Publications : Employment & Employee Benefits
Diversity in the Workplace: Challenges for employers in adapting to a multicultural society
20-08-2010 - Statutory employment protections apply to all employees regardless of national origin. Basic legal entitlements such as those relating to minimum wage, payment of wages, terms of employment, working time and unfair dismissals apply also to foreign workers. Foreign workers may be more likely to exercise their rights once their immigration status is more secure. more...
Workplace Bullying, Harassment and Stress - The Legal Issues
14-01-2009 - With increasing awareness of the social and economic consequences flowing from bullying and harassment the introduction of measures to safeguard workers has become more critical for employers both as a matter of good management and to limit liability under health and safety, industrial relations and equality legislation. more...
How to manage accidents at work and potential employer liability claims
06-01-2009 - The collective effect of these statutes has been to significantly alter the administration of employer liability claims and the obligations of both Plaintiffs and Defendants in such cases. more...
How to manage a disciplinary process
02-01-2009 - There are a number of circumstances which can give an employer cause to hold such a hearing but essentially they can be divided into two categories: more...
20-08-2008 - The proposed Civil Partnership Bill, announced recently by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Dermot Ahern TD, will create a new legal relationship for same sex couples and provide for the recognition of the rights of cohabitant opposite sex couples. The Bill will provide for registration of civil partnerships and for the first time in Ireland legal effect will be given to a range of property and financial relief consequent on civil partnership including pensions. more...
How to Manage a Redundancy Process
08-04-2008 - The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has recorded a significant increase in the number of redundancies in the first quarter of 2008 and forecasts by economists and commentators including FAS and the ESRI expect this trend to continue into 2009. We expect that a number of these redundancies will be contested by employees particularly in an economic climate where alternative employment is not as easy to find as in recent times. With that in mind, we thought it was an opportune time to draft a brief guide for employers on how to conduct a redundancy process which should assist employers in implementing redundancies whilst minimising the risk of potential litigation. more...
The Employment Contract: Key Clauses to be aware of
03-12-2007 - Every contract of employment consists of essential clauses but there are some additional clauses which, if relevant to the particular employment, may be vital to also insert into an employment contract. Examples of such are as follows: more...
12-11-2007 - On 17 October this year, the Government launched its long overdue Green Paper on pensions. The Green Paper examines both the background to the current pensions system in Ireland and the challenges that lie ahead. more...
01-06-2007 - There is an ever increasing amount of regulation facing business in Ireland. While the different regulatory regimes in Ireland may seem unconnected in fact regulation has become an important tool for managing the economy. For this reason regulators have similar powers of enforcement which allow them to gather information in order to discharge their duties. Regulators may also exchange information in certain circumstances and therefore information gathered by one regulator can in turn be passed between regulators and government agencies such as the Revenue Commissioners, the CAB or the Gardaí. For this reason it is important that business today know how to react to regulatory investigations. We have chosen three types of investigations that businesses could face in Ireland by way of example to demonstrate the issues that confront a business when the inspector calls. more...
Recent Judgments show a willingness to enforce 'Restraint of Trade' clauses
09-08-2005 - There is a general view that restraint of trade covenants, even though often included in employment contracts, are narrowly interpreted by the courts and are difficult to enforce. more...