Employment

A female prison officer with 25 years' service with the Irish Prison Service has been awarded €20,000 in the Workplace Relations Commission after it was found that she had been discriminated against on the grounds of gender. Finding that gender discrimination had occurred when the officer had b

A man whose employment was terminated after a dispute arose over paternity leave has been awarded nearly €8,000 in the Workplace Relations Commission. The man had been informed that he was entitled to a period of paid leave, but after approaching his manager, his request for paid leave was decl

A woman who was sexually harassed at work for over six months after she returned from maternity leave has been awarded €40,000 in the Workplace Relations Commission. The woman stated that she was sexually harassed on a regular basis in front of managers of the retail store she worked in, and th

Jill Gracey, senior associate at A&L Goodbody in Belfast, considers the issue of holiday pay from the perspective of employers. Almost every employer in Northern Ireland will be aware of the 'PSNI Holiday Pay case' as it progresses through the Northern Ireland courts.

The Supreme Court has held that the Employment Equality Acts requires the distribution of essential duties must be considered as part of a “reasonable accommodation” to accommodate employees with a disability, and that the Court of Appeal erred in making a distinction between “task

BT has lost an appeal against the finding that it was liable for disability discrimination for failing to make reasonable adjustments in its recruitment process for a man with Asperger’s Syndrome. Finding that there was no error in the reasoning or in the fact finding of the Industrial Tribuna

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates considers recent cases illustrating the different means of recourse for pregnancy-related dismissal. In case ADJ18062, being a case of a waitress and a restaurant, the Adjudication Officer quoted the case of O'Brien –v-

Audrey Whyte, associate in the employment, immigration and reward team at Lewis Silkin in Dublin, writes on a recent Labour Court decision. A recent Labour Court decision reminds employers that they could be ordered to re-employ employees they have unfairly dismissed. Employers should also consider

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates writes on a case concerning maternity leave. The case EDA1919, being G4S Secure Solutions (Ireland) Limited and Kelly, is a decision of the Labour Court of 12th June 2019.

Legislation providing for the phased introduction of eight additional weeks of unpaid parental leave has been brought into force. Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan yesterday signed the commencement order for the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2019, which was originally introduced as a private member

Embassies cannot rely on diplomatic immunity to prevent workers from bringing claims under Irish employment law, the Labour Court has said. The Labour Court has determined that an academic adviser working at the Kuwaiti Cultural Office in Dublin may bring an unfair dismissal case which the Workplace

New legislation aims to tackle the misuse of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), also known as confidentiality clauses, in the workplace – including those being used to cover up sexual harassment, racial discrimination and assault. NDAs can be used by businesses for a number of legitimate reason

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan of Richard Grogan & Associates clarifies some key points on the law of disability discrimination. The issue of disability discrimination arose in a case of Houses of the Oireachtas and Thomas Hickey EDA1918, where the Labour Court addressed this issue.

A school has lost its appeal against the finding that a teacher who signed a “fixed term” contract two years after she began teaching in the school was unfairly dismissed when her contract was terminated. Finding that the contract was void because it purported to waive the statutory prot

Employers will be banned from counting workers' tips as part of their contractual wages under new Government plans. A draft heads of bill approved by ministers proposes to amend the Payment of Wages Act to ensure that tips and gratuities cannot be used to satisfy a person's contractual wages.