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Welcome to our Q4 2025 Employment Update. This
newsletter aims to provide key updates, expert analysis and
actionable guidance to help navigate the ever-changing world of
employment law.
In this edition, we look back at the key legal and regulatory
changes in employment law that developed in 2025, including new
legislation on contractual retirement ages, revisions to the
European Works Councils Directive, confirmation of the EU Minimum
Wage Directive, promotion of collective bargaining, the launch of a
gender pay gap portal and more.
Podcast: The EU Pay Transparency Directive
In this episode of our podcast series, Louise O'Byrne, Partner, and Hannah O'Farrell, Senior Associate, in our Employment Group discuss the incoming EU Pay Transparency Directive, in particular its implementation, key changes that will be brought about by the Directive, and the practical impact of new employee information rights.
The discussion focuses on how employers can prepare for the Directive, and what impact the Directive will have in practice.
Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025
The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 has been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas and will now go to the President to be signed into law. Once law, a commencement order will be required before the changes introduced by the Bill become effective. The Bill adopts a consent-based approach to the issue of contractual retirement ages. It provides that where an employee is subject to a contractual retirement age ("CRA") that is less than the pensionable age and does not consent to retire at the CRA, they must notify their employer in writing:
- at least 3 months but not more than 1 year before the date on which they would reach the CRA; or
- where the employer notification period is greater than 3 months, not less than the employer notification period or the period of 6 months, whichever is shorter.
Significantly, the Bill introduces a new offence in respect of which both bodies corporate and individuals can be prosecuted.
Verizon judgment
signals new EWC rules needed promptly
In a significant development for European Works Councils ("EWCs") in Ireland, the High Court, in Charpentier v Verizon Ireland Limited, has set aside Labour Court decisions concerning Verizon's obligations under the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Act 1996. The judgment provides important clarification on the interpretation of section 17 of the TICEA and its alignment with EU Directive 2009/38/EC on the establishment of a European Works Council.
READ MORE ON THE VERIZON JUDGMENT
Revised European
Works Councils Directive adopted by the EU
The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have now adopted a new Directive to revise the European Works Councils Directive 2009/38/EC. This marks a significant step towards the EU's stated intention of strengthening the role of EWCs within multinational corporations operating across EU and EEA Member States. Building on the European Commission's 2024 proposals and shaped by extensive negotiations, the revised framework, once passed into law, will introduce a number of substantial reforms designed to reinforce workers' rights to information and consultation at the transnational level.
Court of Justice
of the European Union upholds EU Minimum Wage Directive
The European Court of Justice upheld the legality of most
provisions of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages after
Denmark sought its annulment in full. The Directive, adopted in
2022, was intended to promote adequate statutory minimum wages and
strengthen collective bargaining across the European Union.
Denmark argued that the Directive amounted to direct interference
in the determination of pay and the right of association, areas
reserved to Member States under the Treaties. It claimed that the
Directive undermined the division of powers between the EU and
national governments. The Court rejected this argument, stating
that the exclusion of EU competence in these fields did not cover
measures linked to pay or association, nor measures that might have
indirect effects on pay levels. It explained that, without such
scope, EU powers on working conditions would be deprived of
substance.
After examining the Directive's purpose and content, the Court
identified direct interference only in two provisions. The first
concerned the requirement for Member States with statutory minimum
wages to apply specific criteria when setting and updating those
wages. The second related to the rule preventing a reduction in
minimum wages where national law provided for automatic indexation.
These provisions were annulled as they exceeded EU legislative
competence. The remainder of the Directive was upheld.
Ireland's
Action Plan to promote collective bargaining
The Government has published Ireland's Action Plan to
Promote Collective Bargaining, designed to strengthen the
country's tradition of voluntary industrial relations. The plan
aims to foster constructive dialogue between employers and workers,
enhance economic resilience, and ensure Ireland remains competitive
and socially cohesive. It reiterates that collective bargaining is
central to Ireland's industrial relations policy and responds
to the EU Adequate Minimum Wage Directive, which requires Member
States with low coverage to develop such plans.
