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One of the key HR priorities to emerge from Adare’s most recent HR Barometer Series 8.2 was Employee engagement and experience. Persistently tight labour market conditions go a long way to explaining HR’s recent focus on Employee engagement. With the unemployment rate expected to hover around 4% into 2025, HR teams look set to continue focusing on Employee engagement strategies into next year to drive better recruitment and retention metrics. Against this backdrop, there are also major compliance changes taking place in 2025. The first contributions under the pension auto-enrolment scheme will be collected in September 2025, gender pay gap reporting obligations will extend to Organisations with 50 Employees or more and wider pay transparency measures that affect recruitment processes and employment contracts will move a year closer. To help HR professionals prepare for 2025, this article will focus on key trends that HR professionals need to prepare for in the year ahead.

The EU's Pay Transparency Directive came into effect in 2023 and Ireland, like other EU countries, will be required to implement a range of new pay transparency measures by 2026. The key aims of the Directive are to reduce gender pay gaps and to make pay information more accessible to more stakeholders. While the Directive is not yet in full force, Irish Employers should nevertheless consider how these new pay transparency measures could impact operations once they are fully implemented.

The data from Adare’s recent HR Barometer Series 8.2 reveal that the top priorities for Irish Organisations heading into 2025 centre around enhancing Employee engagement and experience (51%), retaining talent (48%), and strengthening talent acquisition (25%).

The numbers reflect the competitive labour market that Irish Organisations are operating in and highlight how Employers are responding by adopting a more strategic approach to Employee engagement and communication.

Workplace investigations play an important role in the dispute resolution process in Irish Organisations. Typically, an investigation will be required as part of workplace procedures to resolve Employee disputes, manage grievances, or examine alleged misconduct. To ensure that the running of a workplace investigation does not infringe Employee rights, it is vital that Employers are aware of their obligations around how to investigate work-related allegations in compliance with a range of statutory, contractual and constitutional rights.

On 4 October 2022, the Employment Permits Bill 2022 was officially released. According to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the primary objective of this Bill is to enhance the adaptability of the permit system to Ireland’s changing labour market. This Bill aims to streamline the existing legislation by incorporating the previous Employment Permits Acts (2003, 2006, and 2014) into a single unified law, simplifying the application process for all parties involved. Additionally, this Bill introduces two new permit categories: one for contractors employed by non-Irish based employers and a seasonal employment permit tailored to those working in seasonal industries.

In a competitive and evolving business landscape, developing an effective HR strategy has become essential for success. While compliance has always been a major focus for HR activity, tight labour market conditions have recently emphasised the importance of HR strategy to overall Organisational goals. Employers that adopt a more strategic approach to increasing Employee engagement and retention are now better positioned to drive continued business growth in the persistent tight labour market conditions.

Health and safety management is often perceived as a box ticking or compliance exercise that adds no real value to a business. This attitude overlooks the real benefits to be gained by Organisations who take a proactive approach to promoting Employee health and wellbeing. Employers with strong health and safety records enjoy tangible business benefits like fewer accidents, lower insurance premiums, high Employee morale and high productivity. An investment in health and safety is therefore an investment in the overall wellbeing of an Organisation.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to “review whether the legal provisions surrounding collective redundancies and the liquidation of companies effectively protect the rights of workers.”

This commitment led to the development of the ‘Plan of Action on Collective Redundancies following Insolvency’ which was published in June 2021. The plan of action addressed matters relating to both employment rights and company law and concluded that the existing law be supplemented by way of:

The Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) and Companies (Amendment) Act 2024 (the Act) quietly came into effect on 1st July 2024. The core aim of this legislation is to bolster the protection of Employees in collective redundancy situations.

Background

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to “review whether the legal provisions surrounding collective redundancies and the liquidation of companies effectively protect the rights of workers.”

Running a successful business involves assessing and controlling risks of various kinds including health and safety hazards. Employers tend to treat their compliance obligations under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 as a regulatory burden but there are real business benefits to gain from taking a more strategic approach to health and safety compliance. Effective health and safety compliance can foster a more productive work environment, minimise risks, reduce insurance costs and enhance an Organisation’s reputation as a safety conscious Employer. The following guidance includes an explanation of strategic health and safety compliance and how to develop and implement health and safety strategic goals.