With the enactment of several key employment legislation changes in 2024, Ireland is experiencing changes that are transforming the world of work for years to come. To ensure you remain informed and compliant, we ran a detailed briefing led by an expert in the field, Fredericka Sheppard, Managing Director and Co-Founder at Voltedge. During the webinar, we covered: 1. The significant adjustments coming into effect in 2024 2. Insights into the Work-Life Balance Act 2023, highlighting some of the new entitlements that came with it 3. The upcoming Right to Request Remote Working Act, enhancing workplace flexibility 4. Insights into the expanded employee entitlements under the Sick Leave Act 2022 5. The EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions, examining its impact on employment contracts and probation periods This session is specifically tailored for HR and People Ops professionals, as well as business leaders aiming to navigate the evolving Irish employment landscape with confidence while staying compliant.

1. Fredericka Sheppard
13th
March 2024

2. Hi! I’m Fredericka 👋
● In the HR Management field since the mid 1990’s,
holding a number of Senior HR Management roles
● Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and a Certified
Management Consultant (CMC) with the IMCA
● Executive Council of the SFA member for 9 years,
Board member of the Institute of Management
Consultants and Advisers, and Chair of the
Workplace Mediation Committee on the IPMO
Board of Directors
● Co-Founded Voltedge Management in 2011,
providing HR Consultancy Services to
organisations across all sectors in Ireland and
internationally

3. What employers
need to know!
As an employer, business, owner, or
manager, it is your responsibility to
manage within the law throughout
the full employee lifecycle.

4. 1. Sick Leave Act 2022 | 2024 Changes
2. National Minimum Wage | 2024 Increase
3. European Union (EU) Pay Transparency Directive | the "Directive"
4. Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 | Employee Threshold 150+ in 2024, 50+ in 2025
5. Pension Auto Enrolment and Flexible Pension | Retirement Age 2024
6. Transparent & Predictable Working Conditions | European Union Regulations 2022
7. Work Life Balance & Miscellaneous Provisions Act | 2023 Overview
8. Right to Request Remote & Flexible Work for Caring Purposes | Code of Practice
9. Domestic Violence Leave | New Entitlement
10. Whistleblowing - Protected Disclosures Act 2022 | Amendment
Recent updates to Employment Law & New
Codes of Practice

5. Sick Leave Act 2022
Effective 1 January 2023
Phased approach to introducing paid sick leave as follows:
● 2022 → 3 days
● 2024 → 5 days
● 2025 → 7 days
● 2026 → 10 days
Employees eligible on completion of 13 weeks service
Paid at a rate of 70% of normal salary up to €110 per day.
Employers may opt to top up payments on top of the statutory 70%

6. EU Directive on Adequate
Minimum Wages
National Minimum Wage in
Ireland
Year Min Wage
2015 €8.65
2016 €9.15
2017 €9.25
2018 €9.55
2019 €9.80
2020 €10.10
2021 €10.20
2022 €10.50
2023 €11.30
2024 €12.70
In an effort to:
- Enhance the adequacy of statutory minimum
wages
- Promote collective bargaining on wage
setting
- And improve access to minimum wage
protections
EU member states will be required to pass
national legislation meeting the new minimum
requirements established by Directive 2022/2041
of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum
wages, no later than 15 November 2024.
+46.8% increase
in the last 10 years
The biggest YoY
increase of the
decade was made
this year with a
+12.4% increase
Set to be replaced
with a living wage
by 2026.

7. • Employers will be prohibited from inquiring about the pay history of
potential employees whether directly, or through an agency.
(Candidate can disclose this information voluntarily)
• Employers will be prohibited from advertising job vacancies without
salary information.
• Employees will be able to ask how their salary compares to average pay
levels in the company for similar jobs and broken down by gender.
• Pay information should be available for all employees regardless of
company size.
• Ireland will be required to enact this directive by June 2026.
European Union Pay Transparency Directive

8. Gender Pay Gap Reporting is now a compliance agenda item for employers who fit within the employee
numbers.
Reporting and publication is obligatory on both private and public sector employers.
● Applicable to employers with 250+ employees for the first two years (2022 and 2023)
● By 2024, applicable to employers with 150+ employees
● By 2025, applicable to employers with 50+ employees
● Not applicable to employers with fewer than 50 employees
Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021
Employers must choose a ‘snapshot’ date in June of the relevant reporting
year. They then have up to six months to prepare their calculations before
the reporting deadline which is set at six months after the snapshot date.

