Top 5 HR reads — quicker than making tea 🍵

1. 1000s of ChatGPT chats leaked online even after being deleted! Yikes. 🔍
2. Job hunters now checking a company’s ESG creds before hitting ‘apply’! 🌱
3. Pay Transparency Directive — are you ready for what’s coming? 📊
4. Blog: Can you act on staff behaviour outside work? We’ve got the answers! ⚖️
5. Mental health leave higher in Ireland at 24% compared to European average of 18% 🤯

And in other news....Check out our online "Implementing AI in the Workplace" event which will cut through the hype with expert legal, HR and tech insights, giving you practical, compliant steps to harness AI from recruitment to retention — all in one place, on one day. 🤖

**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. ESG
4. Recruitment
5. Pay Transparency
6. WRC: Updated Employment Agencies List
7. Irish firms warned on risks of curtailing DEI
8. Just In Case You Missed It....
9. HR Developments
10. Employment News in the Media
11. Health and Safety Developments
12. Free Webinars This Month 

Anthony Cosgrave v John Tinnelly & Sons (Ireland) Limited ADJ-00056897

Summary: The employer was ordered to pay the higher Grade B SEO rate after a truck driver’s demolition site work was found to fall within the construction sector classification.

Practical Guidance for Employers:

Employers should ensure that all roles are accurately classified under the relevant Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) and that pay rates comply with the latest rates. Where a role, such as a truck driver, has historically been included in a category (e.g., Category B), clear documentary evidence and updated agreements are essential if seeking to exclude it from that classification. Regularly review SEO updates, assess their applicability to all employees, and maintain communication with staff regarding pay adjustments. Where the SEO definitions are broad, employers should obtain advice before making pay decisions that could result in disputes. Also, employers should keep records of pay history, job descriptions, and policy changes. This is vital in defending claims and reducing the risk of retrospective pay awards.

Read the full Review here: Anthony Cosgrave v John Tinnelly & Sons (Ireland) Limited [2025]

A Worker v An Employer IR - SC – 00003403

Summary: Employers must ensure investigations are policy-compliant.

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should:

• Strictly adhere to their own workplace policies and any relevant statutory / code-based procedures when investigating complaints. Policies should be clear, accessible, and consistently applied. Any deviation, e.g. permitting forms of representation not allowed under the policy, risks undermining the process and can be relied upon to challenge outcomes.
   
  
• Investigators and/or appeal officers should receive specific training on handling workplace bullying or harassment complaints. This includes understanding procedural fairness, evidence, and decision-writing. Inconsistent / overturned findings signal insufficient preparation.
   
  
• Protracted investigations erode trust and cause unnecessary stress. Employers should set realistic timelines and actively manage the process to prevent avoidable pauses (such as lengthy waits for legal advice or delayed requests for submissions). 
   
  
• Ensure that policies include, and apply, provisions allowing investigations to proceed if a party fails to cooperate. Delays caused by non-participation must be addressed swiftly, thus ensuring the process continues fairly while respecting each party’s rights. This avoids giving one side effective control over the pace of proceedings.
   
  
• Appreciate that even without loss of earnings, delays and mishandling can result in compensation awards for distress and inconvenience. Employers should view timely investigations not only as a legal obligation but also as a means to reduce exposure to financial and/or reputational risks.

Read the full Review here: A Worker v An Employer [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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Jobseekers shunning academia and trades in favour of AI-centric roles, Indeed says

Jobseekers have significantly lost interest in both academic and trade roles over the past year, with the advance of artificial intelligence (AI) leading people to seek out more tech-facing roles, jobs platform Indeed has said. Jobseeker interest across Ireland has shifted in line with changing technologies over the past 12 months, describing the change in the market as a “transformation”. Interest, measured by clicks on job postings, shows roles such as technology consultant, warehouse manager and reporting analyst saw the biggest year-on-year increases. The Irish Times has more here.

Is AI helping to reduce stress in the workplace?

An upside to automation? Majority of Irish IT leaders say AI reduces workplace stress, survey finds. A new survey from Storm Technology has revealed that 68% of IT leaders in Ireland believe the use of artificial intelligence (AI) by staff helps reduce stress levels in the workplace. The research, which surveyed 200 IT decision-makers across Ireland and the UK, found that 60% of respondents think AI will help reduce burnout in their organisation. Additionally, 72% believe AI can support a better work-life balance for employees. Read the full piece from Think Business.

Thousands of ChatGPT conversations accessible online despite efforts to erase them

More than 100,000 conversations between users of ChatGPT and the online AI platform remain accessible through internet searches despite attempts by ChatGPT developer OpenAI to erase them after what was described as a “short-lived experiment”, it has been reported. Online investigative journalism unit Digital Digging said the majority of the conversations, which are preserved in their entirety, are “harmless”, but some were not. Irish Times has more.

