Christine, Julie, and Laura - known as the Knowledge Team - bring extensive expertise in employment law, HR, and learning & development. With diverse backgrounds spanning top-tier law firms, in-house roles, and voluntary organisations across the UK and Ireland, they provide informed and strategic support on employment matters.
Our team includes qualified (now non-practising) employment solicitors with experience in both legal and corporate sectors, alongside an experienced HR professional and CIPD Associate Member, ensuring a well-rounded approach to workplace challenges.
We’re all about leading with love 💗 for National Stress Awareness month - curating the latest employment law updates💡to reduce your stress, not add to it. Trump, on the other hand, clearly missed the memo...🫣
👀 TL:DR? Here are the Top 5 stories this week:
- 🍼 Half of dads skipping paternity leave – New report says only 1 in 2 are taking it.
- 📉 US tariffs = fewer hours? – Ibec warns of cutbacks at affected firms.
- 🤒 Sick leave stays at 5 days – No changes... for now.
- 🛂 Ireland Immigration Update: New Changes to Employment Permits Online System.
- 🖤 Grief happens. Support matters. Grief-smart workplaces = stronger teams.
And in other news………….when you hear 'data protection', your soul quietly leaves your body. But not this time. JOIN us for Data Protection Annual Update 2025 on 28 May - an essential (and yes, enjoyable) event tailored for HR professionals who’d rather not find out the hard way that a “casual note” about Dave from Accounts is actually discoverable in a workplace investigation.🔍🕵️♂️
**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.**
CONTENTS ⚓︎
1. Case Law Reviews ⚓︎
Michal Badowicz v Bus Eireann ADJ-00054048
Summary: Employer failed to confirm changes to terms and conditions of employment and employee was awarded €1,500 compensation.
Practical Guidance for Employers:
Employers should:
- Issue a written statement any time there is a material change to an employee’s terms and conditions of employment. This obligation arises under the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 and is not optional. It applies even where employees retain their original job title but take on additional duties, such as acting, temporary, or secondment roles. It is not enough to rely on informal understandings, verbal briefings, or historical custom and practice.
- Failure to provide updated written terms can expose employers to unnecessary legal risk, including claims for breach of statutory duty, reputational harm, and compensation awards. Even where the employee accepts the new duties without complaint, the employer must act to document the changes formally. A simple written update (i.e. setting out the nature of the new duties, responsibilities, reporting lines, and remuneration) will satisfy the requirement.
- It is best practice to treat any role change or additional duty as an occasion to review and issue a clear written variation. This ensures legal compliance, manages expectations, and protects the organisation against later disputes or challenges.
Read the full Review here:
Michal Badowicz v Bus Eireann [2025]
Shannon Reina v Sk Biotek Ireland Ltd ADJ-00052845
Summary: Employer wrongly denied statutory sick pay after disciplinary sanction.
Practical Guidance for Employers:
Employers should:
- Exercise caution when managing employee absences. Even where workplace absence policies are stricter than statutory standards, employers must ensure employees are not unlawfully deprived of minimum rights under the Sick Leave Act 2022. Internal sanctions cannot override statutory entitlements if an employee becomes excluded from a company sick pay scheme.
- Before commencing disciplinary action based on certified sick leave, employers should clearly distinguish between wilful absenteeism and genuine medical absences. Certified medical absences must be treated carefully to avoid potential claims for discrimination, or breach of statutory rights. Fair procedures, including clear warnings and proper mitigation steps, should always be observed.
- Where an employer provides a “more favourable” sick pay scheme, per s.8 of the Act, it must actually be accessible to employees at the relevant time. Excluding an employee from that scheme through internal sanctioning without preserving their statutory protections risks liability.
Read the full Review here:
Shannon Reina v Sk Biotek Ireland Ltd [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
2. AI and Employment Law ⚓︎
AI trust tops cybersecurity concerns in Irish financial firms
Lack of adequate training undermines increased use of artificial intelligence by organisations.
