Irish Employment Law: What We Learned Last Quarter (Q4 2020)

Legal Island's Learning and Development team have collated all of the updates we sent our 1,300+ Irish Employment Law Hub subscribers in Q2 2020 and listed some of the most important and interesting ones below.  Click on the links to find out more: 

• The National Minimum Wage increases from the 1st of January 2021.  From the 1st of January the new NMW rate for aged 20+ is €10.20; €9.18 for 19-year-olds; €8.16 for 18-year-olds and €7.14 for those aged under 18.
• Despite the ongoing challenge of COVID and the inevitable impact of Brexit, there is cause for optimism, according to Ibec.
• Government has given approval for the drafting of a Judicial Appointments Commission Bill.
  
• On a regrettable note, the HSA's Annual Review of Workplace Injury, Illness and Fatality Statistics 2018-2019 shows a substantial increase from the previous year in workplace deaths.
• Do you remember the 2017 Review of the Administration of Civil Justice? The report has now been published.
• The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, has signed into law new regulations and a Code of Practice to protect workers exposed to Covid-19 in the workplace.
  
• We held our Annual Review of Employment Law which was a fantastic virtual event and we’re holding webinars with two of our speakers, Jennifer Cashman and Duncan Inverarity this month. Find out more and register here.
• We officially launched 'Reasonable Adjustments for Disabilities - a Guide for Employers' at our NI annual review of employment law. If you'd like to know what UK courts consider to be the equivalent of reasonable accommodation in this jurisdiction, check it out.
• The Oireachtas committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment agreed to include the topic of a four-day week in its draft programme.
• The Budget was published and we brought you our annual round-up of employment-related changes, courtesy of Mazars.
• Should employers be informed about an applicant's criminal record? The Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee TD, launched a public consultation on Spent Convictions policy.