Employment

UPDATE ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PAY TRANSPARENCY DIRECTIVE

The European Commission has been informed that Ireland has not fully transposed the Pay Transparency Directive by the 7 June 2026 implementation deadline. In a written response to Parliamentary Questions on 26 May 2026, the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality confirmed the Government remains “fully committed to the complete and meaningful implementation of the Directive”. However, no firm deadline has been provided for implementation.

The Department of Children, Disability and Equality, which is responsible for transposing the Directive in Ireland, has indicated that implementation will take place on a phased basis and that it plans to work with employers, employees and their representatives on implementation. The Department also indicates that employers will not be penalised for not having all elements of the Directive implemented by the June 2026 deadline.

For more information on the implementation of the Directive, see our Insights Blog here: Pay Transparency Directive Update: EU publishes gender-neutral job evaluation and classification guidelines.

PROTECTION OF EMPLOYEES (EMPLOYERS’ INSOLVENCY) AMENDMENT ACT 2026

On 5 May 2026, a number of sections of the Protection of Employees (Employers’ Insolvency) (Amendment) Act 2026 (PDF 476 KB), including section 7 of the Principal Act relating to the payment of unpaid contributions to the occupational pension scheme, were commenced. On 8 June 2026, the remaining sections of the Act were commenced.

UPDATE ON CHANGES TO CONTRACTUAL RETIREMENT AGES

The Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Act 2025 was signed into law on 16 December 2025 but has not yet commenced. The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment has previously indicated that commencement would be delayed pending receipt of a new WRC Code of Practice. The Minister for Employment, Small Business and Retail has since received a Code of Practice and indicated that the Act will be commenced, and the Code of Practice published, in Q3 2026.

For more information on the Act, see our Insights Blog here: Employment (Contractual Retirement Ages) Bill 2025 goes to the President to be signed into law.