A massive 65% of financial services firms in Ireland say they have been hit by cyber breaches in the past year, according to new research by Auxilion. This was higher among SMEs (67%) than larger companies (61%). Catch up:
https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/ai-trust-cybersecurity-training-auxilion/
Use AI for efficiencies, but humans must drive the strategy
As AI transforms the workplace, human skills like empathy, creativity, and collaboration are more critical than ever. This article explores why upskilling your workforce with “power skills” is essential for future success – and how social learning, mentoring, and strategic investment in people will help organisations thrive alongside technology in an AI-driven world. More from HR Director:
https://www.thehrdirector.com/business-news/skills/use-ai-efficiencies-humans-must-drive-strategy/
“From Co-Pilot to Colleague: Why AI Agents Are Your Newest Team Members”
Barry Phillips, in his newest podcast episode, explores the future of workplace tech—unpacking how AI agents are moving from digital co-pilots to indispensable colleagues. What does this mean for your team, your workload, and the law? Tune in for a thought-provoking look at the rise of AI in the modern office.
“From Co-Pilot to Colleague: Why AI Agents Are Your Newest Team Members”
3. EU Law ⚓︎
EU Pay Transparency Directive: Ireland joins the frontrunners
This article from Ius Laboris looks at the measures proposed in the draft Bill that relate to pay transparency and what employers with operations in Ireland need to be doing now to prepare for the implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive:
https://iuslaboris.com/insights/eu-pay-transparency-directive-ireland-joins-the-frontrunners/
New EU regulation to ban forced labour
In 2021, an estimated 27.6 million people worldwide were affected by forced labour, primarily in the private sector in the textile, mining, agricultural and service. To counteract this, the European Commission has launched the ‘EU Regulation 2024/3015 to Prevent Forced Labour’. This regulation came into force on 13 December 2024 and will be fully and bindingly applicable in all EU Member States as of 14 December 2027. More from Bird & Bird for Lexology:
https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c06c9a5b-1af0-496e-b1eb-cabe86a82690&utm
4. US Tariffs & The Workplace ⚓︎
Workers face reduced hours at firms impacted by US tariffs, Ibec claims
Firms impacted by US tariffs will begin cutting hours for workers, the head of the country’s largest business lobby group has said. Speaking after a meeting of the Government’s trade forum on Friday, Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy predicted firms in the fast-moving consumer goods sector would see rapid drops in demand and that some of their employees would have to be put on a short-time working basis. More from the Irish Times:
https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2025/04/04/workers-face-reduced-hours-from-this-weekend-at-firms-impacted-by-us-tariffs-ibec-claims/
Record low housing supply in Ireland as trade war threat clouds 2025 outlook
The latest survey by housing website myhome.ie says an “economic shock”, instigated by a trade war resulting from US president Donald Trump’s tariff policy, could see demand for housing dampened. This is because Ireland’s stretched housing market has become so heavily influenced by “high-income earners working in multinational sectors”, the report said. More from the Irish Examiner:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41608825.html
‘Half the place would be blown to bits’: the Irish villages under threat from Trump’s tariffs
Sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, medicinal compounds for the treatment of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, Crohn’s and Parkinson’s disease, all are manufactured within two miles of the deep port of Ringaskiddy in County Cork. After more than 50 years, however, it is all now under threat after Donald Trump accused Ireland of stealing America’s pharmaceutical industry and vowed to “force” US companies, jobs and taxes to return home. “If Pfizer and the others closed … the collateral damage would be huge,” said John Twomey, something of a local historian. “Half the place would be blown to bits, all the workers, the subcontractors, from the guys supplying the toilet rolls, to the farms supplying meat for the canteens.” More from the Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/09/half-the-place-would-be-blown-to-bits-the-irish-villages-under-threat-from-trumps-tariffs
5. Redundancy ⚓︎
Employers opting for ‘quiet redundancies’ amid economic uncertainty
Employers are resorting to “quiet ¬redundancies” to scale back their ¬workforces as economic uncertainty has begun to hit hiring plans. The latest Morgan McKinley ¬Ireland Quarterly Employment Monitor reveals a growing trend of “stealth job cuts” as caution has crept in amid global turmoil due to Donald Trump’s tariffs rhetoric and the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI). It also reveals growing concerns about AI-generated CVs as some job candidates fail to meet expectations. The Irish Independent has more here:
https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/employers-opting-for-quiet-redundancies-to-scale-back-workforce-amid-economic-uncertainty/a675950010.html
