Ireland - Employment Law

EU-wide guidelines on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification The European Commission, working alongside the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), has refreshed EU-wide guidance on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification, signalling another preparatory milestone before the EU Pay Transparency Directive is carried over into domestic law. The guidance can be accessed here: EU-wide guidelines on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification: Step-by-step toolkit | European Institute for Gender Equality. Member States, Ireland among them, will have to adapt this guidance into national, step-by-step toolkits to support employers in fulfilling their obligations under the Directive. The Pay Transparency Directive must be implemented into Irish legislation on or before 7 June 2026. However, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality......

Part‑time work stands alongside other flexible work options, such as job sharing, compressed hours and remote working, all of which have become more widespread in recent years as the COVID‑19 pandemic reshaped where and how people work. Part‑time staff still account for a significant share of the Irish labour market, with 20.6% of the workforce engaged on a part‑time basis. As 67% of part‑time workers are female, the Code also has scope to promote gender equality in the workplace and encourage greater female participation across all levels of the labour market. The updated Code is underpinned by the Protection of Employees (Part‑Time Work) Act 2001 (Ireland) (PE(PTW)A 2001 (IRL)), which safeguards part‑time employees from being treated less favourably than comparable full‑time employees, unless there are objective grounds to justify this. PE(PTW)A 2001 (IRL) further stipulates that where a benefit is...

This roadmap sets out a checklist for employers to use as they ready themselves for full transposition on 2 December 2026. Although national implementing laws are in progress, Irish employers can already move on the confirmed duties under the EU Platform Work Directive. 1. Confirm whether your organisation falls within scope First, employers should assess if they fit the Directive’s definition of a digital labour platform, covering: services delivered at least in part by electronic means services provided upon the end-user’s request the organisation of paid work carried out by individuals the use of automated monitoring or decision-making systems Checklist actions: map all technology-enabled work allocation models identify any automated tools used for allocation, evaluation, monitoring or decisions document borderline or hybrid business models (mixed gig/standard operations), i.e. areas not clearly a digital labour platform but that may...

This Practice Note provides an overview of the law, guidance and practice on executing simple contracts and deeds in Ireland. It sets out the principal distinctions between simple contracts and deeds and the formalities for execution. It also addresses counterparts and virtual closings, electronic signatures, powers of attorney, deed of variation, Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles (IVACs) and property transactions. Creating a contract A contract is a legally binding agreement conferring rights and imposing obligations between two or more parties. In essence, four core requirements must be met before a contract arises: an offer has been made that offer has been accepted valuable consideration is provided for performance of the contract the parties intend to be legally bound Contracts can be: oral written a mixture of oral and written by deed The general rule is that writing is not...

This resource kit This resource kit brings together the principal practical guidance available across Lexis+® UK on artificial intelligence (AI). Organised by practice area, it is refreshed as new material appears. The rapid growth of AI technologies has led lawmakers, businesses and the public to focus more closely on the potential advantages and the risks that accompany AI use. AI gives rise to a range of legal and regulatory considerations across numerous disciplines, including: intellectual property (IP) data protection and cybersecurity transactional work such as corporate and commercial employment healthcare and life sciences finance The UK government is developing an AI regulatory strategy that will determine how AI is governed here in future. In the EU, a legislative framework is being built to regulate AI, primarily via Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 laying down harmonised rules on artificial...

Background and aims At EU level, a range of Directives on gender equality and working conditions have already dealt with matters linked to work–life balance, notably: Directive 2006/54/EC on enforcing the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment for women and men in employment and occupation (recast) Directive 2010/41/EU on applying equal treatment between women and men engaged in self‑employed activities Directive 92/85/EEC introducing measures to improve workplace safety and health for pregnant workers and for those who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding Directive 97/81/EC concerning the Framework Agreement on part‑time work Directive 2010/18/EU implementing the revised Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, CEEP and ETUC, the Parental Leave Directive The principles of gender equality and work–life balance are reiterated in Principles 2 and 9 of the European Pillar of Social Rights,...

This COMPROMISE Agreement (Agreement) is entered into on [ insert date ] between: 1 [ Employer Name ], with its registered address at [ address ] (the Company); and 2 [ Employee Name ], of [ address ] (the Employee). WHEREAS: The Employee has worked for the Company since [ date ] under a contract of employment dated [ date ]. Provide a concise basis for the termination of employment, for example, ‘by mutual agreement’ or ‘due to redundancy’. This clause should be revised if the termination date has already passed. The parties agree that the Employee’s employment will end by [ mutual agreement OR redundancy ] on [ date ] (the Termination Date). Where any claims or proceedings have been lodged, they must be clearly described by their record number and included within the definition of ‘Claim’ or...

General This Precedent is a comprehensive maternity policy, appropriate for inclusion in a staff handbook or to operate as a stand-alone policy. It sets out the minimum leave entitlements required by the Maternity Protection Act, 1994 (Ireland), the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act, 2004 (as amended) (Ireland), the Adoptive Leave Acts 1995 (Ireland) and 2005 (Ireland) and the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (Ireland). When creating and applying this policy, employers should remain alert to discrimination considerations. Maternity leave Core entitlements include the option to take up to one year’s leave, irrespective of the employee’s length of service. This comprises up to 26 weeks’ ordinary maternity leave (OML) and up to 16 weeks’ additional maternity leave (AML). A compulsory two-week maternity leave period applies, during which the employee may not carry out any work. Maternity leave rights arise only for...

1 Introduction This Precedent sets out a social media policy for employers to apply to employees and other workers, covering business and private use of social media, permitted platforms, monitoring and conduct matters. It is intended for inclusion within an employee handbook, or also for use as a stand-alone policy. It takes account of: Regulation (EU) 2016/679, EU GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 (Ireland), and Although the Article 29 Working Party Opinion is mainly founded on Directive 95/46/EC, the Data Protection Directive, it also looks towards the obligations under Regulation (EU) 2016/679, EU GDPR. The Article 29 Opinion considers separately the review of an individual’s social media profile: during the recruitment process and during employment Paragraph 1.1—Introduction: reference to internet, email and communications policy For a sample internet, email and communications policy, see Precedents:...