The Action Plan is structured around five themes:
- understanding collective bargaining and its impacts through research;
- empowering and encouraging social partners and reversing declining union membership;
- promoting awareness and access, including a Code of Practice and tax incentives;
- protecting rights through legislative review and mediation options;
- and supporting industrial relations institutions such as the WRC and Labour Court through modernisation.
Gender pay gap
reporting updates
The Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 20A) (Gender Pay Gap
Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2025 were signed into law at
the end of May 2025. The Regulations extended gender pay reporting
obligations to employers with 50 or more employees, reducing the
previous threshold of 150 employees. For more information on the
Regulations, see our Insights Blog post: Changes to gender pay gap reporting signed into
law
The Government's Gender Pay Gap Portal launched on a voluntary
basis only for 2025 in partnership with IBEC and the 30% Club,
enabling member employers to submit reports via the Portal.
Employers are still required to publish their reports on their own
websites or otherwise ensure they are publicly accessible in 2025.
Legislation is currently being drafted to amend the Gender Pay Gap
Information Act 2021, which will establish a legal requirement for
employers to report gender pay gap data through the online Portal
from 2026.
READ MORE ON THE GENDER PAY GAP PORTAL
Revenue amnesty
for employee misclassification
The Office of the Revenue Commissioners Revenue has announced
that employers can correct payroll tax issues for 2024 and 2025
arising from bona fide employment classification errors,
following the Supreme Court's recent judgment in Revenue
Commissioners v Karshan (Midlands) Ltd t/a Domino's Pizza,
without the imposition of interest and penalties, in accordance
with certain settlement terms published by Revenue.
Revenue encourages employers, who having acted in good faith
relying on the case law and guidance available prior to
Karshan, but who may have misclassified employees as
contractors, to take this opportunity to regularise their tax
affairs.
Revenue issues new
guidance on termination payments and recoupment of overpayments of
salary
Revenue has updated the Tax and Duty Manual on Payments on
Termination of an Office or Employment or Removal from an Office or
Employment. The principal update incorporated was to account for
the impact of unpaid leave on the calculation of the taxable amount
of any ex-gratia lump sum payment.
The guidance now explicitly confirms that income provided under an
employer-sponsored health insurance scheme is considered part of
remuneration as a taxable emolument and should be included in the
Standard Capital Superannuation Benefit (SCSB) calculation.
Revenue has also updated the Tax and Duty Manual on Recoupment of
Overpayments of Salary by an Employer from an Employee, which can
be accessed here.
Protection of
Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Amendment Bill 2024
The Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) (Amendment) Bill 2025 is currently before Dáil Éireann. The Bill proposes amendments to the Protection of Employees (Employers' Insolvency) Act 1984, including the introduction of an Employer Deemed Insolvent Application, a Historical Employer Deemed Insolvent Application, and provisions for cases where an employer becomes insolvent through an insolvency arrangement within the meaning of the Personal Insolvency Act 2012.
European Union
(Gender Balance on Boards of Certain Companies) Regulations
2025
The European Union (Gender Balance on Boards of Certain Companies) Regulations 2025 transposes EU Directive 2022/2381 into Irish law. The Regulations apply to "applicable listed companies" (large Irish incorporated companies listed on an EU regulated market) which are subject to the objective of having at least 40% of non-executive directors being members of the "underrepresented sex" by 30 June 2026.
Government
Legislation Programme - Autumn 2025
The Equality and Family Leaves (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill
is listed for priority drafting in the Autumn 2025 legislative
sessions. The Bill will provide for amendments to the Employment
Equality and Equal Status Acts arising from a review of equality
legislation. It will also introduce provisions for surrogacy leave
and leave for pregnancy loss. Pre-legislative scrutiny is underway,
and revised Heads are currently in preparation. The Government
previously published Heads of Bill (see our update on the Heads of
Bill: Significant Changes to Equality Legislation
Proposed) but these are expected to be significantly amended in
the next published version. The elements relating to the EU Pay
Transparency Directive are likely to be extracted and included in a
standalone Pay Transparency Bill.