9. ● Expected to launch in November 2024.
● Employees and employers will each initially pay 1.5% of the employee’s gross salary into the fund, rising
to 3% in year 4 and 6% in year 10. On top of this, for every €3 contributed by the employee, the State
will contribute €1.
● Applicable to ages 23 - 60 earning over €20,000 annually and will operate on an opt out basis.
Pension Auto-Enrolment
State Pension Reform
● Allows individuals to draw down their pensions at any age between 66 - 70 using flexible options.
● Individuals drawing down their pension beyond the statutory minimum age of 66, may be entitled to
increased rate of payment. This is likely to increase requests for longer working.
Flexible Pension & Retirement Age 2024
The proposed legislation will not outlaw mandatory retirement ages, but will allow employees to remain
employed until they qualify for the State Pension.

10. The Irish government approved the introduction of the EU Directive on
Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions.
This introduces new obligations for employers that will need to be
added to contracts and company policies:
● Statement of Terms and Conditions/ Information requirements
● Probationary Periods
● Training Periods
● Exclusivity of service
● Collective Agreements
● Changes to the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (specific to
the healthcare sector only.)
EU Directive on Transparent and
Predictable Working Conditions

11. Ireland enacted this EU Directive in 2023 to improve the work-life of
employees. This Directive covers:
1. The right to leave for medical purposes for carers and parents of
children aged 12 or under
2. The right to request flexible working arrangements for carers and
parents of children aged 12 or under
3. The right to request remote working
4. The right to 5 days paid leave for domestic violence victims
5. The right to breastfeeding breaks up until a child is two years of age
Work Life Balance & Miscellaneous
Provisions Act 2023

12. ● Covers carers & parents of children aged under 12
● Employees will be entitled to 5 days unpaid leave
per calendar year to provide care or support a family
member or person who lives in the same household
● This leave may not be taken in periods of less than 1
day.
● Employers may request relevant evidence from
employees (e.g medical certificate).
● Employees must give written notice and employers
must provide a written acknowledgement of this
notice.
Leave for Medical Care Purposes

13. Right to Request Flexible Working
● Covers carers and parents of children aged under 12
● Employees must have 6 months continuous service and give 8
weeks notice
● Employers must assess the viability of a flexible work
arrangement and respond within 4 weeks
● An employer can postpone a request for flexible working
arrangements, after consulting with the employee before
postponing.
● Effective as of Thursday, March 7th 2024.

14. Right to Request Remote Working
● Gives all employees the legal right to request remote working
● Employees can request flexible working from the 1st day of
employment, but must complete a minimum of 6 months of
continuous employment before approved
● Penalty for failure to reasonably consider requests for
remote/flexible working
● Penalty for failing to document flexible/remote working
arrangements is up to €2500 in fines
● Effective as of Thursday, March 7th 2024.
Under the Act, remote working is defined as one type of flexible working and the right to request it will be
available to all employees, while other types of flexible working will be applicable to the specific categories.

15. Domestic Violence Leave
Newly introduced Domestic Violence Leave will entitle employees to 5
days fully paid leave in any 12-month period for the purposes of:
1. Seeking medical attention
2. Seeking assistance from a victim support organisation
3. Relocating temporarily or permanently
4. Seeking assistance from An Garda Síochána (Irish Police Force)
5. Other relevant supports
Employees are entitled to this leave from day 1 of their employment, but
are required to give notice of their intention to take the leave. There is no
requirement to provide notice.
Note: The Woman’s Aid website has simple steps to provide emotional and practical support

16. ● The new Act broadens the definition of ‘worker’ covered under it to include
volunteers, shareholders and job applicants.
● Amended laws apply to all public sector organisations, and as of December
2023, all private sector organisations with 50+ employees.
● Employers have to establish and maintain internal reporting channels and
procedures for employees to make protected disclosures.
● Companies must have a designated person to deal with complaints within a
set timeframe.
● Whistleblowing company policies will need to be put in place or updated to
reflect this amendment.
Whistleblowing & Protected Disclosures Act 2022

17. Key Takeaways
1. Update your internal policies to reflect the new Code of Practice for remote
and flexible work
2. Prepare for pension auto-enrollment
3. Update your policies in line with changes to employment law
4. Ensure your managers and employees are aware of the new regulations
coming into effect
5. Be aware that on the spot fines by the WRC have increased for
non-compliance

18. Appendix

19. Code of Practice on Prevention & Resolution
of Bullying in the Workplace 2020
● “Bullying” and “harassment” remain two distinct concepts.
● This code solely addresses the question of workplace bullying (there is a separate code in relation to
harassment) and defines what is and isn’t bullying, the employee’s role and the employer’s obligations.
● The code establishes the role of a contact person, who will be the first point of contact for any
employee engaging the anti-bullying policy.
● The code relies heavily on informal resolutions as well as mediation,
rather than formal third party processes.

