The recent High Court decision by Mr Justice Allen in Ryanair DAC v Peter Bellew provides some useful guidance for employers with regard to the use of restrictive covenants in employment contracts.

As we approach the Xmas shut down period when a significant number of employees will be on a break from their workplace, the issue of employees digital rights is very much on the agenda at the moment, with the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation committed to exploring putting the right to disconnect on a potential statutory footing, as we all potentially can remain always "switched on" with our smart phones never too far away.

Parents Leave is a new statutory entitlement for parents, available since 1st November 2019, to facilitate parents being able to spend more time with a child during the first year after birth or adoption. Here's a quick summary.

With the Xmas Workplace Party season well and truly getting underway this weekend, attention once again turns to the potential costs and serious implications of when things go wrong, often when too much alcohol has been consumed. Some companies are now avoiding the Xmas Party altogether with others introducing Sober Chaperones !. But is this necessary and what practically should employers be doing to ensure that everyone can have a good time and that they don't end up paying for more than a few nibbles !

The Complainant was awarded €4k compensation for penalisation in respect of how his protected disclosure was handled, and his employer ordered to implement it's own Protected Disclosures Policy and resolve outstanding questions of fact as raised within the disclosure (Ref ADJ - 00017774).

With Lorenzono on route and questions arising about attendance at work and payment for non attendance, I am republishing the guidelines from the WRC on this matter as published back in early 2018. And whilst circumstances will vary greatly across business sectors and parts of the country, good communication and a common sense but flexible approach that always puts employees safety first is key.

The Complainant has been employed for almost four years before made redundant without notice, and 14 days after informing her employer that she was pregnant. The Complainant contended that she had been discriminated against on gender and family status grounds and had been dismissed by means of redundancy due to her pregnancy.

Despite current skills shortages and employment figures being close to full employment, redundancy related complaints still arise and two recent decision by the Labour Court and WRC, are an useful reminder for the need to apply correct and fair selection criteria and processes, when making employees redundant.

Following on from my last article on break and rest entitlements that employees have under the working time legislation, a recent Labour Court decision is note worthy in that an award of €150 by an Adjudication Officer was increased significantly to €15k on appeal (Ref DWT 1914 - Sandra Cooney's Home Care Ltd & Deirdre Morgan).

This article outlines a quick summary of the key provisions that apply in respect of employees' entitlements to breaks and rest periods when working, and in particular it must be stressed that records to support that breaks are being taken are required . A recent WRC decision awarded €1k compensation to a retail employee, when it was determined their records were inadequate.