RTÉ redundancy scheme to open with €300,000 cap
RTÉ plans to open its Voluntary Exit Programme (VEP) after Easter, according to the broadcaster's HR Director, with a cap of €300,000 on payments. In an email to staff this afternoon, Eimear Cusack outlined further details about the scheme, possibly on Wednesday 23 April, provided all necessary materials have been finalised. More from RTÉ:
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0409/1506688-rte-redundancy-scheme/
6. DEI ⚓︎
New IHREC and ESRI report finds only half of fathers avail of Paternity Leave
The IHREC and ESRI report, "Child Related Leave: Usage and Implications for Gender Equality," explores the use of child-related leave benefits in Ireland and their impact on workplace gender equality. Key findings include:
• the persistence of a significant gender income gap linked to childbirth
• low take-up rates of Paternity and Parent’s Leave (notably among fathers)
• the role of workplace norms in shaping these patterns
You can read more here:
https://www.ihrec.ie/new-ihrec-and-esri-report-finds-only-half-of-fathers-avail-of-paternity-leave/
‘It's definitely going in the wrong direction’ – Trump’s war on Diversity, Equality and Inclusion measures hits Irish companies
US multinationals in Ireland are coming under increasing pressure to act on Donald Trump’s Stateside crackdown on diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies here. Industry sources told the Sunday Independent that some US companies with operations here were now toning down language around DEI policies. Actions included not speaking at DEI- related events and not putting themselves up for relevant DEI awards. Some have also had to pull back from particular targets, programmes, pledges or memberships, according to the Irish Independent:
https://www.independent.ie/business/irish/its-definitely-going-in-the-wrong-direction-trumps-war-on-diversity-equality-and-inclusion-measures-hits-irish-companies/a472704831.html
and...
Our webinar “Trump’s DEI Rollbacks - A Wake-Up Call for Irish HR Leaders?” on 15th of April, 11 a.m. will look at these developments. Join Julie from Legal Island and our industry experts. You can register here:
https://legal-island.ie/events/webinar-trumps-dei-rollbacks-wake-up-call-for-irish-hr-leaders
7. Statutory Sick Pay ⚓︎
Entitlement to statutory sick leave to remain unchanged at 5 days
Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Peter Burke TD has confirmed that entitlement to paid statutory sick leave will remain at five days per calendar year:
https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/news-and-events/department-news/2025/april/08042025.html
But…
U-turn on sick pay short-sighted and big mistake
The government U-turn Tuesday on the planned and agreed roll-out of statutory sick leave is both a mistake and short-sighted. Commenting on the decision, ICTU General Secretary Owen Reidy said: “This is an appalling decision which will affect the lowest paid and the most vulnerable workers in our economy.” The full press release is here:
https://www.ictu.ie/news/u-turn-sick-pay-short-sighted-and-big-mistake
Chambers Ireland responds to new Statutory Sick Pay measures
Chambers Ireland has announced its support for the Government’s decision to refrain from introducing additional statutory sick pay measures, a move that would have placed another burden on employers at a time when they are already grappling with rising costs, increased regulatory requirements and a period of unprecedented global uncertain and unpredictability. Chief Executive Ian Talbot stated, "Ensuring that employers are not overburdened with additional obligations is vital for the stability and growth of our economy." Anglo Celt has more on this story:
https://www.anglocelt.ie/2025/04/09/chambers-ireland-responds-to-new-statutory-sick-pay-measures/
Back to Top
8. Immigration ⚓︎
Ireland Immigration Update: Changes to the Irish Employment Permits Online System
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) is in the process of finalising a new cloud-based system designed to revolutionise how employment permit applications are managed in Ireland. This modernisation effort aims to streamline the application process by creating a more secure, user-friendly, and efficient platform. DETE will launch the new cloud-based system, Employment Permits Online, on Monday, 28 April 2025, transforming how employment permit applications are submitted, processed, and issued. Read more from Addleshaw Goddard LLP here:
https://www.addleshawgoddard.com/en/insights/insights-briefings/2025/employment/ireland-immigration-update-changes-irish-employment-permits-online-system/
More on this from gov.ie......
https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/what-we-do/workplace-and-skills/employment-permits/latest-updates/new-eps/new-employment-permits-system.html
9. Just in Case You Missed It...
Balancing Opposites: Why HR Professionals Need Polarity Management Skills
In today’s fast-moving and complex workplaces, Human Resources professionals are increasingly asked to be connectors and translators across diverging interests. Whether navigating between the needs of employees and business results, advocating for culture while driving shareholder value, or balancing diversity initiatives with performance pressures, HR professionals live in the tension between competing yet interdependent forces.
