Employment

A farm manager who was employed by a food company for over ten years before he was summarily dismissed has had his complaint under the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 dismissed. The complainant alleged that his dismissal was based on his refusal to sign fraudulent claim forms for EU payments, and that th

A university lecturer has had her request for the re-run of an allegedly unfair and biased promotions scheme refused by the Workplace Relations Commission. However, stating that she was “struck by the lack of a formalised detailed processes that would be expected around a promotions scheme suc

Irish employers face legal, business and reputational risk if they are not in compliance with recently introduced and upcoming protective leave legislation, William Fry has warned. The firm recently hosted a roundtable discussion on the topic of work-life integration, addressing protective leave and

A lecturer who was subject to sexual harassment by students in her class has been awarded €10,000 in the Labour Court. Finding that Waterford Institute of Technology “did not take such steps as were reasonably practicable to prevent sexual harassment and harassment based on gender”

A woman who applied for trainee solicitor posts in Dublin has lost her complaints against firms which she said had discriminated against her on grounds of gender, age and civil status. The woman brought claims against multiple Irish law firms, complaining, inter alia, that males are preferred over f

Former Labour Court chair and barrister Dr Kevin Duffy has been awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws by UCD Sutherland School of Law. As a senior trade unionist, Dr Duffy represented the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) in negotiations with the Department of Labour which resulted in the

The Employment Law Association of Ireland (ELAI) has launched the first in a new series of podcasts on key issues in employment law. The first episode of the podcast, now available for download, features an interview with the association's current chair, Peter Murphy, partner at Dublin-based O'Mara

The PSNI will attempt to appeal a landmark ruling on holiday pay directly to the UK Supreme Court, according to reports. The Court of Appeal in Belfast ruled in June that PSNI officers can pursue claims for holiday pay from the date of commencement of the Working Time Regulations (NI) 1998, and are

A woman who was made redundant two weeks after she informed her employer of her pregnancy, has been awarded €55,000 in the Workplace Relations Commission. Finding that the company had failed to establish that there was no link between the woman’s pregnancy and her redundancy, Adjudication

Andrea McCann, employment partner at John McKee in Belfast, looks at how employers can enforce restrictive covenants through the courts. Employees are integral to the success of all businesses. But when individuals leave to join a competing organisation or set up their own business, they do so knowi

A local authority that failed to increase the salary of one of its employees with 17 years’ service has been told to place the employee on the highest salary scale for his position. Stating that the employee’s dissatisfaction was understandable, Adjudication Officer Ray Flaherty said tha

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates examines the law on constructive dismissal. This is an issue which we constantly come back to, as there are a significant number of cases that go by way of constructive dismissal. The vast majority of these are lost.

An airline has been ordered to repay training costs which were deducted from a pilot’s wages when he resigned from the company within three years of being trained on a new aircraft. The pilot had signed a training bond with the airline when he was based in London, however, when he was relocate

Deirdre Malone, partner in the employment team at Ronan Daly Jermyn, considers the latest developments in a long-running disability discrimination case. Are we there yet? The short answer is no. A cast of thousands has reviewed the decision of Nano Nagle School –v- Marie Daly, but we are no cl

A woman who worked as a financial controller for an engineering firm for over 17 years when she was unfairly dismissed has been awarded €6,680 in the Workplace Relations Commission. Finding that the woman was unfairly selected for redundancy before being summarily dismissed, Adjudication Office