In a decision issued in 2024, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) found that Smurfit Kappa (EDCO) unlawfully discriminated against an employee with lupus, failing to provide reasonable accommodations and later dismissing her in a manner that breached the Employment Equality Acts. This resulted in a €64,000 compensation award, one of the more significant disability-related findings in recent years.

As workplace policies continue to evolve, employees are increasingly making use of a wider range of statutory leave entitlements—some of which employers may not have come across before or had very little experience of. Ideally your Contract of Employment or Employee Handbook should set out the various leave entitlements and manner in which they should be applied for. We've also outlined them here in case your documentation requires updating.