Browse through brief employment and labor law updates from around the globe. Contact a Littler attorney for more information or view our global locations.

View all Q3 2023 Global Guide Quarterly updates   Download full Q3 2023 Global Guide Quarterly

Medical Care Leave and Maternity Protection Under the Work Life Balance Act

New Legislation Enacted

Authors: Niall Pelly, Partner, and Philip Gray, Associate – GQ | Littler

Under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, which came into effect from July 3, 2023, an affected employee is statutorily entitled to up to five days of unpaid leave in any period of 12 consecutive months to provide medical care or support to certain specified persons. The person requiring care from the employee must “be in need of significant care or support for a serious medical reason.” An employer can request that an employee provide evidence relating to the need of the person for the care or support.

Additionally, the law amends the Maternity Protection Act 1994 by extending the length of time in which mothers can take paid time off work and work reduced hours for the purposes of breastfeeding or expressing breast milk from 26 weeks to 104 weeks. Further, the law extends access to maternity leave rights to transgender men who have given birth.

The EU Pay Transparency Directive

Legal Compliance

Authors: Niall Pelly, Partner, and Philip Gray, Associate – GQ | Littler

On June 7, 2023, the European Union Pay Transparency Directive came into effect with Member States having until June 7, 2026, to transpose the Directive into national law.

Implementing the Directive in Ireland will introduce many new obligations for employers, such as carrying out equal pay assessments, joint pay assessments and other transparency measures, including dealing with employee requests for pay information and making available the initial pay range / level range for all advertised job vacancies. The Directive will also result in some amendments to current gender pay gap reporting requirements in Ireland, which have since last year become a feature for large Irish employers.