5 Must-Reads This Week:

1. Are managers losing authority in the modern workplace? 🧭
2. Interview blunders leave one employer facing a €85k bill ⚠️
3. Gen Alpha expects flexible working — and the four-day week — as standard 🗓️
4. European employers still not ready for pay transparency and AI reforms 📊
5. Over 3,400 remote-working survey responses gathered in just four days 💬

And in other news....have you seen our NEW Skill Builder for HR series? Hub members will receive 2 free Skill Builder places as part of their subscription.  Find out what's on offer HERE.

1. Case Law Reviews
2. AI and Employment Law
3. Future planning
4. More than 3,400 remote working responses in just four days
5. Three-quarters of businesses expect auto-enrolment to hit profits
6. Ireland fifth best in EU for women representation on listed boards
7. Competition watchdog warns professions on hiring rules
8. Gen Alpha expects flexible working and four-day week to be the norm
9. Just In Case You Missed It....
10. HR Developments
11. Employment News in the Media
12. Friends of Legal Island

A Worker v Local Authority [2025] IR - SC - 00003563

Summary: A long-serving employee claims an unconsulted redeployment was an informal disciplinary sanction, while the employer insists it was routine operational management. This case highlights how unclear processes and missing documentation can escalate disputes.

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should ensure that any movement arising from complaints is managed through a clear and documented process. First, all allegations should be put to the employee in writing, with adequate detail to allow a meaningful response. Second, no redeployment should occur until a preliminary investigation is completed and the employee has had the opportunity to participate fully. Third, employers should retain full records to ensure accountability and organisational continuity, particularly where personnel change over time. If redeployment is required for genuine operational reasons, consultation is essential. Employers should explain the rationale, consider alternatives, and document the employee’s input. Finally, delays in responding to grievances or reviewing disputed decisions can themselves become a procedural defect.

Read the full Review here: A Worker v Local Authority [2025]

A Female Complainant v The Health Service Executive [2025]

Summary: A sexual harassment complaint exposed gaps in workplace protection, with the alleged harasser remaining in post for over a year despite reported misconduct. A stark reminder of the importance of timely action and robust safeguards.

Practical Guidance for Employers: 

Employers should:

• Treat sexual-harassment allegations as urgent safety concerns, implementing immediate protective measures that prioritise the complainant. This may include precautionary suspension of the alleged harasser, rota separation, and secure workspace arrangements. However, never actions that disadvantage the complainant. Early HR involvement, clear communication, and access to a support contact are essential to prevent further harm and demonstrate procedural fairness.
   
  
• Investigate promptly, follow policy rigorously, and conclude within a reasonable timeframe. Employers should gather evidence without delay, interview witnesses, document all steps, and escalate matters where misconduct is admitted or safeguarding measures are breached. If internal HR resources are unavailable or conflicted, an independent investigator should be appointed. Prolonged delays or weak enforcement will be viewed as a denial of natural justice.
   
  
• Prove they took all reasonably practicable steps to prevent harassment. This requires strong policies, regular staff training, visible reporting channels, and consistent disciplinary enforcement. Safeguarding must focus on restricting the perpetrator and not the complainant.

Read the full Review here: A Female Complainant v The Health Service Executive [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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75% fear AI is unfairly rejecting job applications

Three out of four jobseekers fear AI could be unfairly rejecting their job applications, a new survey has found. A majority feel automation is making some aspects of the recruitment process “impersonal and dismissive”, the Collins McNicholas Workforce Insights Report shows. Business Plus has more on this story.

EU firms disclosing more detail on use of artificial intelligence

Europe’s largest companies are increasing their disclosure of AI-related practices and governance by providing “significantly more” information on their policies which “improves transparency and confirms accountability”, a new report has found. The latest Decoding AI Disclosure report, produced by FTI Consulting, Trinity College Dublin, and Mason Hayes & Curran Research, is an analysis of the AI-related statements in the annual and sustainability reports of Europe’s 50 largest companies in the STOXX Europe 50 Index, reports the Irish Examiner.

AI for HR Weekly Podcast with Barry Phillips 🎙️

This week's episode: Annual Review AI Keynote– Six Takeaways

You can tune into the latest episode right here - or, if you’re on the move, why not take us with you?

Listen on all major platforms: 🎧 Spotify🎧 Amazon Music 🎧 Apple Podcasts

Simply search for “AI for HR Weekly Podcast” and enjoy expert insights anytime, anywhere.

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European employers unprepared for pay transparency and AI reforms

Preparedness among employers in Europe remains limited despite major regulatory reforms on AI implementation and pay transparency impacting their organisations next year, according to a new report from Littler. Only 24% of European employers also said they are very prepared to comply with the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which has a local implementation deadline in June 2026. HRD magazine has more on this.

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A public consultation seeking views on the right to request remote working, which opened on Tuesday, has already received 3,427 responses. The bulk of them, 3,205, came from employees, with the remaining 222 responses categorised as coming from employer/other. RTÉ has more here.

