Ireland: Review of Ireland’s Equality Legislation and its Effect on the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 and Equal Status Act 2000

On 6 February 2025, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (the “Department”) published a review of Ireland’s equality legislation, particularly focusing on the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 and the Equal Status Act 2000 (the “Acts”).  This followed an announcement in June 2021 that this review will take place with the aim of amending the Acts, which have been in place for over 20 years.  The General Scheme and Heads of Bill arising from this review were approved by the Government in November 2024 and published this month.  A General Scheme is a draft Bill that then undergoes scrutiny by a Government Committee prior to the Bill being finalised.

The published review provided the following notable amendments under the General Scheme to the Employment Equality Act 1998 (the “1998 Act”):

1. Amendments to Section 10 of the 1998 Act, in relation to pay transparency and in response to Article 5 of the EU Pay Transparency Directive. The proposed amendment goes beyond what is provided for in the Directive in requiring employers to provide information about salary levels in advertisements for potential roles. It further amends the Act to prohibit employers from requesting information from job applicants regarding their current or former remuneration.
2. Amendment to the definition of ‘vocational training’ in the 1998 Act to reflect the Council Directive 2000/78EC. The current definition narrows the scope of vocational training to apply to persons engaging in vocational training that is connected with an occupational activity only. The new broadened definition includes training courses that are not concerned with an occupation activity. Meaning, more education providers will be brought within the definition and will come under the 1998 Act for redress/in terms of reasonable accommodation obligations.
3. The broadening of positive action grounds to ensure equality in practice between employees, to include “prospective employees.” The purpose of this amendment is to address the employment participation rates of groups who have historically been lower than average, such as the travelling community, disabled persons, and lone parents. This provision allows employers to directly develop recruitment initiatives focused on grounds other than gender for groups where there are lower participation rates in the labour market.
4. Currently under the 1998 Act, a disabled person can receive a lower rate of pay if their productivity is restricted compared to other staff. The General Scheme seeks to remove this provision.
5. Currently under the 1998 Act, employers are entitled to set out specific educational, technical or professional qualifications required for a particular role. The proposed amendment requires employers who seek to impose these qualification requirements to show that the criteria they seek of a job applicant is necessary and proportionate to the role.
6. Amendment to Section 77 of the 1998 Act. This section of the 1998 Act  currently requires applicants who wish to make a claim to submit their claim to the Workplace Relations Commission (the “WRC”) within 6 months of the alleged incident, with the ability to apply for an extension for a period of up to a maximum of 12 months where the complainant has established reasonable cause. This amendment increases the time limits for submitting their claim to the WRC to 12 months initially, with a possible extension to 18 months where there is reasonable cause.

Notable amendments to the Equal Status Act 2000 (the “2000 Act”) are:

1. Amendment to the concept of victimisation in Section 2 Paragraph (a) of the 2000 Act, which amends the definition of “prohibited conduct” to include “victimisation.” This means that victimisation will be an offence under the 2000 Act and a person can seek redress. Victimisation is inserted as a tort in a new section of the 2000 Act. The purpose of this is to ensure that individuals who make discrimination claims under the 1998 or 2000 Act are not victimised for pursuing these claims. The amendment also extends to prevent any person being victimised for association with another person who has made a discrimination claim or from acting as a witness on behalf of that other person.
2. The 2000 Act currently requires complainants to notify the employer of the alleged discrimination within 2 months of the incident, which can be extended to 4 months where the complainant can show reasonable cause for the delay. A complainant can then proceed to make a claim to the WRC within 6 months of the incident if unsatisfied with the response. This time limit can likewise be extended to 12 months for reasonable cause. Where the complainant has not notified the employer, this requirement can be dispensed with in exceptional circumstances. The amendments made in the General Scheme extend the notification period from 2 to 4 months, with the possibility of an extension for a further 2 months. The time limit for submitting the claim to the WRC is extended from 6 to 12 months, with the possibility for an extension for a further 6 months.
3. The 2000 Act is limited in terms of remedies where a person or organisation is found guilty of discrimination. The compensation limit is currently €15,000.  In order to be brought in line with the EU Equality Directives, which require that all compensation be “effective, proportionate, and dissuasive,” the General Scheme proposes to raise the compensation limit to €75,000.00. Given the significant increase in the maximum limit, guidance will be provided to the WRC regarding the appropriate level of award to be made.

The proposed Bill, if passed as it is currently drafted, will bring substantial changes to the Irish employment equality law landscape, including potentially larger awards, a broadened scope of the application of the legislation in general, and longer time periods for employees to bring claims to the WRC.