Employment

Northern Ireland's Labour Relations Agency (LRA) marked Belfast Pride Festival 2024 with a panel discussion on the impact of domestic abuse and violence within the workplace, particularly focusing on the LGBTQIA+ community. The 'Safe at Home, Safe at Work' event, featuring panellists from local supp

New legislation is to ensure that women undergoing treatment for cancer or other serious illnesses will not be forced to use maternity leave during treatment. The general scheme of the Maternity Protection (Amendment) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2024 will allow mothers who require treatment fo

Over £300,000 has been awarded to a Caterpillar NI employee in what is believed to be one of the highest-ever individual awards for equal pay in Northern Ireland. McCartan Turkington Breen Solicitors acted on behalf of Shona Boyle, who brought a complaint in July 2018 in respect of the differe

Aisling Muldowney and Aoife Clarke of A&L Goodbody explain the risks of 'employer of record' arrangements in Irish law. We have seen a significant increase in the volume of queries in relation to employers of record arrangements, from both employer of record service providers and end user client

The Irish government is seeking views on EU proposals to improve the working conditions of trainees. The European Commission's proposed Traineeships Directive aims to improve and better enforce working conditions of trainees and to combat employment relationships disguised as traineeships.

The High Court has determined that a woman who was handed an envelope containing a P45 without any explanation whilst on sick leave during her pregnancy was the subject of discrimination and did not have to make further enquiries as to whether this constituted a dismissal. Delivering judgment for th

EU rules on collective redundancies still apply where a business is winding down as a result of the owner's retirement, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has ruled. In Case C‑196/23 Plamaro, the court considered whether a Spanish law excluding "cases of the death, retirement or inc

Northern Ireland's Labour Relations Agency (LRA) is to host a panel discussion on the challenges faced by LGBTQIA+ employees experiencing domestic violence and abuse. The 'Safe at Home, Safe at Work' event, taking place during Belfast Pride Festival 2024, will provide employers with insights and str

Lewis Silkin has welcomed a consultation on far-reaching proposed employment law reforms in Northern Ireland. Paul Gillen, partner in the firm's Belfast office, said it represents the first major employment law consultation in more than 10 years and promises to overhaul several areas of employment r

A public consultation has been launched on employment law reforms in Northern Ireland. The Employment Rights Bill will address issues including zero-hours contracts, so-called "fire and re-hire" practices, the operation of trade unions and work-life balance issues including the right to disconnect a

New protections for employees in a collective redundancy situation following their employer's insolvency have come into effect today. The Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Act 2024, which also provides for the establishment of a new statutory

Kane Tuohy employment lawyer Triona Cody welcomes a ruling from the Supreme Court on mandatory retirement ages in a case brought by a sheriff who sought to continue in the role past the age of 70. The recent Supreme Court decision in Seamus Mallon v The Minister for Justice, Ireland, and The Attorne

Barry Crushell examines a case highlighting the very difficult hurdles employees often face in bringing claims of constructive dismissal. The case of Mark Lowry v JJ Fleming and Company Limited (ADJ00036677) examines the burden of proof issues that often arise in constructive dismissal claims. Uniqu

New legislation is to expand access to the Insolvency Payments Scheme to protect employees of employers who cease trading without entering into liquidation, receivership or bankruptcy. The general scheme of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2024 also proposes

Business leaders must quickly get to grips with coming changes to employment permit legislation to avoid facing costly fines and other penalties, Fragomen Ireland has said. The Employment Permits Bill, which is expected to soon become law, will make a number of changes to how businesses can attract