Employment Contracts Must Be Transparent and Predictable: Implications for Employers

Posted in: LK Shields on Employment Law on 06/02/2023 Following her popular presentation on the Directive in our Annual Review and its subsequent implementation, Ciara O'Kennedy, Partner in LK Shields Solicitors LLP, provides her insights on the implications for employers. The European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations...

The Pensions Landscape in Ireland - An Overview

Posted in: LK Shields on Employment Law on 24/05/2022 Co-Author: Jennifer O’Neill Employers in Ireland are currently legally obliged to provide their employees with access to pension arrangements. Jennifer O’Neill and Gillian Dully from the Employment, Pensions and Employee Benefits Unit at LK Shields provide a helpful overview of the pensions landsc...

Health and Safety Issues in the Remote Workplace

Posted in: LK Shields on Employment Law on 24/03/2022 The provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (the 2005 Act) and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 to 2021 apply to the remote working environment. However, as they were not drafted with remote working in mind but rather at a time when...

Hybrid Working Policy: Key Considerations for Employers

Posted in: LK Shields on Employment Law on 26/01/2022 With the Irish government’s announcement that a return to physical attendance in workplaces can commence on a phased basis appropriate to each sector from 24 January 2022, many employers in Ireland will be welcoming back cohorts of staff who have worked remotely for the vast majority of the COVID-1...

Ownership of Intellectual Property at Work

Posted in: LK Shields on Employment Law on 23/11/2021 Co-author: Jennifer O'Neil & Jane O'Grady The way in which we work is always evolving but the changes required over the last two years have resulted in traditional ideas about the “workplace” being reimagined. With the increase in remote working, the question arises as to how this affects a bus...

Working Beyond a Mandatory Retirement Age – Considerations for Employers

Posted in: LK Shields on Employment Law on 25/05/2021 An aging workforce The qualification age for drawing a State pension increased from 65 to 66 years of age in January 2014. It was set to be further increased to 67 years of age in January 2021, but the Irish Government has deferred such increase and the Pensions Commission was established to consi...

Dealing with Complaints of Bullying and Harassment in line with new Bullying Code

Posted in: LK Shields on Employment Law on 26/03/2021 Introduction The Industrial Relations Act 1990 (Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Bullying at Work) Order 2020 (the New Code) was jointly published by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and came into effe...

Variation of Employment Contracts: Consent and COVID-19

Posted in: LK Shields on Employment Law on 18/02/2021 One year on the impact of COVID-19 on the employment landscape is hugely significant and has brought about significant changes to the way we work, many of which are here to stay. Many employers have been forced to implement radical overhauls of their business operations in order to remain viable, w...

Remote Working And Compliance With Working-Time Rules

Posted in: LK Shields on Employment Law on 22/09/2020 In December 2019, the Department of Business Enterprise and Innovation published a report entitled “Remote Work in Ireland”, which defined remote working as a “form of organising and/or performing work, using information technology, in the context of an employment contract/relationship, where work,...

Variation of Terms and Conditions Prior To Transfer Unenforceable

Posted in: LK Shields on Employment Law on 26/05/2020 Introduction The UK Employment Appeals Tribunal (“EAT”) recently issued an important decision in Ferguson & Others -v- Astrea Asset Management Limited which dealt with the improvement by business owners and directors of their terms and conditions in anticipation of a TUPE transfer. This case ...