In Brief: Important Updates from February 2020

A number of useful articles were added to the Legal Island Employment Law Hub throughout the months of January and February. Here is a quick recap of some of the recent developments within the employment law sphere:

The team at A&L Goodbody answer your questions in relation to Legal Representation at a Disciplinary Hearing and The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997.  You can listen again to the Key Irish Employment Law Cases 2019 webinar with Aisling Muldowney and Noeleen Meehan here.

In the RDJ ‘How Do I Handle It’ series two complex issues were addressed by the employment team, namely ‘Using Compromise Agreements in Redundancy Dismissals’ and ‘An Employee Has Been Certified as Fit to Return to Work on Lighter Duties’.   You can also listen again to the Irish Employment Law Update 2019 webinar with Jennifer Cashman here.

Deirdre Crowley and the Employment team at Matheson, dealt with a range of issues in the ‘Hot Topics’ feature including:

• Coronavirus Outbreak – Your Questions Answered
• Data Protection Implications of Employee Medical Assessments for Employers
• Data Retention in the Spotlight – Lessons from Criminal Investigations

An in-depth analysis of case law relating to restrictive covenants is explored in a review of the Ryanair DAC V Peter Bellew by Alan Haugh, Deputy Chairman of the Labour Court and Laura Graham, Reddy Charlton Solicitors, discusses the implications of the case for the enforceability of post-termination restrictions.

A case involving constructive dismissal of a pregnant employee reminds us of the strong legal protections in relation to pregnancy and a review of the equality acts as they related to Ethical Veganism and philosophical beliefs are covered by the team at DWF Solicitors.

Dr Gerry McMahon provides some useful guidance on How to...  Be Assertive At Work and how to Determine Pay And Do A Job Evaluation Exercise. 

Some key stories from our fortnightly reviews include:

• The National Minimum Wage increased to €10.10 in February.
• The Government has published a guide to living and working conditions in Ireland in 19 European languages.
• The WRC has re-issued guidance on dealing with absence during extreme weather events.
• The WRC Postponement Process Guidelines are published and the WRC opened Ennis Regional Services Office.
• The IHREC has reported on a second case heard by the WRC relating to race discrimination against asylum seekers, which arguably prevents them from gaining employment.

Fortnightly reviews are available here.

Upcoming Webinars

We are excited to announce the introduction of a new Webinar series for school leaders and others interested in schools and teaching in Ireland in association with a panel of experts from NAPD, Mason Hayes & Curran, and THC Consult. 

We will run three webinars before the summer holidays – 24th March; 5th May; and 23rd June (a Primary School special edition).  In the first webinar on the 24^th March the panel will discuss:

1. Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018: What is the best way forward?
2. Is this the illusion of inclusion?

Register for the webinar here.

We will also be discussing Intoxicants in the Workplace with Caroline McEnery, Managing Director of the HR Suite on Tuesday 31st March 2020 (1.00pm - 1.45pm) and you can register here.   You can listen again here to our webinars with Caroline McEnery from the HR Suite.