🚀 This Week’s Top 5 – Fast Reads, Big Headlines

1. 📊 Gender pay gap reporting is now law — progress for workplace equality!
2. 🌍 Ireland ranks #2 for life-work balance in 2025.
3. 🤫 Quiet redundancies? They might be happening at your workplace.
4. 🤖 Barclays rolls out Microsoft Co-Pilot to 100,000 staff.
5. 📉 Fully flexible working drops: Now offered by just 27% of businesses.

And in other news.... Join Roisin Boyle, Employment Lawyer at SIPTU and Patrick Barrett BL in our next FREE webinar - Case Law Insights: Getting Fair Procedures in the Disciplinary Process Right -on 19th June. Register 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. Remote & Flexible Working
4. Pensions
5. Are 'quiet redundancies' happening in your workplace?
6. Legislation Update
7. Industrial Relations
8. Just In Case You Missed It....
9. HR Developments
10. Employment News in the Media
11. Friends of Legal Island
12. Free Webinars This Month 

Vilius Sakalauskas v Americold Lough Eglish ADJ-00052862

Summary: WRC held that employer had complied with its obligations under the Terms of Employment Act 1994

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should:

• Within the first 5 days of starting a job, an employer must issue an employee part of their ‘written statement of terms of employment’. This written statement must include the core terms of employment (such as how pay is calculated). Within 1 month of starting a job, an employer must issue an employee the remaining terms of their employment in writing (such as entitlement to annual leave).
  
• Update any changes to core terms such as job title, pay, or responsibilities. This must be confirmed in writing as Section 5 of the Act obliges employers to provide written notice of such changes.
  
• Note that where actual working practices (like frequent overtime) differ from what is written in the contract, employers should review and, if necessary, revise the employment terms to reflect reality.
  
• Document changes. Even internal promotions or role shifts should be documented. A signed acceptance of new responsibilities or terms is optimal.

Read the full Review here:
Vilius Sakalauskas v Americold Lough Eglish [2025]

Staff Officer v Health Service IR - SC - 00002749

Summary: Decision remains significant in a post-COVID context, highlighting the ongoing importance of transparency and procedural fairness in employer decision-making.

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should:

• Ensure Transparency in Decision-Making: When processing applications for discretionary benefits, clearly communicate the eligibility criteria and provide written reasons for any refusals.
  
• Maintain a Fair and Documented Appeals Process: Even where formal appeals may not be required, offering employees a basic review mechanism or explanation is preferable.
  
• Regularly Review Role Classifications Against Policy Criteria: Ensure staff roles are accurately assessed against benefit or entitlement criteria, particularly where duties may evolve or involve indirect exposure to risk.
  

Read the full Review here:
Staff Officer v Health Service [2025]

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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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British-Irish Council to be held in Down to have particular focus on AI

Representatives of the British and Irish Governments will meet in Co Down on Friday to discuss latest political developments across the islands. The 43rd meeting of the British-Irish Council (BIC), which was established to promote mutually beneficial development following the Good Friday Agreement, will have a particular focus on artificial intelligence. Catch up.

Barclays to roll out Microsoft Co-Pilot to 100,000 staff

Barclays Bank is to extend its delivery of Microsoft Co-Pilot AI agents to 100,000 staff worldwide. Microsoft 365 Copilot will be integrated into the bank’s own staff productivity tool, creating a single agent for employee self-service such as booking business travel, checking policy compliance, or finding answers to HR-related questions. An agentic dashboard accessed by Microsoft Viva will be deployed to help staff with 'moments that matter', like booking desks or annual leave, as well as serving personalised news and announcements. Finextra has more on this story.

The State of AI Adoption Report 2025 – The Stats and the Tea Leaves

In this episode, Barry Phillips explores McKinsey’s 2025 State of AI Adoption report, highlighting how organisations are embedding AI into workflows—and where they’re falling short. Barry unpacks key stats, from leadership’s role in AI success to the risks employers must manage, and offers practical takeaways for HR and employment law professionals.

The State of AI Adoption Report 2025 – The Stats and the Tea Leaves.

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Businesses offering fully flexible working plummets to 27%

Figures published in the latest edition of Dublin Chamber’s Business Outlook Survey show the number of firms offering full flexibility to staff on the number of days they spend in the office has fallen from 37% in Q2 2024 to 27% a year later. Just over one third of firms (36%) require staff to present on a number of core days, a slight increase on previous years. Dublin People has more here.

