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Join hundreds of HR professionals at our annual conference as we provide you with clear, expert guidance on the latest legal developments in the Irish workplace. Hear from trusted speakers, including Jennifer Cashman, Partner and Head of Employment Group at RDJ LLP and Lefre De Burgh BL, Adjudicator, Workplace Relations Commission, and leave fully prepared for the changes ahead.
Attend in person at the Talbot Hotel Stillorgan, Dublin or live online!
Employment law in Ireland is constantly evolving, and even small changes can affect how you manage people and make decisions.
The challenge is knowing what matters and what action to take.
The Annual Review brings together the key developments from the past year and explains them clearly, with a focus on real workplace impact, delivered by trusted experts, including Jennifer Cashman, Duncan Inverarity, Paul D. Maier BL and other leading voices.
You will leave with a better understanding of what has changed and the confidence to respond appropriately in your role.
"Always an excellent event, with excellent speakers, well informed and great communication skills. Great choice of topics covered on the day!"
Margaret Davern, HR Partner, The National Gallery of Ireland
"Really good range of speakers, and I liked the opportunity to choose between different sessions."
Liz Moylan, Performance and Development Manager, Dublin Bus
Join Ireland’s leading employment law conference and make sure you are fully prepared for the year ahead. This event sells out each year, with limited in-person places and early bird rates available.
With our twin-tracked programme, you can plan a day around what matters most to you. All session recordings are provided after the event.
We will welcome you for registration from 8:30am. From there, you can enjoy our exhibition area and grab a tea or coffee.
Laura McKee, Knowledge Partner, Legal Island, will take the stage to welcome and outline the day ahead.
Jennifer Cashman, Partner and Head of Employment Law, RDJ LLP, takes a look back at the employment law developments that shaped the last year, and the changes, risks and opportunities that lie ahead for employers in Ireland.
Key Takeaways:
One of the most popular sessions at our Annual Review, this session helps HR professionals stay informed about the developments that matter most in practice.
NOTE: The contents of this session may change to reflect what have been the most important and latest developments at November 2026.
Q&A included at the end of the session.
Dr Barry Scannell, Partner, William Fry is one of the world’s leading voices on AI. He advises global technology, media and BigTech organisations and sits on Ireland’s AI Advisory Council.
AI is moving from the margins of business strategy to the heart of leadership decision making. Are you ready?
In this high impact session, Barry will give HR professionals the essential AI update they need going into 2027: the developments that matter, the issues that should be on your leadership agenda and what you need to be thinking about now.
No hype. No overload. Just the insights you need to stay ahead. If you attend just one AI session this year, make it this one.
Q&A included at the end of the session.
Time for a short break. Whether you are online or in person, be sure to visit our exhibitors to discover useful products and services.
If you think pay transparency is a future compliance issue, think again. While we continue to await the transposing national legislation, the reality is that employers are already responding to pay transparency expectations as though the new rules are in force. Caroline will share practical steps HR can take now to put robust, transparent pay practices in place.
Key Takeaways:
Q&A included at the end of the session.
Join Duncan Inverarity, Former Partner & Head of Employment at A&L Goodbody LLP, for an engaging conversation with forward-thinking employers transforming how they attract, retain and support their people:
Karen Hackett, Head of People, PTSB has been confirmed as a panellist. We are currently finalising several exciting additions to the panel and look forward to sharing further announcements in the coming weeks.
Key Takeaways:
Includes Q&A at the end of the session.
This session brings together legal and occupational health perspectives to explore some of the more challenging aspects of reasonable accommodation in practice, including the role of occupational health, neurodiversity, and the balance between individual needs, medical evidence and workplace realities.
Key Takeaways:
Includes Q&A at the end of the session.
With the new retirement age regime and Code of Practice now in force, 2027 will be the real test of how employers balance workforce planning, longer working lives, and individual employee expectations while managing increasingly complex age discrimination risk.
Key Takeaways:
Includes Q&A at the end of the session.
Time to grab some lunch, network and visit the exhibitors online or in person.
Paul D. Maier BL sets out the main developments in ROI cases in 2026. Paul will guide you through the legal labyrinth of recent case law, enabling you to learn from real-life examples and avoid common mistakes to safeguard your organisation.
NOTE: Subjects covered in this session may vary from those shown and will focus on the most important ROI cases by November 2026.
Includes Q&A at the end of the session.
Following the remarkable impact of his leadership programme in Legal Island, we knew this was a conversation that needed to reach a wider audience. Join one of the industry's most respected leadership coaches as he reveals strategies to help top leaders manage challenging conversations with authenticity and, crucially, effectiveness.