The Gender Pay Gap Information (Amendment) Bill, the Pay
Transparency Bill and the Registration of Trade Unions Bill are
listed in the 'All Other Legislation' section of the
Programme.
The Pay Transparency Bill will transpose the EU Pay Transparency
Directive. Heads of Bill are currently in preparation.
The Registration of Trade Unions Bill will modernise and
consolidate existing legislation regarding the registration
requirements for trade unions. Heads are in preparation.
GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION PROGRAMME
Public
consultation on the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions
Act 2023 launched
The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment launched a public consultation in November to gather views on the effectiveness of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 in providing the new entitlements, to evaluate the clarity of the legislation, and to identify any unintended consequences.
A survey and
public consultation on the European Union's Platform Work
Directive
On 6 October 2025, the Minister of State for Employment, Small
Business and Retail announced a survey and public consultation
seeking stakeholders' views on Directive (EU) 2024/2831 (the
"Platform Work Directive"), which aims
to improve working conditions in platform work. Responses from
stakeholders and interested parties were required by 3 November
2025. The Directive is due to be transposed by 2 December
2026.
On 26 November, the Minister of State confirmed that work on the
transposition of the Platform Work Directive remains ongoing, and
the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment is committed
to making progress.
A review of the
Code of Practice on access to part-time working
The WRC has been asked by the Minister of State at the
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to carry out a
review of the obstacles to performing part-time work and to make
recommendations for any updates to the Code of Practice on Access
to Part-Time Working.
AI and Employment
Law: Lessons from Oliveira v Ryanair Case and WRC Guidance on Use
of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming workplaces
globally, presenting both opportunities and challenges for
employers and employees alike. The recent Workplace Relations
Commission (WRC) decision from October 2025 in Oliveira v
Ryanair DAC provides a timely lens through which to examine
the practical and legal consequences of the increasing use of AI in
an employment context, and in particular, in employment disputes.
Following on from this case, the WRC has published guidance on the
use of AI tools to prepare material for submission to the WRC. This
guidance can be found here.
In our recent briefing, we explore two emerging topics:
- The increasing frequency with which employers are receiving grievances generated in full or in part by AI, and the significant challenges these present for employers; and
- The opportunities and risks associated with the use by employers of AI in the workplace.
Law Society
Guidelines for the use of generative AI
The Law Society of Ireland has published guidelines for the use
of generative artificial intelligence by the legal profession in
Ireland.
By way of high-level overview, the guidelines provide an
introduction and overview of GenAI tools involving large language
models (LLMs) and their key characteristics. They highlight the
potential uses and limitations of LLMs such as ChatGPT, Copilot and
similar products, setting out a non-exhaustive list of tasks
suitable for working with LLMs and a non-exhaustive list of tasks
not suitable for working with LLMs, including tasks that are more
likely to generate hallucinated outputs.
WRC Strategy
Statement 2025-2027
The WRC has published its Strategy Statement for 2025–2027. It sets out the following key strategic ambitions:
- Increasing accessibility to its services for all
- Strengthening compliance in high-risk sectors
- Improving efficiency across all services
- Building a modern, data-informed, adaptive and agile organisation
- Enhancing resilience and fostering a positive culture
- Launching and embedding the Knowledge, Information and Advisor Division
- Empowering service-user-led resolution over imposed solution
The Workplace
Relations Commission's ten-year anniversary case report
To mark the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the
Workplace Relations Commission ("WRC"),
the WRC has released a report providing case summaries of key legal
issues arising in decisions issued by Adjudication Officers in
2024.
First award given
under the Right to Request Remote Working legislation
The WRC ordered Salesforce to pay €1,000 to an employee for failing to comply with the statutory four-week deadline to respond to a formal remote working request under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. The employee submitted his request on 10 June 2024, but Salesforce did not reply within the required timeframe, only responding on 11 July and later refusing the request. The Adjudication Officer found that this delay, although brief, constituted a breach of the Act and warranted compensation.