These are not problems to be solved — they are polarities to be managed.
Read the full article by Philip Brady, Executive Coach and Director at Vitamin P Coaching Ltd:
https://legal-island.ie/employment-law-hub/balancing-opposites-why-hr-professionals-need-polarity-management-skills
Top Employment Law Cases
Duncan Inverarity, Partner, A&L Goodbody has summarised the top employment law cases of 2023 & 2024 that you need to know. Check out this week's two important cases from the last 2 years:
- The Revenue Commissioners v Karshan (Midlands) Ltd t/a Domino’s Pizza [2023]
This case involved a question of whether delivery drivers were employees under the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA), as different tax rules apply depending on whether a worker is, or is not, an employee. Since this Supreme Court decision, the Department of Social Protection has revised its Code of Practice on Determining Employment Status. Read more about that in A&L Goodbody's article here:
https://legal-island.ie/employment-law-hub/how-do-i-determine-employee-status
The full Code of Practice is here:
https://www.gov.ie/pdf/?file=https://assets.gov.ie/309944/db2c801a-e89c-4bfe-9c1e-ed636ad8ac0d.pdf#page=null
Read the review here of the WRC decision here:
The Revenue Commissioners v Karshan (Midlands) Ltd t/a Domino’s Pizza [2023]
- Karolina Leszczynska v Musgrave Operating Partners Ireland
The Sick Leave Act 2022 (the Act) provides employees in Ireland with a right to statutory sick pay (SSP). Section 8 of the Act permits an employer to substitute a more favourable sick pay scheme for the terms of the statutory sick leave provided by Section 5.
Read the review here of the WRC decision here:
https://legal-island.ie/employment-law-hub/karolina-leszczynska-v-musgrave-operating--partners-ireland#entry:272436@2:url
10. HR Developments ⚓︎
Are meetings a waste of time?
Bosses should stop calling so many meetings that waste staff time.
That’s according to columnist with the Irish Independent Frank Coughlan. “This is on the back of comments from Jamie Dimon, who is the top man at JP Morgan bank, to shareholders giving out about how staff behave at meetings,” he told Newstalk Breakfast. More form Newstalk:
https://www.newstalk.com/news/are-meetings-a-waste-of-time-2153508
Supporting bereavement: Grief-informed workplaces are key
It’s a fact of live that all workplaces at various times will have people returning to work after a bereavement. It’s time to get better at supporting them. More from Think Business:
https://www.thinkbusiness.ie/articles/bereavement-grief-workplace-support/
Mental Health Ireland: Tips for Managers on supporting employees with a mental health challenge
A helpful guide to supporting managers with supporting mental wellbeing:
https://www.mentalhealthireland.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Tips-for-Managers-Booklet-1.pdf
Is your employer investing in the wellbeing of staff?
Poor workplace mental health comes at a steep cost globally. Mercer’s Global Talent Trends 2024 report identifies productivity drains such as unsustainable workloads, stress, lack of feedback and poor structures - all recognised psychosocial risks. This reinforces that mental health is a strategic necessity, rather than a discretionary benefit. RTÉ looks at this issue in more detail:
https://www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2025/0407/1505855-workplace-mental-health-wellbeing-employers-employees/
‘Gentle management’: could a softer leadership style boost productivity?
