Ireland: Employee Rights/ Labour Relations

Does a business restructure or TUPE transfer have any immigration or employment permit implications? The answer is yes: where a restructure involves a TUPE transfer, liability for employing foreign nationals without valid immigration permission will transfer to the new employer, and both parties will need to address their post-transfer notification obligations under the Employment Permits Act 2024.

Arthur Cox unveils its refreshed 2026-2028 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion strategy, building on established foundations through four key pillars focused on gender, sexual orientation, race and ethnicity, and disability and neurodiversity. The firm emphasizes practical approaches to recognizing and supporting difference while maintaining transparency and accountability in delivering on its inclusion ambitions.

Employers face growing challenges in supporting neurodivergent employees, with up to 20% of the global population potentially affected by conditions like ASD, ADHD, and dyslexia. Irish law mandates reasonable accommodations under the Employment Equality Acts, but what constitutes appropriate measures and when does the burden become disproportionate? Recent case law reveals the narrow interpretation of employer defenses and the significant financial consequences of failing to properly assess and implement wo

When a worker raises a protected disclosure in Ireland, employers must follow specific legal procedures under the Protected Disclosures Act 2014. This video outlines the critical steps organisations need to take, from establishing internal reporting channels to conducting proper investigations and avoiding criminal offences. Understanding these requirements is essential for maintaining compliance and protecting both whistleblowers and the organisation.

Ireland's Contractual Retirement Ages Act 2025 introduces a consent-based framework that fundamentally changes how employers manage retirement. When employees with contractual retirement ages below 66 notify their employer they wish to continue working, organizations must now apply an individualized objective justification test rather than relying on general policy rationales.

Fixed-term contracts offer flexibility for Irish employers, but they require careful navigation of equal treatment obligations, renewal restrictions, and dismissal risks. Understanding the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 is essential to avoid inadvertent legal liability and ensure compliance with successive contract limits, probation requirements, and redundancy entitlements.

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly prevalent in workplace grievances and employment disputes, employers face new challenges in managing AI-generated complaints, correspondence, and legal submissions.

The European Commission, in consultation with the European Institute for Gender Equality, has updated EU-wide guidelines on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification, marking another preparatory step ahead of the transposition of the EU Pay Transparency Directive into national law.

The EU Platform Work Directive introduces sweeping changes for gig economy platforms, establishing a rebuttable presumption of employment, mandating transparency in algorithmic decision-making, and imposing stricter data protection requirements. With Ireland's December 2026 transposition deadline approaching, organizations must begin compliance planning now to navigate worker classification audits, algorithmic governance frameworks, and enhanced data obligations.