- within Law Department Performance, Antitrust/Competition Law, Litigation and Mediation & Arbitration topic(s)
Key developments
EU PLATFORM WORK DIRECTIVE
The EU Platform Work Directive (EU) 2024/2831 must be implemented by December 2026 and introduces a presumption that platform workers are employees where the platform exercises control, shifting the burden to platforms to prove otherwise. It also sets rules on algorithmic management, requiring transparency, human oversight of major decisions and limits on processing sensitive data.
For more on the Directive, read our briefing: The EU Platform Work Directive: What it is and why it matters.
UPDATED CODE OF PRACTICE ON ACCESS TO PART-TIME WORKING
The Workplace Relations Commission published the first update to the Code of Practice on Access to Part-Time Working in twenty years. The updated Code promotes wider access to flexible and part‑time work, supporting labour‑market participation and potentially advancing gender equality. It does not create new legal rights but can be relied on before the courts and the WRC. Employers are encouraged to identify part‑time opportunities, avoid disadvantaging part‑time staff and follow clear procedures for handling requests.
For more information on the Code, a press release is available here: Minister Dillon approves updated Code of Practice on Access to Part-Time Working.
EU FORCED LABOUR REGULATION
The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment made S.I. No. 623 of 2025 designating the Irish authorities responsible for implementing the EU Forced Labour Regulation.
Under the Statutory Instrument, the WRC is appointed as the competent authority for a wide range of enforcement functions. The EU Forced Labour Regulation establishes an EU‑wide prohibition on placing, making available or exporting products made wholly or partly with forced labour, covering all sectors, all economic operators and all stages of a product's supply chain.
This article contains a general summary of developments and is not a complete or definitive statement of the law. Specific legal advice should be obtained where appropriate.
