Issue 639
Public Affairs Ireland
The Trusted Provider of Professional Learning and Development for the Public and Private Sector. www.pai.ie
Welcome to PAI's weekly newsletter
Wishing you all a Happy New Year and as we step into 2023 this weeks update on public sector news features a range of topical updates.
This week, the Data Protection Commission announces their conclusion into Meta Ireland for breaches for GDPR, the new Protected Disclosure rules have come into effect since 1 January, and the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney TD, has welcomed new entitlements to employer paid sick leave.
The Data Protection Commission (DPC) on Wednesday 4 January 2023 announced the conclusion of two inquiries into the data processing operations of Meta Platforms Ireland Limited ("Meta Ireland") in connection with the delivery of its Facebook and Instagram services.
Final decisions have now been made by the DPC in which it has fined Meta Ireland €210 million (for breaches of the GDPR relating to its Facebook service), and €180 million (for breaches in relation to its Instagram service). Meta Ireland has also been directed to bring its data processing operations into compliance within a period of 3 months.
In advance of 25 May 2018, Meta Ireland had changed the Terms of Service for its Facebook and Instagram services. It also flagged the fact that it was changing the legal basis on which it relies to legitimise its processing of users’ personal data. Having previously relied on the consent of users to the processing of their personal data in the context of the delivery of the Facebook’s and Instagram’s services (including behavioural advertising), Meta Ireland now sought to rely on the “contract” legal basis for most (but not all) of its processing operations.
Under a procedure mandated by the GDPR, the draft decisions prepared by the DPC were submitted to its peer regulators in the EU/EEA, also known as Concerned Supervisory Authorities (“CSA's”). Ten of the 47 CSA's raised objections in relation to other elements of the draft decisions. In particular, this subset of CSAs took the view that Meta Ireland should not be permitted to rely on the contract legal basis on the grounds that the delivery of personalised advertising could not be said to be necessary to perform the core elements of what was said to be a much more limited form of contract.
The DPC disagreed, reflecting its view that the Facebook and Instagram services include, and indeed appear to be premised on, the provision of a personalised service that includes personalised or behavioural advertising.
When a consensus could not be reached, the DPC referred the points in dispute to the European Data Protection Board (“the EDPB”) who issued its determinations on 5 December 2022, and rejected many of the objections raised by the CSAs.
10.00am - 1.00pm - 21 February 2023
Certificate in GDPR
Since 1 January 2023, Ireland's new whistleblowing legislation, the Protected Disclosures Act 2022 ("the Act") is now law.
The Act protects workers in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors from retaliation if they speak up about potential wrongdoing in the workplace. Workers can report wrongdoing internally to their employer or externally to a third party including to personnel within certain State bodies / agencies known as "prescribed persons".
Persons who make protected disclosures under the Act (sometimes referred to as “whistleblowers”) are entitled to significant legal protection. It is now a criminal offence to subject them to any form of "penalisation" (such as losing their job or any other form of unfair / adverse treatment as a result of having made a protected disclosure). It is also a criminal offence to breach the stringent requirement to protect the identity of a whistleblower.
Under the Act, from 1 January 2023 all public sector employers are now required to have prescriptive internal channels and procedures for their workers to make protected disclosures. This requirement also now applies to all private sector employers with 250 or more employees, as well as to all business in certain regulated sectors.
From 17 December 2023, it will also apply to all employers with 50 or more employees.
The new law will require public sector employers, prescribed persons and all in-scope private employers to revise and update their procedures and channels for receiving and handling protected disclosures. In particular, the Act now imposes prescriptive new requirements for acknowledging receipt of protected disclosures, "diligently following up" on them (e.g. via internal investigation) and for providing feedback to the whistleblower.
On Wednesday, 25 January (09.30-11.30), PAI will host a 2 hour online CPD aligned seminar on this topic. The topics for discussion on the day will be delivered by legal experts A&L Goodbody who will explore:
9.30am – 4.30pm - 31st January, 7th and 8th February 2023 (Blended Delivery)
9:30am - 4.00pm -13, 20 & 23 February 2023 (Blended Delivery)
The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Simon Coveney, has welcomed the new entitlement to employer-paid sick leave which came into effect on the 1 January 2023 . Workers will now be entitled to up to 3 days of employer-paid sick leave in a year, paid at 70% of gross salary up to a cap of €110 per day.
Minister Coveney said it was an important new employee entitlement:
"This new entitlement to paid sick leaveis the latest in a series of improvements to rights and social protections for workers and the self-employed in recent years. As with all workers’ rights legislation, this new law sets out the minimum standard that an employer must provide. Many employers have superior sick pay schemes to help attract and retain staff or on foot of an agreement with a trade union."
Recommended by LinkedIn
9.30am – 1.00pm - 31st January 2023 - Online Delivery
9.30am - 4.00pm - 7, 14 & 21 March - (Blended Delivery)
Public Sector organisations who avail of the incentive will be granted an additional 10% in training credits*, to be used on any training during 2023, including Accredited Certified Courses, Online Seminars, Bespoke In-House and eLearning Programmes. In addition, PAI are offering Training Card Holders automatic membership status gaining them exclusive offers and discounts along with access to a dedicated account manager and end of year L&D audit report.*This credit must be used by the end of 2023 and automatic membership is subject to minimum purchase.
Can ESG issues improve the well-being of employees in the coming year as human-centered business becomes more a part of the mainstream?
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues and the power shift in favor of sought-after employees will emerge as business-as-usual topics in 2023, even amid the uncertain global economic environment. Indeed, both topics remained consistently in the top business news headlines in 2022 and in general, are a continuation of a larger trend of human-centered business.
As a result, these topics will become part of the normal course of business discourse in 2023. More specifically, here are five ESG themes that will be on the horizon this coming year:......
PAI Seminar: Increasing Impact of ESG Criteria on Corporate Governance
9.30am – 3.00pm 29 March 2023 (In Person)
9:30am - 4.00pm - 22 February, 7 & 8 March 2023 (Day 1 in-person, Day 2 & 3 Online)
Organisations want to recruit more autistic women and those with dyslexia and ADHD to work in cybersecurity roles.
The British spy agency GCHQ and weapons manufacturer BAE Systems have issued an appeal to attract more neurodivergent women to work for them in cybersecurity jobs.
The employers are actively seeking women on the autism spectrum and women with dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for cyber security roles to address gaps in their workforce's.
Neurodivergent people often report challenges in work environments. The Office for National Statistics last year reported that 22% of autistic people were in work, the lowest among the disabilities they analysed.
However, employers in some industries have in recent years said .....
9.30am – 11.30pm - 7 February 2023 (Online Delivery)
Oireachtas Business
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Dail Éireann resumes on Wednesday, 18 January 2023 at 2pm
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