Employment law and immigration law are distinct disciplines, yet their intersection creates real difficulties for Irish businesses, write Declan Groarke and Emma Quinn.
Both are complex, frequently amended, and politically charged. Anyone working in or near HR and global mobility needs a working knowledge of each.
Think of them as siblings: they usually get along and often work well together, but occasionally they clash and create awkward problems.
Look more closely at what makes them different, however, and the potential for conflict becomes starker.
A key pillar of Irish employment law is protection from discrimination – including on grounds of race and nationality. Immigration law, by its nature, creates a two-tier hierarchy of job applicants and employees, divided along nationality lines.
Under the Employment Equality Acts, indirect discrimination occurs where an apparently neutral provision or practice puts persons of a particular race or nationality at a disadvantage compared with others, unless objectively justified by a legitimate aim pursued through appropriate and necessary means.
An employer that refuses applications from candidates who require permission to work in Ireland would likely face an indirect discrimination claim.
The policy applies to everyone in theory, but in practice it affects non-EU nationals most acutely.
Employers implementing such a policy should be aware of the risk of an unsuccessful job applicant...
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