This Week’s Fast Five:

1. Healthcare recruiter confirms Gardaí investigation into cyber security incident 🔐
2. Sexual harassment in Ireland. Where things stand now ⚖️
3. New employment permit salary rules. What they mean for employers and talent strategy 💼
4. Could a digital twin make you into a 'superworker'? 🤖
5. Free webinar. Case law lessons on disability and reasonable accommodations 🎓

And in other news....Join us for the next session in our Skill Builder series — practical strategies to tackle disengagement, communication breakdowns and digital overload.

1. Case Law Reviews
2. AI and Employment Law
3. Skill Builder for HR: Employee Engagement in Modern Workplaces
4. Cost of Living
5. Cybersecurity
6. WRC: Updated Employment Agencies List
7. Unite members in National Ambulance Service to strike next month
8. Just In Case You Missed It....
9. Employment News in the Media
10. Free Webinars This Month

Barry Flannery v Xerotech Limited (In Liquidation) ADJ-00056117

Summary: WRC found that CEO was constructively dismissed after being excluded from his role through a fundamental breach of trust and fair procedures and awarded him €420,172.

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should:

• Ensure that any action affecting an employee’s role is grounded in fair procedures. Sudden removal of access, monitoring of communications, or exclusion from duties without explanation will almost invariably be viewed as a breach of trust and confidence.
   
  
• Procedural fairness is critical. Allegations must be clearly put to the employee, who must be given an opportunity to respond. Investigations should be transparent, proportionate, and documented. Employers should avoid taking irreversible or punitive steps before completing a fair process.
   
  
• Finally, contractual rights such as garden leave or notice provisions cannot be used retrospectively to justify earlier breaches. Employers should act consistently with the contract from the outset. Where senior employees are involved, additional care is required due to the scale of responsibility and impact. 
  

Read the full Review here.

Gilciene Neves v Brindley Healthcare Services Limited trading as Manor Homecare ADJ-00061617

Summary: A care worker's complaints about fatiguing shift patterns were found to constitute protected acts, and subsequent performance criticism and a letter of concern during probation were deemed penalisation, resulting in a €2,500 award.

Practical Guidance for Employers:

Employers should:

• Recognise that employee complaints relating to health and safety may constitute protected acts under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Any subsequent treatment that could be perceived as adverse, including performance management actions, must be carefully justified and clearly documented.  
   
  
• Note, performance management during probation requires particular care. While employers are entitled to monitor and address performance, such actions must be proportionate, consistent, and supported by objective evidence. Labelling disciplinary or critical interventions as “supportive” will not suffice if the effect on the employee is adverse.  
   
  
• Realise that operational constraints do not excuse delays in addressing legitimate employee concerns. Employers should manage expectations clearly and provide regular updates where commitments cannot be met. Importantly, once a complaint is made, employers should ensure that no actions taken could reasonably be interpreted as retaliatory.  
  

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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Could a digital twin make you into a 'superworker'?

"Digital Richard" is the AI twin Richard Skellett has been building for the past three years. Bound within the confines of a screen, Digital Richard looks largely two dimensional, but he's no ordinary chatbot. Digital Richard knows everything Skellett knows. He was built as a small language model which used ChatGPT to digest all of Richard's meetings, calls, documents, presentations and more. It was then refined to follow Skellett's way of thinking and problem solving. More from the BBC.

Harnessing AI: Ireland turns Ideas into Action for EU Innovation Month

As part of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2026, Ireland will host the International AI Summit, officially launching European AI innovation Month, in partnership with the European Commission. Find out more.

Dublin start-up Otel AI raises €2m to expand hotel AI platform

The start-up plans to use the funding to expand its product and engineering team, and accelerate expansion into the UK, Europe, the US and the UAE. Irish start-up Otel AI, which is building an AI platform for hotel managers, has announced a raise of €2m. Silicon Republic has more.

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 🎧 Spotify or Apple Podcasts. Simply search for “AI for HR Weekly Podcast” and enjoy expert insights anytime, anywhere.

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Struggling with disengaged teams, fractured communication and constant digital overload? This short, high-impact session gives HR professionals practical strategies to rebuild employee engagement, improve focus and strengthen retention. Join Anne Phillipson, Managing Director, Phillipson Performance Partners on 21st May and turn frustration into meaningful progress. BOOK today. 