People Management investigates whether the trending practice is helping or hindering workforce output, with experts emphasising a balance of support and accountability is crucial:
https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1913237/gentle-management-softer-leadership-style-boost-productivity
Back to Top
11. Health & Safety Developments ⚓︎
Inquest hears how West Belfast man fell to his death from plane at Dublin Airport
Richard Gracey fell headfirst to the ground from a height of five metres while unloading cargo from an Air France aircraft on the morning of November 24, 2018. Mr Gracey, originally from Andersonstown, West Belfast, who had worked as a cargo handler with Swissport Ireland since April 2005. A postmortem showed he suffered a fractured skull and died as a result of severe brain injuries consistent with a fall from a height. A verdict of a workplace-related fatality was returned by a jury at Dublin District Coroner's Court on Tuesday. The jury also acknowledged and expressed satisfaction with changes made to operating procedures by Swissport since the fatal incident but recommended safety training for staff should be offered on a more frequent basis. More from Belfast Live:
https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/inquest-hears-how-west-belfast-31381901
12. Employment News in the Media
A man has settled a religious discrimination case against a Belfast hotel for £10,000 (€11,500) after he said a job offer was revoked due to him not being able to work certain hours. Jonathan Kerr took the case, which was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, against Pandox Belfast Limited, known as Hilton Belfast. It was settled without admission of liability reports RTÉ:
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0409/1506722-religious-discrimination-hilton-belfast/
A Pakistani man worked up to 115 hours a week in shops and restaurants but had to beg his employer for occasional payments because he was not receiving a regular wage, the WRC has heard. The delivery driver, who arrived in Ireland in August 2021, said he felt trapped in the situation for a period of more than two years because he could not change employer under the terms of his work permit. He was awarded more than €71,000 by the WRC reports the Irish Times:
https://www.irishtimes.com/business/work/2025/04/04/migrant-worker-who-worked-up-to-115-hours-a-week-awarded-71000-by-wrc/
Rory Gallagher, the former Derry football manager, has initiated legal action against the GAA and its president, Jarlath Burns, following Burns' intervention that led to the Naas GAA executive reversing Gallagher’s coaching appointment earlier this year. Gallagher's legal team has officially served proceedings on the GAA’s solicitors, although the organisation has not commented on the matter. The controversy stems from Burns’ concerns, shared via email, and the public backlash surrounding Gallagher’s appointment to Naas senior football management in January. The Irish Times has more here:
https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2025/04/04/rory-gallagher-starts-legal-proceedings-against-gaa-and-jarlath-burns/
A man who was dismissed from his job at a care home for the disabled after being accused of saying “not my circus” and leaving work when an alarm went off has won €12,500 for unfair dismissal. Aidan Fitzgibbon, a social care worker, won the award following a Workplace Relations Commission ruling that his dismissal in January 2022 from his job of 15 years with the disability support organisation Autism Initiatives was unfair. The company’s position was that it was entitled to dismiss Mr Fitzgibbon for gross misconduct over “unprofessional, discriminatory, dehumanising, and flippant” language he was alleged to have used towards disabled service users. More from the Irish Times:
https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2025/04/07/care-home-worker-sacked-following-remarks-about-autism-wins-unfair-dismissal-case/
A slaughterhouse safety manager, who said a "toxic" workplace environment where she was called a "prostitute" and a "doll" facilitated alleged "bully-boy behaviour" towards her by a State employee, has won €48,000 in compensation after she was penalised for making a complaint. It's after she testified to the Workplace Relations Commission that there was a "culture of sexism" at the unidentified company. RTÉ has more on this:
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/0408/1506514-manager-who-said-culture-of-sexism-prevailed-wins-48k/
13. Free Webinars This Month ⚓︎
FREE WEBINAR: Trump’s DEI Rollbacks - A Wake-Up Call for Irish HR Leaders?
📅 Tuesday 15th April 2025
⏰ 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
💻 Online
President Donald Trump issued executive orders rolling back DEI efforts across the US, which contributed to job cuts in the public sector and prompted some companies to reconsider their diversity policies. Major corporations - including Meta, McDonald's, and Bank of America - have adjusted their DEI strategies, scaling back public diversity targets and shifting towards ‘merit-based’ hiring practices.
If research found diverse teams are 70% more likely to capture new markets why is opposition to DEI increasing? Could this signal a shift for businesses in Ireland as well? With global organisations reassessing their commitments, HR leaders in Ireland face key questions:
- Does a strong DEI strategy drive business results, or is it just an added expense?
- How might changing global trends affect Irish workplace policies and expectations?
- Should businesses double down on inclusion or take a more measured approach?
Join Julie Holmes from Legal Island and industry experts as we examine whether businesses should sustain, reshape, or scale back their DEI commitments in response to shifting global trends - and what this means for HR leaders in Ireland.
Secure your spot now and be part of the conversation!
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:
Legal Island | Webinars Podcasts
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