Employment Law Update

We have asked Emma Neill, TSA Consultants, www.tsaconsultants.ie, to outline various HR amendments and new Acts of Law that have been and are being introduced over a short space of time of which employers in our sector need to be aware.

The aim of this article is to give you a summary of these recent and upcoming changes, which should prompt you to take action as appropriate. There is so much to report, this article cannot provide a full ‘deep dive’ into each of the topics. Please view the content as an introduction to these changes and we encourage you to contact TSA Consultants or your current HR advisor further as required. Law to note:

Gender Pay Gap Reporting:
All employers with over 250 employees had to produce a Gender Pay Gap report in 2022. Next year (in 2024) this threshold drops to those with more than 150, which brings many more employers under this requirement.
Employers must calculate and publicly report on a set list of differences between gender pay in various sectors of their business and ultimately produce a figure for their gender pay gap.

Whistleblowing:
New legislation to strengthen protection for whistle-blowers commenced on 1st January 2023 with further enactment of the Protected Disclosures Act 2014 (now the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022). From that date, employers with 250 or more employees will have to set up formal channels for workers to report concerns about wrongdoing in the workplace. A derogation is in place for employers with between 50 and 249  employees, who will not be required to establish reporting channels until 17th December 2023.

Pension:
Under Auto Enrolment employees will have access to a workplace pension savings scheme which is co-funded by their employer and the State. Those people who choose to remain in the system will have their pension savings matched on a one-for-one basis by the employer. The State will also provide a top-up of ¤1 for every ¤3 saved by the worker.

SSP:
Statutory Sick Pay is a new entitlement as part of the Sick Leave Bill 2022 which came into effect on 1st January 2023. Workers will now be entitled to up to three days of employer-paid sick leave in a year, paid at 70% of gross salary up to a cap of ¤110 per day. The number of days will increase incrementally over four years.

• 2023 – 3 days covered.
• 2024 – 5 days covered.
• 2025 – 7 days covered.
• 2026 – 10 days covered.

Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023
This Act has been passed into law, but certain provisions are awaiting formal enactment. Continue to watch for when these rights are formally commenced.

Breastfeeding Rights:
Currently Breastfeeding rights end when a child turns 26 weeks old, but this is being extended to 104 weeks. Mothers are entitled to breaks to breastfeed or express milk. Women are entitled to take one (paid) hour each
day as a breastfeeding break which can be taken as one 60-minute break, two 30-minute breaks or three 20-minute breaks. An employer should try to have a safe, secure, hygienic room for these purposes if at all possible.

Right to Request Remote Working:
Once put in place, employees will have a legal right to request remote working. The WRC is preparing a code of practice to support this legislation. Employees must meet certain conditions for this entitlement and employers must follow the correct procedure to either approve, refuse, or terminate the arrangement. Every employer will need to produce a policy on this to take into account safety, insurance, GDPR, productivity and all other associated issues.

Right to Request Flexible Working:
Once put in place, employees will have a legal right to request flexible working arrangements. There are two circumstances where these arrangements can be requested, 1. For an employee to care for a child, and 2.
For an employee to provide personal care or support (for a serious medical reason) to a close relative, spouse or cohabitant. Employers must follow the correct procedure to either approve, refuse, or terminate the agreement.

Domestic Violence Leave:
This is paid leave for employees who have experienced in the past, or are currently experiencing, domestic violence. This leave cannot be for more than five days in a period of 12 months. The Minister is yet to set a daily rate of pay for this leave.

Leave For Medical Care Purposes:
Employees are entitled to up to five days of unpaid leave to tend to the medical needs of a child, close relative, spouse or a cohabitant. This is restricted to five days in any 12-month period. No service requirement and the leave must be taken in periods of at least one day. Employees must provide employers with a signed statement. Employers are entitled to request additional information.

Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive
This law was enacted by Government in mid-December without much fanfare. This is now law, it directly applies to all employers and, if you have not done so far, it requires action on the part of employers.

Statement of Terms of Employment:

1. Changes to 5 Day Statement of Terms: Additional information must now be provided to employees as part of their core terms within five days of commencing employment. This includes, but is not limited to, information regarding job title, date of commencement, duration and conditions of probation, remuneration and pay reference period, the location/ locations of work, and expected hours of work.

2. One Month Statement of Terms of Employment:
All other terms of employment, which previously had to be provided to an employee within two months of commencing, must now be provided within one month.

Probation:
Probation periods can no longer exceed six months in duration, except in the case of public servants (max 12 months) or exceptional circumstances (definition yet to be clarified). Probation periods can, however, be extended by the duration of any employee absence.

Parallel (Secondary) Employment:
Employers can no longer prohibit employees from taking up additional employment outside of their work schedule or treat them adversely for doing so. If an employer wishes to impose an incompatibility restriction on an employee, they must provide the employee with details of the objective grounds on which it is based, either in the contract of employment or in a written statement.

Working Hours:
All work must now take place or be scheduled within the, now defined, reference hours and days included in the employee’s written terms. Where work is not within these reference hours and/or minimum notice has not
been provided, the employee is entitled to refuse the work without fear of penalisation or sanction.

Mandatory Training:
Any mandatory training required by law or collective agreement must be provided to the employee free of charge, must count as working time, and where possible, should take place during working hours. Such training must
also be included in the Contract of Employment.

We would advise that such quickfire explanations are not designed to offer a full legal description of these new requirements but aim to make readers aware of the
changes to legislation and prompt further review where required.

Emma Neill HR Consultant, TSA Consultants

We are happy to support HAI members with any further queries as needed on 021 4634154, email [email protected] or visit www.tsaconsultants.ie.

Emma Neill is a HR Consultant with Tommy Smyth & Associates. She works closely with clients across a range of sectors.

Tom Smyth & Associates assists employers in Ireland to meet their Human Resources objectives. Both Irish and international countrywide trust them to support their HR, IR
Employment Law and Safety functions.

This Business Support article featured in the May/June 2023 issue of The Hardware Journal.