Legal News (Employment)

Latest News
Date Heading Short Description
May 2013 New legal network to protect rights of employees and executives working in an international environment The Irish element of a new global legal network (LINEE) which is the world’s first to protect the rights of executives and employees working in an international environment was launched in Dublin today (May 7th 2013) by Hayes Solicitors. View
December 2012 "Presenteeism" - The employee who won't stay away. We are all familiar with the issue of absences from work and managing employees who fail to return to work. View
December 2012 Equality in the Boardroom – is your Board in order? The European Commission has published a draft Directive on improved gender diversity on Boards of EU listed companies. View
November 2012 The National Employments Rights Authority The National Employment Rights Authority (NERA) was established in 2007 and is a branch of the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. View
November 2012 Illegal migrant workers legally exposed. The judgment delivered in Hussein v The Labour Court & Younis will have profound implications for migrant workers in this country and could potentially expose these individuals to exploitation by employers attempting to rely on it. View
July 2012 Summer work in the school holidays The summer has finally arrived and with young people finishing up for school holidays, many will be looking for summer work for some extra pocket money over the break. View
July 2012 Corporate bullying - A new departure and an opportunity? Are employers prepared for the onslaught of claims for bullying and harassment arising out of the recent High Court decision in Kelly V Bon Secours Health System Limited? View
July 2012 Whistle-blowing on employers – get prepared. Ten top tips for employers The heads of the Protected Disclosures in the Public Interest Bill 2012 have recently been published and is due to be enacted in Autumn 2012. View
July 2012 New Agency Act - Breach at your perol With the signing into law of the Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Act 2012, it is time for employment agencies, agency workers, and hirers of agency staff to consider their new statutory obligations and entitlements. View
July 2012 Tidy Workplace An employer should be mindful of the requirements in relation to providing a safe and appropriate system of work and meeting obligations and duties owed to employees under the Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005. View
May 2012 Employer Insolvency – what are my rights? Unfortunately there does not seem to be any light on the horizon for the thousands of ailing Irish businesses who are struggling to keep themselves afloat. View
May 2012 Maternity Leave Article HUGE AWARD OF €315,000 FOR STRESS, PREGNANCY AND DISCRIMINATION AS A PARENT. The Equality Tribunal has recently recommended a huge monetary award in favour of an employee for her mistreatment by her then employer O’Callaghan Hotel Group in relation to personal stress, pregnancy and discrimination as a parent. View
May 2012 Forced Retirement At Age 65 – Is This Discrimination? The UK Supreme Court in April 2012 dismissed an appeal by lawyer Leslie Sheldon who challenged his firm’s right to retire him at the age of 65 years. View
May 2012 The downside for “whistleblowing” employees in the Health Sector Recently, five employees of the Avondale Nursing Home in County Kilkenny were found by the Employment Appeals Tribunal to have been constructively dismissed in 2009 by their employer after raising their concerns over the welfare of elderly patients at the Nursing Home. View
March 2012 Linkedin - How you connect as part of your business It is important to clarify for both employers and employees to set out the terms of use and access to the internet and social media networks permitted for staff due to the potential impact this may have on the Company’s business and reputation. View
March 2012 Agency Workers and Working Time Regulations Presentation Breda O'Malley presented at the annual delegate conference of the Freight Transport Association, Ireland on Wed 21 March 2012 on the legal topics of working time regulations for transport workers, and (2) agency workers. View
March 2012 Agency Workers and Working Time Lecture Notes Breda O'Malley presented at the annual delegate conference of the Freight Transport Association, Ireland on Wed 21 March 2012 on the legal topics of working time regulations for transport workers, and (2) agency workers. View
December 2011 The 48 Hour Working Week- Where Are We Now? A recent judgement of the Labour Court in IBM Ireland v Michelle Svoboda is instructive for employers with regard to working time. View
December 2011 White Collar Crime - Is Enough Being Done? In the midst of the many calls to a popular afternoon radio show on RTE seeking to ‘burn the bondholders’ (and everyone else however remotely connected to the ‘Celtic Tiger’), the loudest are for “those responsible” to be brought to justice. View
December 2011 What is the Position on Annual Leave Carried Over By Employees Member States can now lawfully require carried over statutory holidays to be taken within the following 15 months or else be extinguished. View
September 2011 Europe's Forced Retirees Not Going to Go Gently Anne Lyne of Hayes comments for the Wall Street Journal on the complex European system of forced retirement on age grounds. View
August 2011 Working At Home and Abroad The relocation of staff abroad can provide an unrivalled experience for employees and practices... View
August 2011 Facebook Fired Facebook, Bebo and similar social networking sites give us an insight into social and personal lives. View
August 2011 Are You Being Watched? Surveillance of employees and the disciplinary process Employers should have a clear written policy for any lawful surveillance of employees. View
June 2011 Age, Absence and Retirement Seminar Update on Absence, Sick-Leave and PHI Schemes, Retirement and Working Time Developments View
February 2011 ANTICIPATED PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION COSTS EMPLOYER! The Hayes Employment Law Team acted in the recent high profile case involving a computer software company and a human resources manager who was awarded 148,000.00 by the Employment Appeals Tribunal. View
October 2010 "When rivalry turns nasty" article on the Inter-Broker Industry in Business & Finance Magazine October 2010 Davnet O'Driscoll Associate Solicitor with the Employment team has contributed an article to this magazine... View
September 2010 Significant changes for Public Sector Employees under Croke Park Agreement Carol Fawsitt addressed the recent Public Affairs Ireland Conference on 23rd September 2010 and highlighted how the Croke Park Agreement brings with it a whole new way in which employees are dealt with in the Public Service. View