Key Takeaways:
Includes Q&A at the end of the session.
This session will look at the growing impact of AI generated employment grievances, which are increasingly complex and often contain irrelevant or inaccurate legal content, and the need to focus on alternative dispute resolution as their use continues to rise.
Key Takeaways:
Includes Q&A at the end of the session.
Today’s workplace spans multiple generations, often framed as a source of friction. This session moves beyond labels to focus on what really drives performance, collaboration and knowledge sharing, and how HR can turn generational diversity into a practical advantage.
Key Takeaways:
Includes Q&A at the end of the session.
Gain practical insights into the WRC adjudication process from an experienced WRC Adjudicator. This session will explore the common issues that arise in adjudication hearings including evidential requirements, case presentation, witness evidence and procedural issues such as time limits and comparator requirements. Gain a clearer understanding of how hearings are conducted, how to prepare effectively and how to avoid common procedural and evidential difficulties.
Key Takeaways:
Includes Q&A at the end of the session.
Four years on from the 2022 reforms and 16 years into Ireland’s protected disclosures regime, this session with Ciara O’Kennedy, Partner, Byrne Wallace Shields LLP takes a sharp look at the reality behind the legislation: when is a complaint really whistleblowing, and when is the protected disclosure regime being used as leverage in a wider workplace dispute?
Key Takeaways:
Includes Q&A at the end of the session.
Here's what previous attendees of the Annual Review of Employment Law have to say:
Jennifer Cashman has more than 20 years’ specialist experience advising a wide range of employers across a number of sectors. Recognised as a Leading Individual in Irish Employment Law in the 2023 edition of The Legal 500 Europe and is also recommended as a Leading Lawyer (Band 1) in Chambers Europe. Recognised thought-leader on various employment law and HR issues, in particular retirement ages and age discrimination. Clients praise Jennifer for her “practical, business-focused advice” and say “she gives "straight answers to straight questions… clearly very experienced and her delivery is fantastic - always clear and to the point."
Michelle Halloran is an experienced Human Resource Management professional and an accredited workplace mediator providing training and consultancy services to organisations nationwide, in the Public and Private sector. She has spent a long career originally in executive and general management roles, then specialising in Human Resources management in Ireland, the UK and Europe, across various sectors including investment banking, information technology, manufacturing and services plus some time in the public sector, before starting her own HR consultancy business 17 years ago. Her key areas of expertise are in workplace investigations, disciplinary and performance management and employee relations, and the practical application of employment law in a HR context.
Duncan Inverarity is a former a partner and Head of A&L Goodbody's Employment Law group and practiced exclusively in the area of employment law and industrial relations in multiple jurisdictions. Duncan advised public and private sector employers on both contentious and non-contentious matters. He advised Board rooms across Ireland and abroad on strategic and complex employment and industrial relations matters. Duncan also specialised in crisis management for clients and advised on some of the most high profile corporate issues in Ireland. Duncan regularly appeared for clients in the Workplace Relations Commission, the Circuit Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Duncan also acted for partnerships in mediated settlements and in proceedings in the High Court.
Paul D Maier is a barrister specialising in the law of work, labour, and employment. Based in Dublin, Ireland, he is a member of the Law Library, having been called to the Bar in 2022.
Paul represents both employers and employees at all levels of the Courts, as well as before the Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission. He is a qualified arbitrator and is frequently commissioned to lead independent investigations and disciplinary procedures for organisations. Additionally, he is regularly engaged to provide legal advice and opinions on employment law and related matters.
Paul serves as the Editor of the Irish Employment Law Journal and Employment Law Report, and he is the Treasurer of the Employment Bar Association.
Luke has consulted for organisations in all parts of Ireland and on four continents. He has specialisations in change management, leadership excellence, strategy development, resilience, conflict and facilitation, also in mentoring and coaching leaders, boards and senior management teams.
He has carried out extensive research into the culture of organisations and how to effect positive change throughout an organisation. He has a long track record in professional development and training as well as a frequent speaker at conferences nationally and internationally.
Cian is a Partner in the Employment Group at Philip Lee LLP and advises both public and private sector clients on all aspects of employment law. He has extensive experience acting for employers and employees in a wide range of contentious and non-contentious employment law matters.
His non-contentious employment law expertise includes advising on contracts and policies for senior employees and large organisations, redundancy procedures (including collective redundancies), workplace investigations, grievances and disciplinary matters, transfer of undertakings protocols and procedures, and immigration matters relating to the employment of foreign nationals in Ireland. He also represents clients in complaints before the Workplace Relations Commission, the Labour Court, and all levels of the courts.