Legal Island Employment Law Hub Members receive two FREE Skill builder places*

*As part of their subscription - worth €315. T&Cs apply.

Find out more about all the upcoming Skill Builder for HR sessions HERE. 

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Government to cut petrol and diesel by 10c and defer carbon tax increase in €505m package

The Government has announced a mammoth fuel support package – costed at over half a billion euro – after six days of protests against fuel costs. The new fuel package will:

• extend the temporary measures to reduce excise duty on petrol, diesel and marked gas oil (green diesel) from the end of May to the end of July
   
  
• reduce mineral oil taxes by 10c a litre on diesel and petrol, and 2.4c per litre on green diesel
   
  
• postpone the increase in carbon tax from May until the budget in October
   
  
• enhance transport support supply schemes for all haulage operators in the country, for local link, school transport providers, and some commercial operators
   
  
• introduce a fuel subsidy support scheme for farming and fisheries

The Journal has more here. 
 
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Healthcare recruitment company says gardai probing ‘cyber security incident’

A healthcare recruitment company with bases in Belfast and Dublin has said it was “the victim of a cyber security incident”. Healthdaq said the incident has been reported to the relevant regulatory and law enforcement authorities including the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau. Belfast Live has more on this.

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You can find the updated Licenced Agencies list as at 01/04/2026 here. 

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Members of the Unite trade union in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) are to take strike action next month in a dispute over salary scales. This week, SIPTU announced strike action by its members as part of the same dispute. The two unions have notified the HSE of a work-to-rule from 11 May, 24-hour strike action on 12 May, followed by a 48-hour stoppage on 19 May and a 72-hour stoppage on 26 May. More.

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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.....

Sexual harassment – Ireland's current landscape

A significant portion of Irish workers experience workplace sexual harassment, according to a report issued by the CSO in 2025, with the highest prevalence (16%) impacting younger workers (18-24). A 2019 survey conducted by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) also suggested that 1 in 5 workers in Ireland had experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. Many of those workers confirmed that they did not report these incidents due to fears of retaliation or job loss. Read more from Katie Doherty, Employment Solicitor, DAC Beachcroft.

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:

Amit Chawla v Freenow Ireland Limited

The case considered whether a platform provider could be held liable for alleged discriminatory conduct by a self-employed driver, with the decision turning on the absence of control and the limits of vicarious liability.

Read the full case review here.

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Irish Rail has increased the number of security patrols amid an “absolutely shocking” increase in violence and drug taking on board. Last year, 1,150 complaints of antisocial or illegal behaviour were sent to the Irish Rail's text service, with passengers complaining of open drug taking, a dog urinating in a carriage and even knives being brandished on one occasion. Newstalk has more.

Ireland’s MAR thresholds are rising from 2026 to 2030. Discover how new employment permit salary rules impact employers, migrant workers, and talent strategy. Ireland’s new roadmap for Minimum Annual Remuneration (MAR) thresholds may appear to be a technical adjustment to salary requirements. In reality, it represents something far more significant. It is a strategic recalibration of how Ireland competes for talent, supports workers and sustains long-term economic growth. Read more.

RTÉ reports German union VC have called on pilots at Lufthansa to stage a two-day strike from today in a dispute over pensions, saying that the company had failed to present an acceptable offer. Pilots at Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo and Lufthansa CityLine have been asked to strike from the morning of April 13 to the night of April 14, the union said.

Members of the Unite trade union in the National Ambulance Service have voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action, up to and including strike action. The union has accused the Health Service Executive (HSE) of failing to implement the recommendations of an independent report on updating staff salary scales to reflect changes in their responsibilities and workload. RTÉ has more. 

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Case Law Round‑Up: Lessons on Disability and Reasonable Accommodations 

📅Tuesday 21st April 2026

🕒 10am to 10.45am

📍 Live online | Free to attend

REGISTER HERE 

Disability remains the most cited reason for discrimination claims under the Employment Equality Act, according to the WRC’s most recent Annual Report. For employers and HR professionals, failing to manage accommodations or disability-related absences isn’t just tricky—it’s risky and expensive.

Join Sinead Morgan, Legal Director at DAC Beachcroft, for a practical 45-minute session where she will break down recent WRC and Labour Court decisions and share the key lessons HR teams wish they’d learned sooner. Discover actionable guidance on reasonable accommodations to keep your workplace inclusive, compliant, and far less stressful.

Sponsored by HR Locker. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Legal Island

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