The New ChatGPT5 Reviewed (Part 1)

Over the next three weeks, Barry Phillips will be reviewing the importance of ChatGPT-5 for HR. In this episode, he shares five practical ways the upgrade can transform HR — from better job descriptions to smarter onboarding — and why using AI ethically is key to making work better for everyone.

You can also access the episode here.

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Jobseekers now check firms’ ESG credentials before applying

More than a third (34%) of jobseekers in Ireland actively check a company’s environmental and sustainability credentials before applying for a role. A new study from Matrix Recruitment as part of the firm’s first annual ESG Careers Report, based on a survey of more than 160 adults across the country highlights the growing importance of sustainability in career decision-making, reports Think Business. 

You can find the full report here.

More on this from Silicon Republic.

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Unemployment figures: Are young people afraid to work?

As a new report suggests over 12% of young people in Ireland are unemployed, one hotelier believes there is a 'snobbery' around applying for certain types of jobs. According to a Grant Thornton report, the unemployment rate has hit its highest peak in the past three years. One aspect of this report highlighted that 12.2% of young people are currently unemployed. Louis Copeland is the owner of Louis Copeland and Sons and is in the retail sector. He told The Pat Kenny Show that young people’s attitudes have changed around working since the pandemic. “It has become the norm that you only have to go in two days and work from home three days. “The best education [young people] will ever get is to work on the floor, in a pub, in hospitality, in retail,” as Mr Copeland believes these jobs help develop social skills and problem-solving skills. Read the full story from Newstalk.

Health staff recruitment crisis underlined by HSE's inability to hire temporary agency workers

Worker shortages are now so acute that the HSE has warned that it is sometimes unable to fill vacancies even with agency staff, because agencies are themselves struggling to recruit health workers. A familiar problem is contributing to these shortages — agencies are reporting that while there are general shortages of workers on a global scale, one specific issue in Ireland is the shortage of accommodation.  More from Niamh Griffin from the Irish Examiner here.

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Pay Transparency Readiness Study 2025

The Pay Transparency Directive (EU) 2023/970 (EU Pay Transparency Directive), adopted in May 2023, must be transposed into national law by all EU Member States by 7 June 2026. While the deadline may appear distant, the practical and structural requirements of the Directive – particularly the need to ensure pay structures are based on objective, gender-neutral criteria – are substantial. A&O Shearman’s survey of HR and legal professionals found:

• Nearly all respondents indicated that they had recognised the need to establish a formal methodology for assessing ‘equal work or work of equal value’.
   
  
• Only 4%1 reported full alignment.
   
  
• Although around 37% have already adopted such a methodology, most rely on internal job descriptions and are not yet fully aligned with the four Article 4 criteria (skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions). 
  

You can access the full report from Lexology here.

Are you ready for the Pay Transparency Directive?

Change is coming fast and the EU Pay Transparency Directive will have a real impact on how Irish employers operate. At our Annual Review of Employment Law on 27 November, we will unpack exactly what you need to know to prepare.

Join Maura Connolly, Partner and Head of Employment at Addleshaw Goddard (Ireland) LLP, for her expert session:
Unpacking the EU Pay Transparency Directive: Implications for Irish Employers.

Don’t get caught off guard get the clarity and insight you need. Read the full programme here.

In the meantime, our Employment Law Hub has lots of articles to keep you abreast of the changes:

• The EU Pay Transparency Directive: 2025 Update - Caroline Reidy, HR Suite. Read here.
   
  
• The Pay Transparency Directive and What it Means for Employers, Bernard Martin, A&L Goodbody (now with DLA Piper). More here.
   
  
• Horizon Scanning - Three legislative changes that should be on the radar for HR consultants and employers as we progress through 2025 - Alison Devine, Addleshaw Goddard. Find out here. 
  

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Please find the updated Licenced Agencies list updated as of 01 August 2025. Access the list here.

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Lawyers at RDJ have highlighted the risks posed to Irish employers by US President Donald Trump’s crackdown on DEI (diversity, equality, and inclusion) programmes. In Ireland, the firm highlights a recent survey carried out by Expleo, which found that 43% of large enterprises in Ireland had experienced employee resignations due to recent changes in their DEI policies. More from the Law Society Gazette.

And...

HSE condemns racist attacks and says health services could not operate without international staff

The HSE has condemned all incidents of racist abuse and assaults on people from abroad saying the health service would not be able to operate effectively without its international staff.In a statement the HSE said the effective operation of many essential health services in Ireland would be seriously threatened without the support of the many thousands of international staff that work in our hospitals and community services every day. Healthcare professionals from India, Africa and other Asian countries account for 23pc of HSE nurses and midwives, the Irish Independent reports.

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Q&A: Employee Conduct Outside the Workplace – When Can Employers Take Action?

When does an employee’s behaviour outside work become an employer’s business? With blurred lines between personal and professional lives, employers increasingly face tough decisions about “off-duty” conduct. Below, we address some of the most pertinent questions employers face when dealing with conduct that occurs outside of the workplace, in particular conduct which leads to a criminal conviction, including when, why, and how employers can take action, without risking legal pitfalls. Chris Ryan, Associate, A&L Goodbody provides his guidance on this tricky issue here.

