Winter Employment Law Brief

Auto-enrolment
Auto-enrolment finally commenced on 1 January 2026 and following reports that some companies may have been deliberately trying to avoid the scheme by forcing employees to join pension schemes but only paying minimal employer contributions, the Minister for Social Protection signed regulations into force which provide for minimum contributions to be made in order for employees in company pensions schemes/PRSAs to be exempt from auto-enrolment. You can read more on the Regulations and what they mean for employers in our briefing here.

Remote working
Public consultation on the right to request remote work closed in December. It has been reported that more than 8,000 submissions were made, with 7,774 of those made by individuals and the remaining by employers and other stakeholders. A legislative review of the remote working provisions of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 will now take place and it remains to be seen what changes will be made, if any.

Statutory Sick Pay
Earlier this month the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment confirmed the door was “firmly closed” on any future increase in the current entitlement to 5 statutory sick pay days per year.

AI use in the WRC
AI is very much in the news these days and, from recent media reports, it is clear employee litigants are now routinely using AI to prepare submissions for their claims before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). In December the WRC published guidance on its use by parties before the WRC here.

The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act has passed all stages in the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) and has been signed by the President. It is worth noting that this legislation does not ban compulsory retirement but creates a right to object for those aged under 66. It has been indicated by the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment that the new legislation will not come into force until a new code of practice is developed by the WRC. It is unclear as yet when this will happen, but we will keep you updated. You can read more about the new law here.

The Gender Pay Gap (Information) Amendment Bill is currently being drafted in order to clarify the legislative basis for employers to report their gender pay gap via a central online portal in 2026. While it was announced early last year that a centralised reporting portal would be launched in time for the 2025 reporting cycle, it in fact only launched on a voluntary basis with partner organisations IBEC and the 30% Club for member employers to report voluntarily.

The eagerly awaited Heads of a Pay Transparency Bill to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive are in preparation and are eagerly awaited by employers. We will let you know once they are published and will be examining the detail in a future webinar series.

At EU level, a revised Directive on European Works Councils came into force on 31 December 2025. Member States have until 1 January 2028 to transpose the Directive into national law. Read more here.

Major compensation for maternity discrimination at work
A recent WRC decision saw a significant award equal to 24 months’ remuneration made to a former employee for discriminatory treatment in connection with her pregnancy, as well as coverage in the national media. The employee, who resigned her role on foot of the discriminatory treatment, was treated inappropriately before and after giving birth.

During her pregnancy she experienced difficulties with her manager – who made sarcastic comments, including about the employee still living at home. Her pay was also impacted – she was not afforded time off to attend ante-natal appointments (provided for in the Company policy) and this had a knock-on effect on her bonus. She made requests for reasonable accommodation from her employer on foot of medical issues, before and after her pregnancy, which were largely ignored and no meaningful or tangible efforts to accommodate her were made.

At the end of her maternity leave, the employee was denied part-time work when returning to the office and was told no one else in the Company was facilitated with part-time work. However, that assertion turned out to be false – as the daughters of the CEO were permitted to work on a part-time basis. The employee was also told that part-time work would only be granted on medical grounds, but, when she indicated her health issues to the employer no action was taken.

The WRC determined that the employer displayed a lack of knowledge of maternity protections. The Adjudication Officer wrote “In view of this finding the [employee] is entitled to redress that is effective; that has a genuine dissuasive effect with regard to the employer; and that is commensurate with the injury suffered by her”.

The decision reinforces that care must be taken to ensure that line managers and decision makers at all levels are appropriately aware of their obligations to employees who are pregnant or taking maternity leave.

Lisa Mcgrath V Net Smart Security Limited. Contributed by Oisin O’Callaghan, Associate.

Covert recordings made by employee admitted into evidence 
The WRC has recently considered the thorny issue of covert recordings in the workplace and, on this occasion, ruled that such covert recordings, made by an employee, of various formal and informal conversations with Trinity College Dublin management could be admitted into evidence.

The employee was a former teaching fellow with Trinity College Dublin who had been employed on successive fixed-term contracts since 2018 and whose employment terminated in early 2024, when he unsuccessfully applied for a further fixed-term post. The employee brought a claim under the Protection of Employment (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 (the Act), asserting that he had not been appointed to another role in order to prevent him from attaining the requisite period of service that would have entitled him to a contract of indefinite duration (CID) in breach of the Act. In doing so, the employee pointed to an email from the Head of School cautioning that the School “should be careful” to avoid appointing anyone who “could indirectly fall into a CID” and sought to introduce several covert recordings which he said showed there was indeed such an informal policy of which relevant decision makers were aware.

