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Northern Ireland: New guidance on eliminating workplace sexual harassment
04 April 2024The Labour Relations Agency and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have published new guidance on eliminating sexual harassment from the workplace, containing detailed recommendations on steps employers should consider taking to prevent and deal with such behaviour.
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Right to request remote and flexible working comes into operation today
07 March 2024The Government has today brought the right to request remote and flexible work arrangements into operation, and the long-awaited Code of Practice for employers and employees on the right to request remote and flexible work arrangements has finally been published by the WRC. This means all employees now have the right to request remote working. Parents and carers also now have the right to request flexible working. Here’s our summary of what Code of Practice says, and the key takeaways employers need to know.
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Protected disclosures in Ireland – new statutory Guidance published and more employers now required to comply
18 January 2024With more Irish employers now caught by the requirement under the protected disclosures legislation to have whistleblowing procedures in place, and the introduction of new statutory Guidance towards the end of last year, we look briefly at what employers should be considering in 2024 when dealing with protected disclosures in the workplace in Ireland.
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Immigration law in Ireland - a roundup of 2023 and looking ahead to 2024
11 January 20242023 ended with a significant announcement on the largest expansion and shakeup to the employment permit system since its inception. In 2024, we expect to see further changes to the employment permit system and the possibility of the enactment of the Employment Permits Bill. However, we also expect to see further changes adopted as part of the Department of Justice’s modernisation programme, like those we have seen with the naturalisation process and the possibility of proposals on the adoption of a single application procedure.
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What’s happening in ROI employment law in 2024?
11 January 2024From the commencement of the right for employees to request remote and flexible working, increases in statutory sick pay and minimum wage entitlements, the lowering of the threshold for employers who will be obliged to report on their gender pay gap and an ever-increasing focus on all things AI, guidance on, and extension of, whistleblowing obligations, there is a lot of change on the horizon for employers in Ireland. Here’s our summary of what to look out for in 2024.
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What’s happening in Northern Irish employment law in 2024?
03 January 2024Following the political talks before the holidays, could we see the return of the Executive and Assembly in Northern Ireland in early 2024? The current political stalemate is causing an increasing divergence between the employment laws in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. That said, the post-Brexit reform agenda impacts Northern Ireland and holiday pay litigation will keep many busy following the landmark Agnew decision. Here’s our summary of what to expect in employment law in 2024.
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Working time changes in Northern Ireland: here’s what it means for employers
03 January 2024EU rules on holiday pay are being kept, according to new regulations that speedily came into force on 1 January 2024. This article looks at the new laws.
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A big shakeup to Ireland's employment permit system
22 December 2023In a surprise pre-Christmas announcement, the Irish Government significantly expanded Ireland’s employment permit system but also increased the salary requirements for most employment permit types. While this is welcome news, it also means that some employers may need to review and reforecast their budgets for employment costs to ensure any employment permit holders they employ can continue to work in Ireland.
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The role of immigration law in advancing DE&I initiatives in global mobility
17 November 2023Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives are no longer just buzzwords but are becoming essential elements of success for companies in all industries. Companies are recognising the value of diverse talent and the need to promote equitable opportunities in their global operations. Immigration law is a cornerstone of the legal framework and can play a pivotal role in shaping the demographic composition of a company.
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Historic holiday pay claims: Supreme Court decision in Agnew
04 October 2023The Supreme Court has released its long-anticipated decision in the case of Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland v Agnew. It is now clear that a gap of three months between underpayments of holiday pay does not automatically break the chain of a series of deductions. If these are factually linked, the net can be cast much further back.
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Irish Data Protection Commission Guidance on Subject Access Requests – Takeaways for Employers
07 September 2023In this second article in our two-part series, Linda Hynes, partner in the Employment, Immigration and Reward team of Lewis Silkin Ireland, looks at the recent guidance issued by the Irish Data Protection Commission (‘DPC’) on managing subject access requests and considers the key takeaways for employers when dealing with such requests.
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Pay Transparency Directive: how will gender pay gap reporting in Ireland need to change?
29 August 2023Now that the Pay Transparency Directive has been finalised, it’s becoming clear where gender pay gap reporting in Ireland will need to change. In this article, we assess the current Irish gender pay gap reporting regulations in the context of the new requirements under the Pay Transparency Directive and set out the changes that will have to be made.
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Second-stage consultation launched on significant reforms to European Works Councils
18 August 2023The European Commission has published a second-stage consultation of the European social partners on strengthening social dialogue through a revision of the European Works Council Directive. Whilst draft legislation has still not been published, the reforms being contemplated would have profound implications for all businesses with a European Works Council.
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Irish Data Protection Commission Issues Guidance for Employers
15 June 2023In this two-part series, Linda Hynes, partner in the Employment, Immigration and Reward team of Lewis Silkin Ireland, sets out what employers need to take away from the recent DPC guidance. The first in the series looks at the Data Protection in the Workplace: Employer Guidance.
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WRC issues highly anticipated decision in Debenhams test case
25 May 2023It has been reported that the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has awarded a former Debenhams’ employee eight weeks’ pay in the main test case for a large group of staff. It is understood that between 750-800 former employees referred complaints to the WRC following the collective redundancy in 2020.
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Gender pay gap reporting in Ireland: why smaller employers should do a dry run NOW
25 May 2023Smaller employers in Ireland will start to have gender pay gap reporting obligations in 2024. This means that there is only a small window of opportunity to tackle pay gaps and take action on gender diversity, without the fear of having to publicly report potentially uncomfortable statistics.
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Data Protection Commission Annual Report – takeaways for employers
27 April 2023The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) recently published its annual report for 2022 detailing the activities it undertook in 2022 and setting out its regulatory strategy and priorities for the next five years. In this article we focus on the topics and guidance that we think are most relevant for employers, specifically in the areas of data breaches, subject access requests and data subject complaints. We also summarise some of the more notable case studies that might interest employers.
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Judicial assessment and mediation launched in Northern Ireland
23 March 2023Judicial assessment and mediation are being launched in the Industrial and Fair Employment Tribunals from 31 March 2023, bringing Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the UK and offering employers new avenues for alternative dispute resolution.
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Ireland: Steps employers can take to #EmbraceEquity for women
07 March 2023International Women’s Day on 8 March 2023 provides an opportunity for employers to showcase inclusivity within their workplace and an opportunity to reflect on steps they can take to make their workplace more inclusive.
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What’s happening in immigration in Ireland in 2023
24 January 2023The Employment Permits Bill 2022 promises to make the permit system more responsive to Ireland’s evolving labour market. We look at how proposals under the Bill, and other recent developments, will impact on workplace planning and operations for employers.