Thursday, 07 May 2026
09:00 - 13:00
(
4 hours )
In Person
Employment Law in Ireland’s Public Sector is an annual event delivered by Legal Island and the award-winning Employment Team at Byrne Wallace Shields LLP.
On 7 May, this year’s event will focus on the key employment law developments from the past 12–18 months that are most relevant to public sector employers.
Public sector organisations operate in a highly regulated environment, with increased scrutiny from the Courts and the WRC when employment and industrial relations issues arise.
At the same time, the landscape continues to evolve. Ongoing legal developments mean HR professionals must ensure their policies, procedures and practices remain up to date — not only to maintain compliance, but to reduce the risk of costly claims, awards and reputational damage.
Getting this right protects your organisation and helps avoid unnecessary time, cost and disruption.
This event is tailored for HR professionals working across the public sector.
Led by experts from the Byrne Wallace Shields LLP Employment Law Team, you will gain practical guidance on:
The focus is on real-world application — helping you deal with challenges more efficiently and with less stress.
Byrne Wallace Shields LLP is widely recognised as a top-tier Irish law firm and a trusted advisor to the public sector. The firm works with a broad range of organisations, including government departments, local authorities, regulatory and semi-state bodies, as well as universities, healthcare and education providers, and organisations across sectors such as energy, transport and agriculture.
With over 50 years of experience advising the public sector, their team brings a deep understanding of the challenges you face, along with clear and practical advice to help you manage them effectively.
The aim is for the conference to be as topical as possible, and the programme below may change depending on developments in the area of employment law.
This event is aimed at HR professionals and other persons with an interest in HR and employment law in the public sector and semi-state bodies.
Here's what to expect at Employment Law in the Public Sector:
A light breakfast of coffee, tea, pastries and fruit will be provided.
Laura McKee, Knowledge Partner at Legal Island, will open the event with an introduction to the day ahead.
EU Member States have until 7 June 2026 to implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive 2023/970. The Directive aims to enhance pay transparency and improve access to redress for workers who allege gender-based pay discrimination. The Directive also requires employers to report on the gender pay gap between categories of workers. The implementation is intended to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women. The Equality and Family Leaves (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 is in draft form. The Department of Children, Disability and Equality has indicated that implementation of the Directive will happen on “a phased” basis in Ireland.
In this session, we will consider the key elements of the Directive, how it is likely to affect employers in Ireland, and specifically public sector employers, and what are the key steps employers can take now to prepare for implementation.
Includes a Q&A session.
With the implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive, the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value (particularly between men and women) will be very topical over the next 12 to 18 months. Despite equal pay being a core element of the Equality Directive and Employment Equality Act, Ireland and the EU still face issues with equal pay, with surveys showing that the EU wide gender pay gap is approx. 11% and the gender pay gap in Ireland is approx. 8%. In the UK, many key equal pay “class actions” have involved public sector bodies (local authorities and NHS trusts) and this is likely to be an area of growth in Ireland following the implementation of the Directive.
In this session, we discuss the key elements of equal pay protection and recent case law in the area.
Includes a Q&A session.
Employment equality is always a key area for public sector employers, as they aim to become an employer of choice for an increasingly diverse workforce. In this session we will focus key developments in this area, to include:
Includes a Q&A session.
There have been a number of important case law and other developments since our last event in 2025. Here are just a few of the key issues we will cover at this year’s event:
This session will cover the most relevant and important employment cases as of May 2026 for public sector employers and, consequently, the actual cases covered may vary from those currently shown.
Includes a Q&A session.
Here's what our previous attendees had to say about Employment Law in the Public Sector event.
Emmet Whelan is a partner at Byrne Wallace Shields LLP, specialising in employment law. He advises on a broad range of contentious and non-contentious matters, including employment litigation before the Rights Commissioner, Employment Appeals Tribunal, Equality Tribunal, Labour Court, Circuit Court and High Court.
He has lectured on the Employment Law course at Griffith College Dublin and tutored on the Law Society Professional Course. He also regularly provides employment law training and seminars to clients and professional bodies. Emmet has published employment law articles in the Irish Employment Law Journal, Employment Law Review and the Journal of Public Affairs Ireland and is a co-author of the text book, Employment Law, and the Law Society Employment Law Manual.
Michelle is a Head of Employment Law at Byrne Wallace Shields LLP, was appointed Senior Counsel by the government in 2024, and is the firm's Compliance Partner. She is also Head of the firm’s Public Sector Group. She has extensive experience in employment, equality and administrative law. Michelle qualified as a solicitor in Northern Ireland, practising there in employment and equality law from 1994 before moving to England and Wales in 1996 and returning to Ireland in 1999 when she joined the firm. Michelle advises public and private sector clients, primarily employers, on complex areas of employment, equality and administrative law.
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