Legislative update

• The Government has approved the drafting of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill. The purpose of this Bill is to increase the participation of women in the labour market and the take-up of family-related leave and flexible working arrangements. It will also have provisions for Domestic Violence Leave. This will need to be implemented by 1 August 2022.

• The right to request remote working proposals are undergoing Committee pre-legislative scrutiny. The Tánaiste requested officials to consult union and employer representatives further.

• Statutory Sick Leave Bill 2022 has passed the 2^nd stage in the Seanad and is expected to be enacted by September 2022.

• Living wage may be considered by Cabinet by summer recess.

• The Gender Pay Gap regulations were published on the 3rd of June. Employers with 250+ relevant employees on the snapshot date from June 2022 (1-30 June - date to be chosen by employer) will have to report on the 12-month period preceding and including the chosen snapshot date on the mirror date in December 2022. This will extend to employers of 150+ employees in 2024 and to employers of 50+ employees in 2025.
  
  It is suggested that organisations approach the calculation of their gender pay gap metrics in the following manner:

1.   Choose the snapshot date in June 2022.
2. The reporting deadline is 6 months after that date, in December 2022.
3. The reporting period is the 12-month period immediately preceding and including the snapshot date.
   Example: The firm chooses Monday 20 June 2022 as its snapshot date. Its reporting deadline is 20 December 2022. Its reporting period is 21 June 2021 to 20 June 2022.

• Redundancy Payments (Amendment) Act 2022 has commenced. Employees who missed reckonable service for statutory redundancy payment entitlement due to Covid-19 related temporary lay-off over the last two years are not disadvantaged. The scheme will not impact on the employer’s responsibility to pay the normal statutory redundancy payments, which excludes layoff periods due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, as outlined above, the State will provide a payment to employees who lost out who have lost out on reckonable service while they were on lay-off due to Covid-19 restrictions, and have subsequently been made redundant, a special payment of up to a maximum payment of €2,268 tax-free to bridge the gap in their redundancy entitlements.

• The Parent’s Leave and Benefit Act 2019, which was introduced on the 1st of November 2019, currently provides for 5 weeks of Parent’s Leave for each parent to allow them time off around the birth or adoption of their child or the child of their spouse or partner. Parent’s leave and benefit will increase from 5 to 7 weeks in July 2022.

• The Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022 has completed the 2^nd stage in the Seanad.

• Transposition of EU Directive on transparent and predictable working conditions into Irish legislation expected by August 2022. Its objective is to provide every employee with clarity as to their terms and conditions of employment, regardless of their status.

• Payment of Wages (Amendment) (Tips and Gratuities) Bill is at the 3^rd stage in the Seanad.

• Recommendations of Pensions Commission due to be considered by Cabinet in the coming weeks.

• A Notice for Employers published by the Department of Justice on 27 May provided clarity regarding immigration arrangements post 31 May for some groups.

• Changes to Employment permits were announced to help address skill and labour shortages in the health sector.

If you have any questions on any of the above topics, please email Emma.crowley@sfa.ie to discuss.