Right to Statutory Sick Leave An employee shall, in respect of a day on which he or she would ordinarily work but is incapable of doing so due to illness or injury be entitled to statutory sick leave. An employee shall be entitled to up to and including 3 statutory sick leave days in a year, or such number of […]
Whistleblowing The legislation on protected disclosure seeks to protect employees and others who disclose information in good faith for the benefit of the public or part of the public. The disclosure might relate to issues of safety, environmental damage, health hazards to fellow workers or the public. It might apply to financial wrongdoing, fraud or gross inefficiency. There are a […]
2022 Act and Channels The 2022 Act provides that all undertakings in the private sector with 50 or more employees and all public bodies shall establish formal channels and procedures for the making of protected disclosures by their workers. These channels and procedures shall provide for acknowledgement of all reports within 7 days, diligent follow-up of the reports received and […]
Disclosure to Employer or another Responsible Person A disclosure may be made to the worker’s employer where the worker reasonably believes that the relevant wrongdoing which the disclosure tends to show relates solely or mainly to the conduct of a person other than the worker’s employer, or to something for which a person other than the worker’s employer has legal […]
Law Enforcement, There are specific arrangements for the disclosure of information about wrongdoing, other than a disclosure of information about wrongdoing, that might reasonably be expected to facilitate the commission of an offence or to prejudice or impair— the prevention, detection or investigation of offences, the apprehension or prosecution of offenders or the effectiveness of lawful methods, systems, plans or […]
Commissioner / Ombudsman The 2022 Act establishes the Office of the Protected Disclosures Commissioner and how the Disclosures Commissioner shall deal with protected disclosures made or transmitted to him/her. The Protected Disclosures Commissioner shall be the Ombudsman. The Commissioner shall have formal channels and procedures in place for receiving and following up on any disclosures made by workers to the Commissioner. […]
Protection from dismissal There is deemed to be an unfair dismissal where an employee is dismisses because he or she has made a protected disclosure. Persons who are otherwise excluded from the Unfair Dismissal Act are protected in relation to protected disclosures. Compensation may be up to five years’ salary. Where— the dismissal of an employee results wholly or mainly from […]
Grievances and Discipline The WRC and the courts are concerned principally with the fairness of workplace procedures. They do not generally seek to examine grievances, complaints and disciplinary action on their merits. Many, if not most unfair dismissals arise by reason of the failure of the employer to afford fair procedures. The Labour Relations Commission’s Code of Practice on grievance […]
Duty of Good Faith During Employment Employees have an implied duty of fidelity, loyalty and good faith to their employer. This duty lasts during employment. An employee who divulges secret information or seeks to make a profit from its misuse breaches his employment contract. He may be restrained by injunction from divulging the information. If he makes a profit from […]
Entitlement to Maternity Leave A pregnant employee is entitled to leave, (maternity leave), from her employment for a period (the minimum period of maternity leave) of not less than 26 consecutive weeks. Part may be postponed. The Minister may by order, made with the consent of the Minister for Social and Family Affairs and the consent of the Minister for […]
Maternity Discrimination Pregnancy may raise issues of equality and discrimination in employment. Discrimination on the grounds of sex or gender is unlawful. Discrimination specifically includes less favourable treatment of a woman on account of pregnancy or maternity leave. Failure to employ a person due to the possible effect on the employer of pregnancy and maternity leave constitutes direct discrimination. The […]
Entitlement to Paternity Leave An employee who is a qualifying parent in relation to a child is entitled to 2 weeks’ leave from his or her employment, known as “paternity leave”, to enable him or her to provide, or assist in the provision of care to the child or to provide support to the relevant adopting parent or mother of […]
Persons Entitled to Parental Leave Employees and certain others are entitled to parental leave rights. An “employee” for this purpose means a person employed under a contract of service or apprenticeship. The following are deemed to be employees for the purpose of parental leave; a person places by an employment agency who personally performs any work or service for a […]
EU Directives I The Parental Leave Act 1998, as amended by the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2006, governs parental leave. It implements EU Directives. The legislation provides for unpaid leave of up to 26 weeks in total (increased from 18 in 2020). A revised Directive on Parental Leave took effect in March 2012. The Directive seeks to promote equal opportunities […]
Overview of Carer’s Leave Carers leave is governed by the Carer’s Leave Act 2001 as amended in 2006. Carers leave may be available to an employee with over 12 months’ service. Up to 104 weeks’ carers leave may be taken to look after an ill or incapacitated person, while preserving a right to return to work. A person may take […]
Overview I Adoptive leave is broadly similar to maternity leave. The legislation applies to domestic adoptions and adoptions from abroad. The principal entitlement is to take leave of a minimum of 24 weeks from the date the placement for adoption. An employee is entitled to take up to 16 additional weeks’ adoptive leave after termination of normal adoptive leave. Notice […]
Dismissal Dismissal means the termination of the employment contract, whether or not a proper notice was given. A person is generally dismissed where he is unequivocally told that his employment is at an end or the circumstances make this abundantly clear that this so. An employee’s repudiation of the contract is likely to be deemed a self-dismissal in highly exceptional […]
REAs Registered Employment Agreements apply automatically to all the relevant group or type of employees in the sector, job type and grade to which they apply. The terms of a registered employment agreements in relation to pay and conditions of employment are incorporated in employees’ contracts, of employees to whom it is subject. A registered employment payment does not prejudice […]
Overview of Unfair Dismissal The Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 introduced a statutory right not to be unfairly dismissed. The right is not enforced by the courts and does not form part of the employment contract as such. The Act created a separate right to complain to either the Rights Commissioners Service or the Employment Appeals Tribunal, for a determination as […]
Misconduct Conduct, or more correctly misconduct, is a potentially fair ground for dismissal. Conduct may relate to a single incident or to a series of incidents or circumstances over time. As in other areas, the bona fide opinion of the employer will generally be respected by the WRC, provided that fair and proper procedures have been followed. It is not […]