Ciara O'Kennedy is a Partner in the Byrne Wallace Shields LLP Employment Law Team.
Ciara advises on both contentious and non-contentious employment issues, with significant experience in resolving complex disputes involving the removal of senior executives and employee shareholders, to include providing strategic advice on managing the commercial, legal and reputational risks of implementing senior executive terminations, negotiating and drafting severance packages.
Ciara advises on all legal issues arising out of the employment relationship from recruitment to termination, to include preparing employment contracts, advising on TUPE issues, disciplinary matters, unfair dismissals and employment injunctions, together with partnering with clients to provide tailored training workshops and assisting with the implementation and roll out of employment policies. Ciara is a regular speaker at employment events and contributes articles to various publications on employment law issues.
Andrea O’Neill is an Accredited MII mediator, a Masters in Mediation and Conflict Intervention and certification as a CINERGY™ Conflict Management Coach and founder of ACON Resolutions. With over 20 years of experience, she is as passionate as ever about conflict resolution. Andrea believes mediation offers a transformative process to address, understand, listen to, and resolve conflicts. Conflict is a natural part of life, and through mediation, conflict coaching, and training, Andrea helps her clients embrace it as an opportunity for growth and new beginnings.
Aisling advises on all aspects of employment law, in both contentious and non-contentious matters. This work includes advising on all matters arising out of the employer-employee relationship, including employee relations issues, restructuring projects and compliance matters, to name but a few. She regularly advises employers in terms of future-proofing their organisations in respect of upcoming employment laws at a European and Irish level.
Aisling advises clients across a broad range of sectors but most regularly in the leading technology, financial services, professional services and retail & hospitality space.
Caroline Reidy is Head of HR Solutions at NFP and a HR and Employment Law Specialist. Caroline sold her company, The HR Suite, in 2025 to NFP, an AON Company, and as of 17th November 2025 The HR Suite officially rebranded to NFP.
Caroline is a former member of the Low Pay Commission and is also an adjudicator in the Workplace Relations Commission. Caroline is also an independent expert observer appointed by the European Parliament to the Board of Eurofound. Caroline is also on the Board of the Design and Craft Council Ireland and is a Governor on the Board of Munster Technology University.
She has also completed a Master's in Human Resources at the University of Limerick, and she is CIPD accredited as well as being a trained mediator. Caroline completed her diploma in Company direction from the IOD with a Distinction and completed her assessment to become a Chartered Director of the IOD. Caroline had worked across various areas of HR for over 25 years in Kerry Group and in the retail and hospitality sector, where she was the Operations and HR Director of the Garvey Group prior to setting up The HR Suite in 2009.
She has also written 2 books, has done a TEDx and is a regular conference speaker and contributor to national media and is recognised as a thought leader in the area of HR and employment law. Caroline also mentored female entrepreneurs on the Acorns Programme. Originally from Ballyheigue, Co. Kerry, now living in Dublin, is very proud of her Kerry roots.
Bríd Nic Suibhne is a partner in A&L Goodbody's Employment Practice Group and has been with the firm for well over a decade. She supports employers globally across a range of sectors including life sciences, tech, finance, professional services, manufacturing, aviation, healthcare and retail. Clients rely on her support in respect of their most challenging and sensitive employment and HR related issues, both contentious and non-contentious. She has a wealth of experience in complex investigations and crisis management.
Brίd is a skilled litigator and has litigated unfair dismissal claims, breach of contract claims, bullying, discrimination and harassment claims, industrial relations disputes, personal injury actions, judicial reviews and injunctions. She has represented employers in the High Court, Court of Appeal, Circuit Court, Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission.
Bríd can be relied upon to bring technical excellence, commercial acumen and a practical, common-sense approach to complex, urgent and nuanced employment issues.
Dr Hill works as a Senior Occupational Health Physician, Clinical Lead and accredited Trainer with Medmark Occupational Healthcare, Ireland’s largest Occupational Healthcare provider.
Dr Hill is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and a Fellow of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine. She is Deputy Chief Examiner of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland.
Keeping up with fast-changing employment law can mean hours of research, costly briefings, or expensive external advice. That’s why so many HR professionals choose our Annual Review: one focused day of expert-led insights, covering everything that matters, at a fraction of the cost.
Booking is simple. Select how you would like to attend, follow the checkout process, and choose to pay by card or request an invoice at the payment page.
Discount available for group bookings of 5+. Contact louise@legal-island.com to enquire.