Employment Law Tip of the Week – Remote working requests - The first successful decision under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023

In a recent WRC case (see here), on 10 June 2024, the Complainant submitted a formal request to his employer to work remotely under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023.

The Respondent responded to the Complainant’s remote working request on 11 July 2024, two days outside of the four-week period. The substantive decision on the Complainant’s request was issued on 26 July 2024, six weeks and four days after the request was submitted and within the eight-week deadline as allowed for in the Act. As an aside, the Respondent rejected the Complainant's request to work remotely, stating reasons that included the promotion of collaboration, the need for in-person meetings, and alignment with the Respondent’s global hybrid working strategy. Read the full analysis from Fieldfisher here.

Ireland places second in 2025's Global Life-Work Balance index

A new study shows that Ireland has the best work life balance in Europe, and the second best out of the top 60 GDP nations. These are the findings of the Global Life-Work Balance 2025, the third annual index report published by global HR solutions provider Remote. The index ranks countries based on several workplace factors like statutory annual leave, paid maternity leave, sick leave, healthcare, public safety, public happiness, LGBTQ+ inclusivity, and average work hours per employee. More from RTÉ.

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School secretaries and caretakers show support for pension strike – Fórsa

School secretaries and caretakers could strike when schools reopen after the summer break in pursuit of better pension provisions after a trade union ballot returned a strong mandate for such a move. The trade union Fórsa, which represents the school-workers has said 98% of those who voted supported indefinite strike action, with over 81% of those members participating in the ballot. RTÉ has more on this story.

Pension pots hit by cost of living

Some 60% of day-to-day living costs such as grocery and childcare bills are among the key reasons people are not saving enough for their retirement, the survey of more than 130 advisers showed. A lack of knowledge or awareness of pensions is the prime reason Irish people are falling behind on their retirement savings, with 61% of financial advisers citing this as a key factor. Ireland’s high cost of living comes a close second, with 60% of experts saying these costs are to blame. Business Plus has more here.

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Are 'quiet redundancies' happening in your workplace?

Employers in Ireland are implementing 'quiet redundancies' to scale back workforces in the face of uncertainty, tariffs and AI, reports RTÉ.

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Changes to gender pay gap reporting signed into law

The Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 20A) (Gender Pay Gap Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 have been signed into law.

As expected, these Regulations bring into the scope of gender pay reporting for the first time employers with 50 or more employees (reduced from a threshold of 150 or more employees). Employers must now also report within 5 months (previously 6 months) of the snapshot date in June, bringing forward the reporting deadline from December to November each year. Arthur Cox has more.

Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2025

The Government has published the draft Bill, which aims to strengthen employee protections in cases where employers become effectively insolvent without initiating formal insolvency proceedings.

• New procedure for employees:
  
  • Employees may serve notice on their employer where amounts (e.g. wages or entitlements) remain unpaid.
  • If payment is not made within eight weeks, the employee may apply to the Minister to have the employer deemed insolvent.
    
• The proposed mechanism targets situations where businesses cease trading without formally winding up, leaving employees without access to statutory insolvency protections.
  
• The Bill also seeks to provide a clear pathway for employees to claim unpaid amounts directly from the Social Insurance Fund once an employer is deemed insolvent under this new process. More here.

Pregnancy Loss (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025

The Bill proposes amendments to the Organisation of Working Time Act.

Its primary aim is to provide statutory paid leave for employees who experience pregnancy loss. Key points are:

• Entitlement details:
  
  • Leave would be available from day one of employment.
  • Applies following a pregnancy that does not result in a live birth or stillbirth, as certified by a registered medical practitioner.
    
• Duration of leave (per leave year):
  
  • Minimum of 5 working days for the person who experienced the pregnancy loss.
  • Minimum of 2.5 working days for the other parent of the pregnancy.
    
• Any termination, suspension, or notice of termination issued while the employee is on this leave would be deemed void. More here.

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Dublin City Council referred to WRC as workers to 'miss' a week's wage due to payroll change

Dublin City Council informed unions last month that its current payroll systems will become unsupported next year, meaning that it has to take on a new system, with the transition creating a “once off three week gap between pay cheques”.  The council is offering a bridging loan to employees who may suffer financial hardship as a result, which includes all waged council staff, the majority of Dublin Fire Brigade, and General Operations staff.  The change means that workers will have to wait an extra week to get paid, while the pay for that week will be paid as back-pay. The Journal has more on this.

