With the publication of the government's strategy last Friday on remote working, which includes the planned introduction of the right for employees to request a permanent remote working arrangement, many employees will be delighted that this could be the case, with others desperately waiting for a return to the office, and to get out of the house again every morning. In the meantime, a quick reminder of some useful practical tips for making remote working as easy as possible, for as long as it will remain necessary, in the short term at least, under Covid restrictions.

The recent High Court case of Donal O'Donovan v Over-C Technology [2020] IEHC 291 was a stark reminder about the potential problems of not using contractual probatioanry period provisions correctly, when dismissing employees during their probatioanry period.

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.

Did you know that annual leave entitlement accrues on a statutory basis for all employees regardless of employment status and length of time worked? A former employee of O Brien's Sandwich Bars who had a very brief period of employment, was successful in her claim under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 for leave due from the short half day trial period that she had worked.

Entitlement to paid Force Majeure leave is often misunderstood by both employers and employees and is only available in very limited circumstances and for a limited number of days.

A fair ground operator who was dismissed for using his mobile phone whilst operating a fairground ride was unfairly dismissed and awarded €4,000.

As the fifth bank holiday of 2014 approaches, I thought it would be useful to remind you about how public holiday entitlement applies to employees.

The EAT recently refused a preliminary application from a claimant in an unfair dismissal case to have the proceedings recorded by an Iphone App and said it would undermine the integrity of how they conduct hearings within an informal atmosphere.

Two recent cases published by the EAT once again illustrate the difficulty that employers face in arriving at a fair outcome when making a decision to dismiss employees for misconduct. In both cases involving large retail organisations, the decisions to dismiss were deemed dis-proportionate despite admitted fraudulent behavior and the existence of a previous final written warning.

Employers need to make sure that all their employees receive the breaks and rest periods they are entitled to under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 or else face having to pay compensation awards and fines.