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

Check out the latest poll results from Legal Island's recruitment webinar with MCS Group - do you think the same as our delegates? Read more.

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Crafting leadership development that sticks

Most leadership programs fail because they lack consistency and don’t create lasting change. This article introduces the Inspire, Train, Sustain framework, a three-step method to ensure leadership development actually sticks. More from HRD Connect.

Don’t wait to be asked: Empower employee development and training

Arwa Due-Gundersen, Senior Business Development Manager at Cambridge Advance Online, a division of the University of Cambridge Online, says employees shouldn’t feel like they have to push for development on their own.  With ‘employee training’ Google searches up 40% in five years from 10,000 to 15,000 monthly in the UK, it is clear that people are searching for support, but bringing it up can still feel awkward. Arwa notes: “The strongest organisations are those that invest in their people, not just for who they are today, but for who they can become. Learning should empower every individual to grow with purpose, lead with confidence, and drive meaningful change in their work and the world.” Read more from HR Director.

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A worker who said his ex-boss slashed his rostered hours down to just one day a week and got “abusive” with him at a meeting has won nearly €8,000 in unpaid wages and compensation. Craig O’Brien told the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) that businessman Zemari Jalilzad “berated” him in front of colleagues at a meeting last September when he objected to the cut in hours, telling him: “Who are you? You are nothing, you are a dog.” The company then failed to send him his wages for September on payday the following week, reports the Irish Times.

The founder of a clothing line for breast cancer patients has won nearly €85,000 after a tribunal ruled she was constructively dismissed by having her salary stopped last year. Ciara Donlan secured the sum after pursuing a series of employment rights complaints against Theya Healthcare Ltd, a brand she established a decade ago, following what she termed an "aggressive takeover" in 2023. The company was not represented when the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) heard her complaints under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977, the Payment of Wages Act 1991 and the Terms of Employment (Information) Act 1994 in June this year. RTÉ has more.

Bosses under pressure to cut costs at schoolbook publisher Gill decided last year that the “sparse” population of Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo, meant it wasn’t worth having a dedicated salesman there, a tribunal has heard. Longstanding rep in the region, James Higgins, was ill when the decision was communicated to him and explained: “I asked my wife to call Mr Hyland. She tried multiple times… Mr Hyland duly proceeded to text my wife, saying I had an important email, which started a chain of events that led to her reading an email to me in my sick bed to the effect that I was being made redundant,” Mr Higgins said. More from the Irish Times.

The former owner of a human resources company has appeared in court charged with a total of 98 separate fraud offences. Denyse O’Brien was remanded in custody with consent to bail when she appeared before Dublin District Court. Ms O’Brien set up HR company Watch Your Back Ireland in 2019, and many of the charges relate to her alleged activities with that firm. Some of the 98 charges she is facing include that under Section 26 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 she used a false email supposedly from an employee of the Workplace Relations Commission in August 2020 “with the intention of inducing another person to accept it as genuine”. She was charged with 18 counts of deception, 47 counts of using a false instrument and 33 counts of forgery following an investigation by the ­Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB). More from the Sunday World.

Fashion accessories chain Claire's is set to appoint administrators for its UK and Ireland business - putting around 2,150 jobs at risk. The move will raise fears over the future of 306 stores, with 278 of those in the UK and 28 in Ireland. More from Sky News here. 

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One in four workers took mental health leave last year – survey

A new survey reveals that 24% of employees in Ireland took leave for their mental health last year, which is higher than the European average of 18%. The survey, carried out by iVOX on behalf of payroll and HR solutions provider SD Worx, also found that some 29% of employees admit that working in their organisation negatively impacts their mental health. However, 43% say their organisation actively undertakes initiatives to support mental health. You can read more on this from RTÉ.

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Auto-Enrolment 2025: What HR Needs to Know and Do

📅 18 September 2025
🕒 11:00 – 11:45 a.m.
📍 Live online | Free to attend

Ireland’s new auto-enrolment scheme is going live and for HR teams, that means real changes to contracts, payroll, and how you communicate with staff. Yet, as RTÉ recently reported, 1 in 4 organisations still haven’t begun preparing.

So, ask yourself: is your organisation ready? Or just hoping it all falls into place?

Whether you're well underway or just getting started, this short, focused webinar will help you:

•    Understand your obligations and what’s changing

•    Spot potential payroll and contract pitfalls

•    Sense-check your approach 

•    Hear how other employers are planning their response

Led by Caroline Reidy, MD of the HR Suite and one of Ireland’s most respected HR experts, the session will offer guidance and clarity. Hosting the conversation is Julie Holmes from Legal Island, who’ll ask the questions that matter, including how to talk about pensions without everyone leaving the room.

Register Now.

Check out previous discussions:
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