Insights & News

Offering employment to refugees from Ukraine

12 May 2022

According to the UNHCR, one of the key contributors to refugee integration is meaningful employment - enabling self-sufficiency and social connections. The Government is now running three immigration schemes for people arriving in the UK from Ukraine, and this week has shed a little more light on how these tie in with access to the labour market.

TUPE: Whose liability is it anyway?

12 May 2022

A recent TUPE case has illustrated how both the transferor and transferee can be found liable for failure to inform or consult under TUPE.

The Queen's Speech 2022

11 May 2022

The 2022 Queen’s speech was widely expected to be the moment when the government finally announced its intention to implement a number of significant employment law reforms, including the long-anticipated Employment Bill. Instead, there is no mention of the Bill and only two provisions that touch on employment rights at all. Does this signal the demise of all these changes, or are they simply delayed?

Siobhra Rush has provided insight in the Irish Times on how best to deal with the challenges of hybrid/remote working

10 May 2022

Siobhra Rush shares her comments on the challenges managers face when it comes to hybrid and remote working and how best to deal with them.

In our Working Times email update last week: 6 May

06 May 2022

What’s new in the world of work?

Climate-related whistleblowing

04 May 2022

The climate emergency will be a major concern to employees in the years ahead. This may lead to a rise in climate-related whistleblowing and future litigation.

Ireland: New legislation in Ireland on flexible working aims to implement EU Directive and modernise family and caring leave. Linda Hynes comments for Business Post.

04 May 2022

This Working Life: New EU directive aims to bring parental leave into the modern age

Empathic AI – workplace data privacy and employment issues arising from this emerging technology

04 May 2022

Smile! You’re on camera! And we are detecting your heart rate, pupil dilation, blood pressure, temperature, and other physiognomic measurements… Empathic Artificial Intelligence is a sub-group of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems which makes use of empathic technology: algorithms that purportedly have the ability to detect human emotions. In this article we consider the data privacy and employment issues for employers arising from this emerging technology.

High Court enforces 12-month non-compete clause

28 April 2022

The High Court has upheld a covenant restricting a solicitor from joining a competitor for 12 months following the termination of her employment. This decision reinforces the importance of carefully drafting restrictive covenants in employment contracts to ensure the scope of any restrictions go no further than is reasonably necessary to protect an employer’s legitimate business interests.

Government consultation on reform of non-compete clauses in employment contracts: an update (of sorts)

28 April 2022

The government has confirmed that it is still analysing responses to its consultation on reforming non-compete clauses and that its response will be published in due course, following further research.

Gender pay gap reporting: 5 years on

28 April 2022

Now that we’ve had gender pay gap reporting regulations for over 5 years, we’ve taken a look at the impact of the regime.

Linda Hynes comments for RTE’s Morning Ireland radio show on the new Work Life Balance Bill in Ireland

22 April 2022

The Work-Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill was brought to the Ireland Cabinet on 20 April 2022. The new bill aims to give effect to an EU Work-Life Balance Directive.

Positive action in the workplace

Inbrief

21 April 2022

Positive action involves taking steps to favour or encourage people from protected groups to make up for historic barriers or lack of opportunity. This Inbrief looks at the scope for taking lawful positive action in the workplace under British employment law.

Laura Ensor and Síobhra Rush explain how Ireland’s proposed auto-enrolment pension scheme is likely to work

21 April 2022

In a recent article for Think Business, Síobhra Rush and Laura Ensor explain how the proposed auto-enrolment pension scheme is likely to work following the Irish government’s announcement on the principles of the proposed Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System (the “auto-enrolment system”) for Ireland.

Establishing a business presence in the UK

Inbrief

13 April 2022

If you are a non-UK corporate body and you wish to establish a business presence in the UK, this brief guide covers the main issues you need to consider.

Sports Q&A: Conducting misconduct investigations

12 April 2022

In an increasingly complex legal and regulatory landscape, dealing with the intricacies of investigations can be fraught with difficulties, especially in a sports context. Often conducted under intense scrutiny, from the media and stakeholders, allegations need to be carefully and appropriately investigated to maintain your reputation and mitigate legal risk. In this Q&A we consider some of the key questions when conducting a investigation into your staff, coaches, officials or members.

Parental bereavement leave

Inbrief

07 April 2022

As of 6 April 2020, working parents who lose a child under the age of 18 or have a baby stillborn after 24 weeks of pregnancy have the right to take two weeks’ paid bereavement leave. This Inbrief summarises the rights introduced for both leave and pay, the notice requirements and the practical implications for employers.