Unions seek meeting with management prior to referring Tara Deep dispute to WRC

The Tara Mines Group of Unions has requested an urgent meeting with management over its failure to start the Tara Deep project as agreed. SIPTU's John Regan emphasized that the April 2024 Sustainability Agreement required underground exploration drilling to begin before 2027. If management does not comply, the unions will refer the issue to the Workplace Relations Commission. The full SIPTU statement is here.

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Burnout Isn’t a Badge: Building Sustainable Self-Care for Leaders

Burnout isn’t leadership. This article urges leaders to ditch exhaustion-as-status and embrace self-care as a powerful, strategic advantage. More from Philip Brady, Executive Coach and Director at Vitamin P Coaching Ltd, here:
Burnout Isn’t a Badge: Building Sustainable Self-Care for Leaders

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Why having a massive public row with your boss rarely ends well

The spat between Donald Trump and Elon Musk is a vivid example of how a massive blowup with your boss can be destructive and dangerous. Professor Kevin Murphy from the University of Limerick provides insights in this article from RTÉ.

Workplace culture seen as vital in attracting new talent

The culture of a workplace is seen, after salary, as the most important factor when considering a job role according to a new poll. With competition rising amongst employers to recruit talent, fresh data from Robert Walters shows that over 40% of job hunters look at culture before deciding to join a company, reports Business Plus.

And…

79% of HR leaders say poor employee experience directly harms business performance

A staggering 79% of respondents agreed that poor employee experience directly harms business performance. In today’s climate, where employee experience is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ but a strategic business imperative, this is a wake-up call. The survey also highlighted key areas impacting the ability of People Leaders to deliver world-class employee experience and you can read more from HR Director here.

HR professionals lack mental health support, risking burnout

Almost nine in 10 HR practitioners do not feel supported with their mental health at work, according to a survey of around 1,400 workers in the profession, with one commentator saying that HR should ‘put on their own oxygen mask first’. The HR Mental Wellbeing Report from Towergate Employee Benefits suggests that burnout is “very likely” for almost two-thirds (63%) of the profession, and that 15% are “at risk”. Personnel Today has more.

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A new study has revealed the extent of workplace challenges faced by neurodivergent employees in Ireland and the UK, with 96% of survey respondents reporting barriers that impact their daily work experience. The research, conducted by office solutions provider Codex in partnership with Dublin-based Braver Coaching & Consulting, surveyed 220 neurodivergent employees in full-time employment to understand their workplace experiences and identify areas for improvement. Read more.

Second-level schools face the threat of industrial action in the autumn after the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) voted to reject a package of supports aimed at easing the roll-out of Leaving Certificate reforms. ASTI members rejected the measures by a margin of 68 per cent to 32 per cent. The vote means second level teachers are now divided after the Teachers’ Union of Ireland last week voted to accept the package. The Irish Times has more on this story.

A financial adviser who said she “never made” purported remarks that her employer called an “instantly sackable offence” and was not given a chance to address the claims has won over €48,000 for unfair dismissal. A Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) adjudicator found Caitriona Nic Aodha was denied any opportunity to “challenge her accusers” on serious bullying allegations when she was sacked in July 2024 without being given the precise details of what was alleged against her. More from the Irish Times.

The Government has revealed a calamitous series of “administrative errors” that will see retired senior civil servants and government ministers asked to pay back tens of thousands of euros for inaccurate pension deductions. Some 13,000 retired civil servants are set to have their pension deductions checked for potential incorrect payments amid “serious issues” flagged by a State body, with 30 cases identified where the liability ranges as high as €280,000. 
More from the Irish Examiner. 

A tribunal reduced a compensation award for Penneys worker Janine Halpin, ruling she was mostly liable for her own dismissal. Halpin had responded with two “crying laughing” emojis and a comment wishing illness on a manager after a colleague threatened to “skull drag” the manager in a private WhatsApp group. She argued her messages were a show of support for the colleague, who had just lost an appeal against their own firing. Her trade union contended the allegations were outside workplace jurisdiction, as she was off duty and the chat was invite-only. More from the Irish Times.

