Ireland: Ireland Fined €1.54 million by the Court of Justice of the European Union

The Court of Justice of the European Union (“CJEU”) has fined Ireland €1.54 million to be paid as a lump sum for its delay in implementing the EU Work-Life Balance Directive.

The CJEU recently determined in Case C‑69/24 that Ireland had failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 258 and Article 260(3) of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union. This case concerns proceedings brought by the European Commission against Ireland for failing to transpose Directive 2019/1158 (the “Work-Life Balance Directive”) on work-life balance for parents and carers. The Work-Life Balance Directive, which aims to achieve gender equality in labour market opportunities and treatment at work, required Member States to implement necessary national measures by 2 August 2022.

Ireland was approximately 19 months late in transposing the requirements under the Work-Life Balance Directive. The Commission initiated infringement proceedings after Ireland failed to notify the complete transposition of the Work-Life Balance Directive by the deadline.

The Work-Life Balance Directive mandates minimum standards such as:

• At least 10 working days of paternity leave;
• Four months of parental leave with two months non-transferable from one parent to the other and these must be adequately compensated by each EU Country;
• Up to five days carers leave per year; and
• A formal right to request flexible working arrangements for parents and carers.

It was noted during the proceedings that while Ireland positively had made progress in the Work-Life Balance Directive’s implementation, full transposition was not achieved until 6 March 2024, when the Code of Practice implementing the right to request remote and flexible working arrangements took effect. Nevertheless, this made the final step in aligning national legislation with the Directive’s requirements and ensuring that employees can now formally seek greater balance between their professional and personal responsibilities. This underscores the importance of timely implementation of EU directives on Member States to ensure that the rights and protections they confer are put into effect.