We have had a lot of calls from employers trying to deal with employees who have been told to self-isolate and/or have been diagnosed with COVID-19. If an employee has been told to self-isolate due to being in close contact with a diagnosed COVID-19 they will have been sent a letter or HSE text message. [...]
There has been a deluge of claims in the WRC regarding the unfair termination of employment due to age. In January of this year, RTE were ordered to pay a former senior TV producer €100,000 after forcing her to retire at 65. It was noted that her contract was silent on the issue of retiring. [...]
We have all seen the stats and info-pics on the benefits of masks, but there are some individuals who, for various reasons, don't want to wear one. Whatever people choose to do in their private life, in the workplace there are some immediate requirements that leave little room for personal choice. The Government has set [...]
Employers have been contacting ESA at a loss to do with employees who are refusing to return to work. Employers were forced to send employees home at various stages of the Covid-10 pandemic and in most cases these employees came into receipt of the €350 Covid-19 payment. For some employees this was just enough to [...]
Case Background The 64 year old cleaner had been employed from December 2018 to June 2019 by an unnamed residential care facility. She worked Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The Claim The claim was taken under the Equality Act for being dismissed due to age and illness. Employer's Mistakes The employee was never given a contract [...]
Enterprise Ireland has re-launched a grant scheme that pays up to €40,000 or 90% of the project eligible costs to enhance their digital capability and to develop a more competitive online offer. The scheme is the COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme and the closing date for applications is Monday 28th September 2020 at 3pm. For further [...]
We have been dealing with many employers going through the awful process of redundancies lately and time and time again they are riddled with guilt and upset at having to go down the road of redundancies. Naturally, for the employee it is a tremendously difficult time too, but, we want to address the employers here. [...]
These are the six main focus points for businesses: TWSS (Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme) TWSS will now be extended and its name changed to: Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme and will run from September 2020 to March 2021. PUP (Pandemic Unemployment Payment) PUP will be extended to April [...]
The Health and Safety Authority (the “HSA”) is the government agency with responsibility to ensure compliance with workplace health and safety (Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (the “2005 Act”)). Its remit now includes ensuring compliance with the Return to Work Safely Protocol (the “Protocol”). In this article, we look at the four [...]
We have received a few concerned phone calls from employers who have employees returning from abroad. The current Government regulations require anyone coming into the country to self-isolate for 14 days. As an employer you are obliged to let your employee do this before allowing them return to the workplace. The question is are you, [...]