In considering the issue of whether these covert recordings ought to be admitted, the Adjudication Officer noted that there was “much evidence that such recordings can erode trust and damage professional relationships in the workplace” and that “From an employer’s perspective such recordings are generally regarded as a fundamental breach of trust, breach of confidentiality, and/or data protection obligations. While covert recordings can serve as a protective mechanism for some employees in vulnerable situations, their use is approached with caution, and employees are generally advised to pursue formal grievance procedures”.

Having reviewed the transcripts of the recorded meetings, the Adjudication Officer permitted them to be admitted into evidence, reserving the right to determine the degree of weight, if any, to be attached to each. While one of the recorded meetings was considered to have been informal in nature (such that no evidential weight was attributed to that particular recording), the other two recordings were found to provide “useful clarification” regarding the matters in issue – particularly as one of these recordings specifically referred to the email sent by the Head of the School in relation to contract renewals This informed the Adjudication Officer’s determination, who ultimately found that, on the balance of probabilities, the prospect of the employee acquiring a CID was an operative cause in the decision-making process and awarded the employee €30,250 in compensation.

This case is an important reminder that, while covert recordings give rise to various issues from a data protection and workplace privacy perspective, provided the employee making the recording is a party to the conversation, such recordings are not illegal and may, on a case-by-case basis, be admitted into evidence.

Niall Kennedy v Trinity College Dublin, The University Of Dublin. Contributed by Tara Smyth, Associate.

Employment Law in 2026: What's on the horizon?
2025 saw plenty of developments on the employment law front and that trend is certainly set to continue into 2026. There will be lots happening, with two major EU directives due to be implemented, changes due in areas of law such as retirement and equality, along with evolving challenges in the use of AI and the debate around approaches to remote working set to continue. In this briefing, we outline the key employment law developments for employers to watch out for in 2026.

Labour Court affirms employment waiver despite employee not taking legal advice
The Labour Court recently determined that it did not have jurisdiction to hear an appeal of a decision made by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The case concerned a former employee of Accenture Limited (Accenture), who claimed that she had been unfairly dismissed. She further alleged that she had signed a waiver agreement under duress and without legal advice.  The decision of the Labour Court in Accenture Limited v Sejal Tandel provides a useful reminder of the key points employers should bear in mind when entering into a waiver agreement with an employee. Read more.

Charpentier v Verizon Ireland Limited: High Court judgment clarifies European Works Council Rights
The Irish High Court has issued the first-ever judgment on the law relating to the operation of European Works Councils (EWCs) in Ireland. We take a look at the judgment and its implications for employers who have EWCs. Read more.

Performance Management in Practice
In our latest podcast, Chris Ryan and Emer Murphy, Senior Associates from our Employment team, discuss practical performance management for probationary employees and permanent staff and provide practical advice on when and how to use PIPs and how to avoid common procedural pitfalls. They explore setting clear expectations, building a paper trail and the importance of separating a genuine PIP from any exit package discussions that might arise. Listen or read more here.

Gender Pay Gap Reporting and Pay Transparency Hub
Keep track of all the latest developments on gender pay gap (GPG) reporting and pay transparency. Our hub contains lots of information and guidance on how your organisation can comply with GPG reporting and prepare for the implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive. View hub.

Webinar I Ahead of the curve: preparing for Pay Transparency
In this webinar, a panel of experts from the employment team at ALG and a special guest from Willis Towers Watson outline in detail what the EU Pay Transparency Directive will mean for your business and discuss the challenges employers are experiencing in preparing for its implementation. If you have not yet registered for KnowledgePlus, please get in touch with your ALG contact to request access. Watch now.

International Employment Lawyer Elite
Our Employment team has been featured in the International Employment Lawyer Elite 2026, a guide showcasing the world’s best employment law practices across the globe. This recognition places us alongside 157 leading teams worldwide who have demonstrated excellence in handling pivotal mandates, guiding employers through workforce challenges and executing major international projects for the world’s leading employers.