Employers need to be aware of new work laws on the horizon
Síobhra Rush, partner and head of the Dublin Office at Lewis Silkin Ireland, says Irish employers need to be aware of a range new workplace regulations.
Employers can expect ongoing engagement with evolving legal frameworks to support workers in relation fairness, inclusion, flexibility and pay transparency, advises a leading employment law expert.
Síobhra Rush, partner and head of the Dublin Office at Lewis Silkin Ireland, says Irish employers are already engaging with a lot of new workplace regulation.
“The EU Parliament recently adopted the Pay Transparency Directive, which now has to be formally adopted by the Council before being signed into law,” said Síobhra. “This is likely to happen before the end of 2023 and then Ireland will then have three years to implement it.”
The Directive will initially apply to employers with 250 or more workers (who must report their gender pay gaps every year), and to employers with 150-249 workers (who will have to report every three years).
The threshold will be lowered to apply to employers with just 100 workers within five years of the Directive coming into force, and these smaller employers will also have to report gender pay gaps every three years.
“While many larger employers will already have done their first report on their Gender Pay Gap, they will now be required to publish pay gaps for the workforce as a whole, but also to report internally on pay gaps within categories of workers doing the same work, or work of equal value,” Síobhra added.
“Significant pay gaps in any category of worker will mean that the employer must carry out a detailed equal pay assessment and develop an action plan.” The Gender Pay Gap is just one of a range of topics that employers are reminded to consider on Friday, April 28, National Workplace Wellbeing Day.
The current rise of hybrid work models has sharpened people’s focus on the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill. Employers are also keenly aware of efforts to promote women-friendly workplace policies, including fertility, miscarriage, menopause, maternity and breastfeeding leaves.
“Family-friendly rights and flexibility are top of the agenda for many employees in the current employment market,” Síobhra said. “Rising maternal ages and increasing awareness of infertility means that employees are increasingly concerned about fertility and more likely to seek medical assistance to conceive.
“Some forward-thinking employers are already starting to address these concerns and develop fertility and reproductive support policies in response. A similar openness and awareness of the effects of menopause is being seen with more and more employers introducing policies and focussing on general awareness of such topics as part of their overall family-friendly offering.”
Síobhra notes that there is a debate over whether legal protection for employees going through menopause should be extended, by being added to the list of characteristics protected by the Employment Equality Acts.
She says that it’s more likely to appear as a type of gender discrimination as was initially the case with pregnancy, or even potentially as a disability due to the wide range of symptoms experienced and the broad meaning of disability under Irish law. The increased publicity on the menopause issue in recent years has resulted in this issue being incorporated into the Government’s Women's Health Action Plan 2022-2023.
“As a result, many leading employers have already taken a proactive approach and adopted policies in the area. We expect to see an increasing number of employers follow this trend. Even if there are no changes to the law, we expect the issue to become more prominent, for example in WRC claims. Menopause policies tend to focus on raising awareness of the issue and encouraging employees to be more open about the challenges.”
There are also proposed legislative developments calling for greater legal protection for employees experiencing miscarriage or fertility issues. (For example, there is a private members’ Bill that proposes to make provision for paid leave even if miscarriage or stillbirth occurred before the 24th week of gestation. It also provides for paid leave for the purposes of availing of reproductive healthcare such as IVF).
“As such, awareness and discussion around these topics is becoming increasingly important. Even where there are not yet any legal rights relating to some of these topics, many companies are already stepping into this legislative gap and adopting new policies as part of their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and overall family-friendly approach.”
There are several actions that employers can take to ensure that they support staff when it comes to these matters. Síobhra advises employers to start with basic open conversations with their staff and build from there.
Síobhra advises that line managers should be trained to understand the impact that topics such as fertility struggles, menopause or miscarriage can have on work and what adjustments could be put in place to support those affected.
She says that employers should ensure that some of these topics are treated as a medical issue where appropriate and highlighted as such as part of any wider occupational health awareness initiatives. Guidance on dealing with the menopause should be freely available in the workplace.
“Talking openly and respectfully about topics like fertility, miscarriage or menopause can give employees the confidence to speak up if they are struggling at work because of their experience or their symptoms,” she advises.
Síobhra offers employees and their line managers a range of helpful guidance around Employee Assistance Programmes, sickness absence procedures, flexible work arrangements, health and safety risk assessments and welfare facilities.
Síobhra also offers advice around diversity and inclusion, recruitment practices and job advertisements, age-related issues and mandatory retirement.
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