Decision looks
behind the 'corporate veil' to decide status of worker
The case arose from a contractual arrangement between Mr
Lingard's private limited company, PSL (Aberdeen) Ltd, and
Randridge International Ltd. Initially, PSL was retained to provide
Mr Lingard's services on an independent contractor basis. In
April 2024, shortly before the arrangement ended, he claimed he had
become an employee and brought a claim for unpaid wages under the
Payment of Wages Act 1991. Randridge disagreed, pointing to
provisions in the agreement between Randridge and PSL, stating he
was not entitled to employment rights.
The WRC applied the tests set out in Karshan, considering
remuneration, personal service, control, and whether these factors
aligned with an employment relationship. It found that payment
through PSL, limited substitution, and contractual controls such as
clocking in, deadlines, and restrictions on other work pointed to
employee status. The WRC concluded Mr Lingard was an employee and
ordered Randridge to pay the outstanding invoices as wages.
New National
Minimum Wage
The National Minimum Wage Order 2025 S.I. No. 472 of 2025 will come into operation on 1 January 2026. It increases the national minimum hourly wage rate to €14.15.
Amended Sectoral
Employment Order for the Construction Sector
S.I. No. 620 of 2024 – Sectoral Employment Order
(Construction Sector) 2024 amends the Sectoral Employment Order
(Construction Sector) 2023, S.I. No. 207 of 2023 and took effect on
1 August 2025.
This legally binding Order applies to all construction workers,
including apprentices. It provides for increases in pay and
pensions as follows:
- a 3.4% increase in hourly rates from 1 August 2025;
- a 3.2% increase in hourly rates from 1 August 2026;
- a corresponding increase in pension contributions; and
- an increase in employers' sick pay contribution to €2.37 per worker per week, in line with the recent agreement reached with ICTU at the WRC.
New Employment
Regulation Orders for early years' sector
Employment Regulation (Amendment) Order (Early Years' Service Joint Labour Committee) No. 1 and No. 2, S.I. No. 477 and 478 of 2025 have been published. These Orders set the statutory minimum rates of remuneration and other conditions for the following categories of workers: Early Years Educators and School Age Childcare Practitioners, Lead Educators, School Age Childcare Coordinators including graduate rate, Deputy/Assistant Managers, and Centre Managers including graduate rate.
ERO for the
contract cleaning industry
A new Employment Regulation Order for the contract cleaning industry came into effect on 17 October 2025. It sets a new minimum hourly rate of pay at €14.10, which will increase to €14.80 on 1 January 2026 for workers in the sector.
Minimum annual
remuneration for employment permits: outcome of the Roadmap Review
2025
A new roadmap has been published which outlines a gradual
approach to increasing minimum salary thresholds across all
employment permit types, while removing very low thresholds on a
phased basis for certain roles in the agri-food and healthcare
sectors.
From 1 March 2026:
- minimum salary for General Employment Permits will rise from €34,000 to €36,605
- minimum salary for Critical Skills Employment Permits will increase from €38,000 to €40,904
- for meat processors, horticultural workers, healthcare assistants, and home carers, the minimum salary will increase from €30,000 to €32,691
Pensions Auto
Enrolment: My Future Fund registration required by 31 December
As the 1 January 2026 implementation date for pensions automatic
enrolment approaches, the Government is engaging with employers and
the pensions industry on My Future Fund. Registration for the My
Future Fund portal is now open. Employers should register and
complete their profile by 31 December 2025, set up a payment
method, and expect communications from the National Auto-Enrolment
Retirement Savings Authority. Even employers who believe all
employees are in exempt employment are strongly advised to
register.
The Government also plans to introduce regulations setting minimum
standards for occupational pension schemes and PRSAs to qualify as
exempt employment. Employers may need to amend arrangements or
enrol employees into My Future Fund if standards are not met.
Details and timing are not yet confirmed, so we recommend adopting
a wait and see approach until further information is published.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
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