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ARTICLE · 27 NOVEMBER 2025

The Workplace Relations Act 2015: A Ten-Year Retrospective

William Fry LLP
William Fry LLP
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William Fry LLP

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This year (2025) marked a significant milestone in Irish employment law: the tenth anniversary of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 (Act).

IrelandEmployment and HR
Nuala Clayton
Nuala Clayton
Clíodhna McHugh
Clíodhna McHugh
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This year (2025) marked a significant milestone in Irish employment law: the tenth anniversary of the Workplace Relations Act 2015 (Act).

The Act consolidated and streamlined Ireland's workplace dispute resolution mechanisms, replacing a fragmented system with a more efficient and transparent framework. The cornerstone reform was the creation of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

Prior to the Act, a patchwork of bodies — the Employment Appeals Tribunal, the Labour Relations Commission, the Labour Court and the Equality Tribunal — had jurisdiction to hear different types of employment law complaints. The system provided multiple points of entry for redress and multiple routes of appeal, which had the potential to increase the complexity and costs of litigation. After the Act came into force, the system was simplified. The WRC became the tribunal of first instance for employment disputes and the Labour Court the sole appellate body.

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