July 2010 Date for your Diary on Transfer Regulations Seminar On 20 October next in Dublin, Hayes solicitors will co-host with UK law firm Short Richardson Forth and Legal Island a practically focussed seminar on the theme of Transfer Regulations and related legal developments. View
May 2010 Age Discrimination In Irish Employment Law Breda OMalley, Partner in Employment and Commercial Law in Hayes solicitors, presented on the Issue of Age Discrimination at the Industrial Law Society (ILS) Spring Conference in London on Saturday 22 May 2010. View
April 2010 The Pregnant Employee, Fixed Term Contracts and EU Directives Given the anecdotal evidence that pregnant employees are being targeted for redundancies let us look again at the underlining protection afforded to them under EU Directives and caselaw. View
April 2010 Revised Parental Leave Directive In line with Guideline 18 of the Lisbon Treaty to increase the participation of women in the professions and in the workplace and as little attention has been paid heretofore to the reconciliation of childcare responsibilities and the distribution of home tasks, the EU Council agreed the terms of a revised Parental Leave Directive on the 30th November, 2009. View
March 2010 Lo-commotion - Changes in Revenue practice for Locum workers Healthcare workers working in locum positions may now be deemed by Revenue to be employees rather than contractors for income tax purposes. View
March 2010 Are you experiencing difficulty having your professional qualification recognised and registered in Ireland? Under EU Directive 2005/36/EC on the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications, professionals qualified in one EU Member State may seek recognition of their qualifications in another EU Member State without having to fully re-train in their discipline in the new Member State. View
March 2010 Desperate Housewives - Fact or Fiction? The number of people that have lost their jobs in the Irish workforce over the last 2 years has been unprecedented. View
March 2010 Academy of European Law (ERA) Seminar on EU Law on Equality between Women and Men in practice Carol Fawsitt has been invited to participate in the Academy of European Law (ERA) Seminar on EU Law on Equality between Women and Men in practice in Trier in March 2010. View
March 2010 No fishing expeditions for Labour Inspectors: Supreme Court finds no right to circulate to the general public The case of GAMA v Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment and another which you may recollect got a lot of publicity in 2005... View
March 2010 Employers off the hook for redundancy payments if employees refuse to transfer If this sounds familiar to your situation, read on. View
March 2010 Risks for prized employees in playing the field with rival employers In a case involving a Professor of bio-technology in Dublin City University (DCU), the University was unsuccessful in their appeal to the Supreme Court against the High Court decision that the dismissal of the Professor was invalid. View
February 2010 DOES DICKINS OPEN THE FLOOD GATES? In the Winter 2007 issue 13 of our Newsletter I commented on a UK decision in Daw V Intel Corporation which involved an employee who had drawn her employers attention to her stress in a series of memoranda. View
September 2009Swine Flu - Problems for Employers and Employees An employer is legally obliged to provide a safe place of work for employees under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 .. View
September 2009Industrial Action and Sit Ins- when are they legal? Without trade union involvement and support there cannot be valid and legal industrial action.. View
July 2009References - Pitfalls for Employers and Employees There have been a number of recent claims of discrimination and victimisation by employees arising from the failure to give a reference by an employer. View
June 2009SALARY SACRIFICE ARRANGEMENTS Section 118B of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 came into effect on 31 January 2009. This section now copper fastens on a legislative basis, Revenues treatment of salary sacrifice arrangements. View
June 2009The grey ceiling - the right to work beyond 65 The huge deficit in both public and private sector pension schemes means that it is now a reality that many people will have to work beyond the age of 65 (the traditional age of retirement in Ireland) in order to avoid the poverty line. View
September 2008Employers Risk Prison Sentence If they Breach Employment Law
Employment Rights Compliance Bill 2008		The Employment Rights Compliance Bill was published on the 18th March 2008 and when it comes into force employers face a risk of increased penalties to include imprisonment for indictable offences. View
September 2008Reorganising Staff in the WorkplaceWith the winds of change sweeping the world of commerce, it is timely to remind ourselves of the spectre of redundancy. View
September 2008Reorganising Staff in the WorkplaceWith the winds of change sweeping the world of commerce, it is timely to remind ourselves of the spectre of redundancy. View
April 2008Does The Provision of Counselling Services toEmployees Prevent a Claim for Work Related Stress? As we all know claims arising from work related stress are on the increase. Employers have a duty of care to provide a safe work environment. View
April 2008 European Court dismisses argument for Zero-Risk Working Environment for Employees Employers, breathe a sigh of relief! A recent European Court decision has now put an end to the uncertainty surrounding Irish Health and Safety Legislation and employers are no longer faced with the prospect of a strict liability/no fault environment in terms of their responsibility to employees. View
23-Jul-2006Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Act, 2006 As we all know claims arising from work related stress are on the increase. Employers have a duty of care to provide a safe work environment. If they fail in this duty they may leave themselves open to claims for damages for work related stress. Many employers provide counselling services for employees who are experiencing difficulties at work. Is this enough? View
15-Dec-2005Attention directors! Health and safety gets personal!1 September 2005 marked the beginning of a new era in health and safety law in Ireland.  The Safety Health and Welfare at Work Act, 2005 came int......View
15-Jun-2004Mirror mirror: employees' obligationsHayes solicitors recently represented an employer in a successful case before the Employment Appeals Tribunal. The EATs decision is a noteworthy one,......View
15-Jun-2004Occupational pension schemes and PRSAsSince September 2003 all employers (if they do not already run an Occupational Pension Scheme) must provide their employees with access to a Personal ......View
18-May-2004CCTV and Data ProtectionIncreased use of CCTV cameras affords great potential for monitoring of employees in the workplace and of individuals in public areas. However, a bala......View
Archive