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RTÉ reports just over three-quarters of businesses expect pension auto-enrolment to negatively impact profitability in 2026, according to new research. A nationwide survey conducted by FRS Recruitment found that many companies are planning to either raise prices or freeze hiring plans in a bid to mitigate the additional costs. The average business is facing a €25,000 increase in employee related costs from next year due to the introduction of the auto-enrolment scheme 'My Future Fund', according to the study.

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Ireland now has the fifth best representation of women on the boards of listed companies in the EU, a marked improvement on 16th in 2018, according to a new report. The biggest listed Irish companies have now exceeded the 40 per cent threshold set out by the EU’s Gender Balance on Corporate Boards Directive, the eight annual report by Balance for Better Business (B4BB) found. More from the Irish Times. 
 
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Professional bodies should scrutinise rules that may hinder workers from moving between employers, competition watchdogs warned, after Chartered Accountants Ireland axed a restriction on trainees seeking new jobs. Up to recently, the accountants’ organisation barred trainees from interviewing for jobs with other firms without their current employer’s permission, which the recruiting company then had to confirm, reports the Irish Times. 

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The vast majority of teenagers believe their jobs will dramatically differ from those of their parents in terms of commuting, flexibility and working with AI. Research from the hybrid workspaces group IWG shows that 86% of Gen Alpha expect their working lives to have transformed from those of their parents and that office life with be unrecognisable from what we know today. Less than a third (29%) of 11 to 17-year-olds believe they will travel more than 30 minutes to work as their parents currently do on average, as most expect to have the flexibility to work closer to where they live. You can read more from Business Plus. 

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WRC signals that discrimination in the recruitment process comes at a cost

Interview missteps cost one employer €85k. Is your hiring process at risk? Aoife Gallagher-Watson
from EY Law Ireland provides essential guidance.

Stop Planning, Start Diagnosing: Why Most 2026 People Strategies Miss the Point

As organisations move into their 2026 planning cycles, the familiar rhythm begins: leaders gather their priorities, departments draft ambitious action lists, and HR teams start building out the People Plan. It all looks productive on the surface, but there’s a quiet truth many businesses overlook - most People Plans aren’t really strategic. They are activity lists. Neatly organised, sometimes beautifully designed, but still fundamentally just collections of HR tasks. And while they might demonstrate busyness, they rarely move the organisation forward. Katie Fox of MCS Recruitment has more. 

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HR Must Help Leaders Routinize Change to Bolster Adoption

This report from Gartner HR Leaders Magazine highlights how CHROs can avoid missteps in adjusting their organization's approach to change, as well as how CHROs can support CEO's other top priorities. Most leaders unsuccessfully try to inspire change adoption by painting a vision of a better future. To reap the benefits of change adoption, CHROs — the key facilitators of change — must encourage leaders to routinize change instead, making it second nature for employees to adopt frequent changes. You can download the latest Gartner report here.

Office Christmas parties linked to 40 tribunals a year, analysis finds

As office Christmas party season approaches, HR must ensure that any festive celebrations do not create unnecessary employment tribunal risks. Seasonal celebrations are a common source of workplace conflict, according to analysis of employment tribunal decisions by benefits platform YuLife. Since 2017, 322 tribunal claims in the UK referenced incidents at Christmas parties, representing an average of 40 cases every festive season. More from People Management.

Online safety when building your professional profile

Laura Thomson-Staveley explains why women need to balance living a public life with personal security in this article for People Management.

Are managers increasingly lacking authority at work?

A survey of over 500 UK line managers, commissioned by Breathe HR, found that while line managers are tasked with responsibility, they often lack authentic power and authority within their organisation. This phenomenon, which experts are calling the “authority gap”, might include lacking the power to influence and make key decisions autonomously, control budgets, and shape team objectives, despite having a managerial role. HR Director has more here.

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Workers from across the island of Ireland will participate in a coordinated Workplace Day of Action for Palestine today. Workers from across the island of Ireland will participate in a coordinated Workplace Day of Action for Palestine today (Friday 28th November), with thousands expected to join demonstrations, workplace actions, and solidarity events calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza and Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. More. 

Several dozen Bank of Ireland staff pension fund (BSPF) members protested outside the bank’s South Mall branch in Cork last week over reductions to their pensions. Paul Harty, a member of the Justice for the BSPF group, explained that reductions were introduced in 2010 and again in 2013, and that BSPF members agreed these as a result of the “dire financial state” of the bank during the financial crash. A group of 80 pension members protested to show their frustration, and to demand that the pension changes be reversed in light of the huge profits that Bank of Ireland are reporting. More from Echo Live.

A Shannon-based Halal meat plant operator has been ordered to pay total compensation of over €40,000 to a part-time, female worker who the WRC held was sexually harassed when a man described in the decision as the director of the company sought a head massage in return for assistance with her work hours, pay and employment permit. The Irish Mirror has more on this.

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CIPD HR Award Finalists

Congratulations to the finalists from all at Legal Island. 

Enjoy your weekend!

Legal Island

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