- within Law Department Performance, Strategy and Tax topic(s)
UPDATE ON GENDER PAY GAP PORTAL
The Government's Gender Pay Gap Portal launched on a voluntary basis only for 2025 in partnership with IBEC and the 30% Club, enabling member employers to submit reports via the portal. Employers are still required to publish their reports on their own websites or otherwise ensure they are publicly accessible in 2025. Legislation is being drafted to amend the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, which will establish a legal requirement for employers to report gender pay gap data through the online portal from 2026.
For more information on the portal, see our Insights Blog post here: Gender Pay Gap Portal to Launch on Voluntary Basis Only in 2025.
VERIZON JUDGMENT SIGNALS NEW EWC RULES ARE NEEDED PROMPTLY
In a significant development for European Works Councils ("EWCs") in Ireland the High Court, in Charpentier v Verizon Ireland Limited [2025] IEHC 628, has set aside Labour Court determinations concerning Verizon's obligations under the Transnational Information and Consultation of Employees Act 1996. The judgment provides important clarification on the interpretation of section 17 of the Act and its alignment with EU Directive 2009/38/EC on the establishment of a European Works Council.
For more information on the judgment, see our briefing here: High Court overturns Labour Court findings in Verizon EWC Dispute | Arthur Cox LLP.
CONTRACTUAL RETIREMENT AGES
The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 has passed all stages in the Houses of the Oireachtas and will now go to the President to be signed into law. The Bill will introduce a right to work past a given contractual retirement age until State pension age (currently 66 years of age) and provides for the circumstances where a lower contractual retirement age may be enforced. For more information on the Bill, see our Insights Blog post here: Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 goes to the President to be signed into law | Arthur Cox LLP.
WRC CODE OF PRACTICE ON ACCESS TO PART-TIME WORK
The WRC has been requested by the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to carry out a review of the obstacles to the performance of Part-Time Work and make recommendations for any updates to the Code of Practice on access to Part-Time Working.
NEW SEOS FOR EARLY YEARS' SERVICE SECTORS
Employment Regulation (Amendment) Order (Early Years' Service Joint Labour Committee) No. 1 and No. 2, S.I. No. 477 and S.I. 478 of 2025 have been published. These Orders set the statutory minimum rates of remuneration and other conditions for the following categories of workers: Early Years Educators and School Age Childcare Practitioners, Lead Educators, School Age Childcare Coordinators including graduate rate, Deputy/Assistant Managers, and Centre Managers including graduate rate. The Orders came into effect on 13 October 2025.
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EU UPHOLDS EU MINIMUM WAGE DIRECTIVE
The Court of Justice of the EU upheld the legality of most provisions of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages after Denmark sought its annulment in full. The Directive, adopted in 2022, was intended to promote adequate statutory minimum wages and strengthen collective bargaining across the EU.
IRELAND'S ACTION PLAN TO PROMOTE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
The Government has published Ireland's Action Plan to Promote Collective Bargaining, designed to strengthen the country's tradition of voluntary industrial relations. The plan aims to foster constructive dialogue between employers and workers, enhance economic resilience, and ensure Ireland remains competitive and socially cohesive. It reiterates that collective bargaining is central to Ireland's industrial relations policy and responds to the EU Adequate Minimum Wage Directive, which requires Member States with low coverage to develop such plans.
The Action Plan is structured around five themes: understanding collective bargaining and its impacts through research; empowering and encouraging social partners and reversing declining union membership; promoting awareness and access, including a Code of Practice and tax incentives; protecting rights through legislative review and mediation options; and supporting industrial relations institutions such as the WRC and Labour Court through modernisation.
REVIEW OF OPERATION OF RIGHT TO REQUEST REMOTE WORKING
The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment consulted until 9 December 2025 on the effectiveness of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 in providing the new entitlements, as well as to evaluate the clarity of the legislation and to identify any unintended consequences.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