20. Code of Practice on Sexual Harassment and
Harassment at Work
● Employers are “legally responsible for harassment suffered
by employees in the course of their employment unless they
took reasonably practicable steps to prevent it, to reverse the
effects of it and to prevent its recurrence.”
● This code highlights the need for a ‘competent person’ in
dealing with any claims or suspected claims of workplace
harassment
● Informal processes are preferred and the key provisions of
formal processes are outlined

21. ➔ Engaging the worker as an employee or
contractor
➔ Set up of a local entity or partner with
Employer of Record - Boundless
➔ Residency – an Irish resident working
abroad or a resident of another jurisdiction
➔ Length of engagement – short v long term (6
months+)
➔ Risk of permanent establishment
➔ Employment law and compliance
➔ International taxation
➔ Right to work – permits/visa
Remote Working Abroad

22. ➔ Contract type – which one should I use?
➔ Managing probation and on-going
performance effectively
➔ Statutory Leave – what are employees
entitled to?
➔ Contract Termination – what are my
options?
➔ Disciplinary & Grievance – how to handle
both formally and informally
➔ Dignity at Work – how to proactively deal
with issues when they arise
➔ Working Model –hybrid, flexible working etc.
➔ Employee Relations – handling challenging
cases
Common Challenges

23. CIPD Ireland – HR Practices Report

24. Leave Eligibility Duration Payment
Annual
Leave
All employees
4 working weeks or 8% of working hours
up to a maximum of 4 working weeks.
Employers often offer more than
statutory entitlements
Normal payment while on leave. No payment
can be made in respect of leave not taken
unless employee is leaving employment
Public
Holidays
All Employees 10 Public holidays per calendar year
Full-time employees:
a) a paid day off on that day
b) a paid day off within a month of that day
c) an additional day of annual leave
d) an additional day of pay
Sick
Leave
All employees
5 statutory sick days paid leave with
medical certificate currently.
2024 - 5 days
2025 - 7 days
2026 - 10 days
Many employers offer additional paid
sick leave
Minimum 70% of daily salary up to €110 paid
by employer.
13 weeks service with employer
No state payment until 6th
day of absence
through DSP.
Maternity
Leave
Pregnant employees
26 weeks + up to 16 unpaid additional
weeks
Statutory Maternity Benefit:
€262 per week for 26 weeks
Breastfeeding
Leave
Employees who are
breastfeeding
Up to 1 hour per working day (pro-rated
for part time) for up to 104 weeks post
birth.
Normal pay while on leave.

25. Leave Eligibility Duration Payment
Parents Leave
Parents of children under the age of
2
7 weeks for each parent, per child
(from August 2024 increase to 9
weeks)
Statutory Parent’s Benefit:
€262 per week for 7 weeks paid (from
August 2024 increase to 9 weeks)
Force Majeure
Leave
All employees who must attend an
urgent family crisis or emergency
3 days in 12 months or 5 days in 3
years
Normal pay while on leave
Jury Duty All employees
Duration you are required to attend
for Jury service
Normal pay for duration of service
Carers Leave
Employees with 12 months
continuous service deemed as a
suitable carer by DEASP
13 – 104 weeks
Employees may only work up to 18.5 hours
per week. Maximum earnings while
receiving Carer’s Benefit is net €350 per
week.
Leave for
Medical Care
Purposes
All employees with caring
responsibilities (Children, household
members)
Up to 5 days unpaid leave in a
rolling 12-month period.
Cannot be taken as less than 1 day.
No entitlement to payment.
Domestic
Violence Leave
All employees who have experienced
or are supporting a person who has
experienced domestic violence
Up to 5 days in a 12 month period Normal pay while on leave.

26. Leave Eligibility Duration Payment
Adoptive Leave
One parent of adoptive couple or
individual adopting alone
24 weeks + up to 16 unpaid
additional weeks
Statutory Adoptive Benefit:
€262 per week for 24 weeks
Parental Leave
Parents and guardians of children
under the age of 12 (16 if the child
has a disability)
26 weeks per child No entitlement to payment.
Paternity
Leave
Partner of the birthing person or
partner who is not taking adoptive
leave with a child under 6 months of
age
2 weeks
Statutory Paternity Benefit:
€262 per week for 2 weeks paid