find themselves at the epicentre of organisational change. From recruitment automation to predictive analytics for employee retention, AI implementation in HR has moved from experimental to essential. However, successful AI adoption requires strategic planning and careful consideration of multiple factors that extend far beyond the technology itself. HRD Connect outlines five critical factors to consider when your organisation is implementing AI tools. Read more here.

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Ireland fined €1.5m by EU for flexible work law delays

Ireland has been fined €1.54 million by the EU Court of Justice for failing to fully implement the EU Work-Life Balance Directive, which supports flexible working arrangements for parents and carers. Despite enacting the Work Life Balance Act, Ireland delayed finalising a key code of practice on remote and flexible work. The European Commission began formal proceedings in 2022 and referred the matter to the court in early 2024. The fine reflects the financial sanction requested by the Commission for Ireland’s slow compliance with the directive, originally adopted in 2019. RTÉ has more on this.

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New online resource explains civil restraining orders

The comprehensive information pages on civil restraining orders nationwide have been put together by the Courts Service’s civil reform team as part of its modernisation programme. Civil restraining orders, also known as “section 28 orders”, direct a person to stop engaging in certain unwanted behaviours against another person, such as stalking and harassment. Knowing how restraining orders work can help HR mitigate risks related to workplace conflict, especially if legal action intersects with employment matters. You can read more from Irish Legal News.

And...

DPC launches Adult Safeguarding Toolkit to protect data

The DPC collaborated with key stakeholders to identify data protection challenges in adult safeguarding and developed the Adult Safeguarding Toolkit in response. This toolkit offers:

• Guidance on applying data protection law in adult safeguarding contexts
  
• FAQs addressing common queries from the health sector
  
• An appendix with practical resources, including tips for balancing GDPR interests, drafting privacy policies, and a DPIA template. More here.

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TD Ken O’Flynn has called on the Government to exempt gratuities from income tax. Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers confirmed in a Dáil statement that there are no plans to alter the tax treatment of tips, which are treated as taxable income and are therefore subject to USC, PAYE, and PRSI. O’Flynn accused the Government of “penalising low-paid workers for doing their jobs well”, and said that a tip is “not a wage and it’s not a bonus – it’s a gesture of appreciation”. More from the Journal.

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The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has published their latest statistical tables and company listings for 2025. The list details companies issued with permits from the beginning of the year up until the last day of July:

By sector:

•    Accommodation and Food Services – 175
•    Health & Social Work Activities – 635
•    Information and Communication Activities – 246

You can find more information here.

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It is “highly unlikely” Garda numbers will hit the levels pledged by the Coalition earlier this year under recruitment policies, the Policing Authority warned earlier this year. It outlines that with retirements projected to “significantly increase” in the coming decade, the programme for government commitment to recruit at least 5,000 gardaí by 2029 is endangered. A letter, released under the Freedom of Information Act , also warns that gardaí are managing complex and serious investigations while “relying primarily on manual spreadsheets or paper-based systems”. 
More from the Irish Times.

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Poll Results Are In! Recruitment Insights from Legal Island... 🚨

Legal Island’s latest poll reveals what’s keeping HR up at night – and it’s still talent shortages by a mile. Two-thirds say they can’t find the right candidates, and employer branding remains a work in progress for many. Only 19% rate theirs as “very strong”. If HR had a recruitment superpower? 42% want x-ray vision to find hidden talent.
Full results here.

They Came, They Signed the Contract… Then They Ghosted

You’ve found the one. After sifting through CVs, juggling interviews, and negotiating offers, your ideal candidate accepts the job. The contract is signed, the onboarding date is set... and then silence. No response to emails. No updates. No day one appearance. More on the recruitment from Katie Fox, Assoc. CIPD, MCS Group here.

HR Interview Series: Seána McCreesh

Seána McCreesh, CDE Group spills the beans on her career in HR, challenges in her role and much more. Read it here.

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The role of benefits in supporting corporate culture after mergers or acquisitions

Arguably the challenging element of any merger or acquisition (M&A) is integrating the two disparate corporate cultures, to create an environment in which employees, and ultimately the business itself, can thrive and flourish. Often, issues arise due to a lack of clarity, says Jenny Hinde, chief people officer at Personal Group. “During a merger there is a real risk of devaluing both organisational cultures, so focus is required to identify the commonalities as well as the differences, and carve a pathway to a shared culture.” More from Employee Benefits.

Values are easy to cast aside, when they are in fact essential

Faced with regulatory fragmentation, energy and resource insecurity and the escalating trade tensions, companies today are having to rethink and pivot responses to many things. Changes in sourcing, production and market access, cause repeated restructuring. Technologies like AI are being adopted faster than strategies can be defined. New skill requirements demand new talent, with new attitudes and behaviours. When faced with such choppy seas, values are easy to cast aside, when they are in fact essential for long term success, serving as an essential ‘lighthouse’ to guide the way. HR Director outlines how misalignment undermines organisations. Read more here.

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A telephonist who was “marched out” of a call centre after being sacked for using “abusive and foul language” over an open phone line in the mistaken belief she had put the customer on hold has lost a claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination. Bosses at Infosys BPM Ltd concluded the worker, Colleen Lonergan, jeopardised a “valuable” client contract and committed gross misconduct when she was heard to remark “what a f***ing b***h” by the customer last year, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) heard. The Irish Times has more on this story.

President Donald Trump on Friday removed the head of the agency that produces the monthly jobs figures after a report showed hiring slowed in July and was much weaker in May and June than previously reported. Trump, in a post on his social media platform, alleged that the figures were manipulated for political reasons and said that Erika McEntarfer, the director of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden, should be fired. He provided no evidence for the charge. More from the Irish Independent.

A turkey farm worker who was able to produce a two-decade-old company handbook to back up her employment tribunal case after her ex-employer stated it had no records earlier than 2018, has won an order for 20 years' statutory redundancy. Teresa Kane, who was a seasonal worker on a poultry farm operated by JR Boning (Ireland) Limited at Meadowbank, Kellistown Co Carlow, secured the order under the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 following the closure of her former workplace in March 2024. More from RTE.

Belfast Harbour has made significant strides as it advances on its journey to becoming Ireland’s first net zero port operator and one of the first net zero ports in Europe. Launching its annual Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) Report 2024, the pioneering Port has reported an impressive 71% reduction in its scope 1 and 2 emissions against its baseline year in 2015, despite a doubling of business turnover in that period. This emissions reduction included a 35% decrease from 2023, with Belfast Harbour on course to achieve a 93% reduction by 2027. You can read more from BusinessPlus.

A SIPTU member who worked at the Deepak Fasteners manufacturing plant in Shannon, County Clare, has been awarded €18,000 by the Labour Court in relation to a claim he instigated following his forced retirement at 65 years of age. Liam Murphy, who had worked for his employer for over 45 years, requested to continue working for one year beyond age 65 but the company rejected his request. SIPTU, representing Mr. Murphy, submitted a case alleging age discrimination under the Employment Equality Acts to the Workplace Relations Commission, which was won on appeal at the Labour Court. You can read more on this from SIPTU.

Enjoy the weekend.

Legal Island

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