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🎉Congratulations to Loretta Dignam for winning Network Ireland Dublin Businesswoman of the Year Award in the Established Businesswoman category. Loretta is the Founder and CEO of The Menopause Hub, Ireland's first dedicated menopause clinic.

Read more here about Network Ireland here.

More about The Menopause Hub here.

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Case Law Insights: Getting Fair Procedures in the Disciplinary Process Right 

🗓 Thursday, 19th June 2025 
🕚 11:00 – 12:00 (1 hour)
💻 Online

Register HERE

Is it just us, or do disciplinary hearings feel like a legal minefield? ⚖️💣

Join us for this FREE webinar where we’ll untangle the tricky business of fair procedures in disciplinary processes in the workplace, a topic that’s landed more than a few employers in hot water lately.

We’ll be asking (and answering) the questions on everyone’s mind:

•    What are fair procedures, really — and who decides what's “fair”?
•    Does every employee have a right to representation at disciplinary meetings? What about legal representation?
•    Do employees on probation have the same rights?
•    And when it comes to appeals are we talking full re-hearings or just looking at the specific grounds raised by the        employee?

Sound confusing? You're not alone but we've got you covered! 

The Workplace Relations Commission has been cracking down, with a wave of recent decisions going against employers, not because the dismissal wasn’t justified, but because the process wasn’t up to scratch.

The takeaway? Even if your reasons are solid, a poor process can cost you, big time. 
That’s why this session is a must for HR professionals, managers, and anyone involved in employee relations.

Laura McKee, Knowledge Partner at Legal Island will be joined with expert legal speakers Patrick Barrett, Barrister-at-Law and Roisin Boyle, Trade Union and Employment Lawyer, SIPTU. Together they will explore:

1.    How to apply fair procedures in line with the Code of Practice (S.I. 146/2000)
2.    Real-life lessons from recent WRC case law
3.    Practical tips to help you stay compliant and avoid costly mistakes

🎁 Plus, get an exclusive preview of Legal Island’s new and improved Employment Law Hub —your go-to resource for staying confident and compliant.
Don’t miss out. Book your place now and make sense of fair procedures in your disciplinary process once and for all!

MCS Lunch and Learn: What Top Recruiters Know that You Don’t (Yet)       

🔔 Please note that the webinar has been rescheduled to 23rd July.

🗓  Thursday, 23 July 2025
🕚 12:00 – 12:45 (45 mins)
💻 Online

Register HERE.
                                                            
Join Julie from Legal Island for an MCS Lunch and Learn webinar with leading recruitment experts Ryan Calvert and Rebekah Mulligan. In the first quarter of 2025, the business and recruitment landscape has already been reshaped by macroeconomic, socio-economic, and political forces. Policy changes, inflationary pressures, and shifts in the labour market are compelling organisations across the UK and Northern Ireland to reassess their HR strategies. As workforce dynamics continue to evolve and skills demands grow, it’s essential for HR professionals to adapt their approaches to remain competitive and effectively meet new challenges.

In this 45-minute webinar, Ryan and Rebekah will share the latest trends in recruitment, exploring how organisations are addressing skills shortages, meeting the demand for flexible work, and adapting to the changing expectations of today’s candidates. From the rise of AI-assisted applications to the impact of global DEI rollbacks on local employer brands, they’ll outline the trends that will define talent acquisition in 2025 and beyond.

In this session, we’ll cover:

• Evolving Hiring Trends – Gain insight into where job demand is expected to increase in the next year.
  
• Practical Strategies for Addressing Skills Shortages and Talent Demands – Learn how organisations are responding to economic pressures and shifting labour markets.
  
• Building an Authentic and Competitive Employer Brand – Discover how cultural fit and retention efforts can strengthen your recruitment strategy.

Learn how to build trust and strengthen your employer brand in an era where candidates are more informed than ever. Our experts will also discuss how HR teams can stay authentic and competitive in a rapidly shifting environment - ensuring your organisation’s values shine through at every touchpoint, from job adverts to interviews and beyond. Expect practical tips, straight-talking insights, and just enough humour to make your talent challenges feel (almost) manageable.

Got questions? Bring them along! Ryan and Rebekah will be answering audience questions, giving you the chance to get expert advice on the issues that matter most to you.

Check out previous discussions:
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