First published on Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Last updated on Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Welcome to HR Heartbeat, where we give you a rundown of the week’s top employment law stories. Stay on the pulse of current trends impacting your business, plus get up-to-the-minute commentaries on all things HR and legal.
Whatever happened to the planned statutory sick leave increase?
When the Sick Leave Act 2022 first commenced on January 1st, 2023, the initial statutory entitlement for employees was a maximum of 3 days paid sick leave. Under government plans, this increased to 5 days in 2024 and was intended to increase to 7 days on January 1st, 2025. Seemingly however, this hasn’t happened…
While communication has been minimal, it’s understood the Government has stalled plans to extend sick leave indefinitely. This is so it can conduct an ongoing review into the impact on business owners.
A Department of Enterprise spokesperson has claimed that “this will be a matter for the next Government.” Meaning it could be a long while before more concrete plans are shared with employers and employees…
Whilst this is ongoing, businesses can use BrightBase for the most up-to-date, compliant policies to keep their business compliant. Or, try asking our superfast AI tool, Bright BrAInbox: “What is statutory sick leave?” for more info.
Irish employers facing worst skills shortage in 20 years
You heard that right. Irish employers (83%) have reported the greatest difficulty finding candidates with the right skills in over 20 years according to new research. The survey found that in the same time, the percentage of employers intending to offer hybrid or remote work has halved, from 38% in 2024 to 17% in 2025.
Experts argue that the decline in hybrid work offers may be a counterproductive move while skilled talent remains in short supply. And employers going back to basics with full-time office working will almost certainly face increased difficulty attracting candidates.
Employers can invest in online e-learning if they want to upskill talent and offer development opportunities in-house. Or businesses looking to take advantage of the shortage of hybrid roles can use Blip to facilitate remote working from anywhere.
Legal experts to meet to discuss changing social media challenges at work
Today (22nd January 2024), legal experts from the Media, Internet and Data Protection Bar Association (MIDBA) and Employment Bar Association (EBA) are diving into the tricky topic of social media rights in the workplace.
The conference covers everything from recent disciplinary cases over social media posts to how far employers can go in monitoring their staff’s online activity. It will even delve into the potential fallout from employees sharing controversial opinions.
The takeaway? Employers need crystal-clear social media policies to set the ground rules. Want to make this simple? BrightBase offers ready-made, compliant templates to help you stay on the right side of the law with ease. Or, for instant answers, ask Bright BrAInbox: “What should be in a social media policy?”
And that’s a wrap. Tune in next week for more headlines to make sure you stay ahead of major employment law changes!
