Employment

A Coleraine woman who was sexually harassed by her supervisor over a long period of time has been awarded £20,000 by the Industrial Tribunal. Shauna McFarland was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland in her case against former employer Morelli Ice Cream Ltd and their emplo

Employment tribunals involving menopause in Great Britain have increased by 44 per cent year on year, according to analysis of court records by the Menopause Experts Group. There were 23 employment tribunals referencing menopause in 2021, compared to 16 in the previous year. "Menopause" was mentione

A paralegal who received "laudable" support from his employer in his ambition to become a solicitor has been awarded €500 by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) after the company unlawfully recouped education costs from his final salary. Despite finding his claim to be well-founded, the ad

Northern Ireland's Department for the Economy has confirmed this year's increase in the limits for payments and awards to workers in employment rights cases. With effect from 6 April 2022, the limit on the compensatory award for unfair dismissal rose from £89,669 to £94,063. The maximum

A man who was called a "bald c***" at work was the victim of sexual harassment, a British employment tribunal has ruled. The case was brought an electrician who worked for a manufacturing company and was subjected to the comments as part of an argument with his supervisor. As well as complaints unde

Spain is set to introduce up to three days of menstrual leave for women suffering from painful periods, according to reports. The move, expected to be including in a forthcoming bill extending abortion rights to 16 and 17-year-olds, will make Spain the first country in the European Union to introduc

Reforms to remove legal exemptions to give live-in domestic workers access to the minimum wage are important but will be difficult to enforce because of Britain’s immigration rules, according to a new study. People who live and work in private households have been excluded from minimum wage re

The High Court has ruled that a plaintiff in personal injuries proceedings was not entitled to receive monies equivalent to his total sick pay in order to compensate his employer. The plaintiff claimed that he had provided an undertaking to his employer to repay approximately €40,000 in sick p

The High Court has determined that a garda inspector was entitled to have his promotion backdated after it was delayed due to a false complaint by a member of the public. The investigation of the complaint delayed the promotion by seven months, during which time the garda did not receive the higher

Parents and carers will gain a right to request flexible working, including the right to request compressed or reduced hours, under legislation expected to be enacted by the summer. The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, now being drafted by the Office of the Attorney General, will

Katherine McVeigh BL and Anne Conlon BL examine the key provisions of Ireland's proposed sick pay scheme. The recently published Sick Leave Bill 2021 intends to legislate for the first statutory sick pay scheme for all employees, both in the public and private sector.

Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan considers the outcome in a recent case involving settlement agreements and waivers. This issue arose in the case of Philomena Hennessy and Ladbrooks Payments (Ireland) Limited and Ladbrooks (Ireland) [2022] IEHC 60, being a decision of Ms Justice Bolger delive

In-person hearings at Killymeal House will resume later this month, the Office of the Industrial Tribunals and Fair Employment Tribunal (OITFET) has announced. The main tribunals building will reopen for hearings from Monday 25 April 2022. The hearing rooms at Adelaide House, which were used on a te

Matheson partner Ailbhe Dennehy examines two recent decisions of the Workplace Relations Commission which carry warnings for employers. Two separate unfair dismissal cases, where the complainants were awarded approximately €120,000 each, serve as a cautionary tale for employers and highlight th

Cathy Smith SC examines a recent decision of the Supreme Court that examines the concepts of permanent employee and fixed term employee in the context of acting-up, an issue that arises, particularly in the health service, for a range of reasons – hiring freezes, retirements and the changing n