Once an employee has established that they have the 12-month service required to come under the protections of the Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 (Ireland) (UDA 1977 (IRL)) and that they have been dismissed, the burden will be on the employer to show that there were substantial grounds justifying the dismissal. UDA 1977 (IRL), s 6(4) contains a list of permitted reasons for dismissal but an employer is not necessarily limited to this list and can potentially dismiss an employee for any substantial ground justifying dismissal. In practice, employers are normally required to demonstrate that the dismissal was wholly or mainly as a result of one of the following: • the conduct of the employee, or • the capability, competence or qualifications of the employee for performing work of the kind which he was employed by the employer to do, or • the redundancy of the employee Even when an employer has established that the dismissal is due to a permitted reason there remains an overriding obligation for the employer to

Received this day from [insert name of employer] of [insert address] the

Claimant Claimant’s history Does the claimant have a history of making personal injury claims? Nature of the injuries Are they consistent with and in proportion to the severity of the accident? High occupancy While high occupancy on its own would not indicate fraud, it could be a factor to be taken into account when there have been accusations of an induced or staged accident. No reason to stop If the defendant insists the claimant’s vehicle stopped for no reason, it could indicate an induced accident. Late reported claim While claimants usually have two years to bring a claim, if a claim is presented to an insurer over six months post-accident without any viable explanation as to why (eg the claimant has had an extended hospital admission, or their insurer had difficulty tracing the defendant’s insurer), then there is an enhanced possibility the claim is fraudulent. Phantom passengers If there are more claimants than the occupancy, as stated by the insured, this may suggest that the

Redundancy occurs when an employee(s) is dismissed because their role within the business ceases to exist. This can occur for a variety of reasons, for example, a requirement to downsize due to economic reasons such as a lack of work, the loss of a contract, cash flow difficulties, or it can be due to increased efficiencies (such as the roll out of AI) within the business resulting in a reduced need for certain roles. The Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (Ireland) (RPA 1967 (IRL)), as amended, and the Protection of Employment Acts 1977 (Ireland) (PEA 1977 (IRL)), as amended, governs collective redundancy situations in Ireland. Redundancy is defined in RPA 1967 (IRL), s 7(2) as occurring in five situations, each of which are impersonal and involve change, where is a dismissal is made wholly or mainly because: • the employer has ceased, or intends to cease, to carry on the business for the purposes of which the employee was employed by them, or has ceased or intends to cease, to carry on that business in the

The Unfair Dismissals Act 1977 (Ireland), as amended (UDA 1997 (IRL)), provides statutory protection to employees with over 12 months service from unfair dismissal in Ireland. In certain limited circumstances the service requirement for employees does not apply. The UDA 1997 (IRL) provides that all dismissals are unfair, unless the employer can show one of the excepted grounds exists and the employee was dismissed wholly or mainly on that ground. A redundancy situation is one of those excepted grounds. A redundancy is defined in the Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (Ireland) (RPA 1967 (IRL)), as amended. In order for a dismissal on grounds of redundancy to be considered a fair dismissal, the employer’s grounds for redundancy should be genuine and it acted fairly and reasonably in conducting the dismissal by redundancy. Fairness in redundancy In addition to showing that a redundancy situation exists, UDA 1977 (IRL), s 6(7)(a) provides that regard can be had, and in practice consideration is given by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), to both the ‘reasonableness’ and the ‘conduct’

Requirement for a registered office A private company limited by shares (LTD) is required, at all times, to have a registered office in Ireland to which all communications and notices may be addressed. The application to register an LTD (ie Form A1) must specify the particulars of the LTD’s registered office prior to the incorporation of the LTD. The registered office address must be a physical location and cannot be a PO box number to allow for the service of documents and to enable people to exercise their rights under the Companies Act 2014 (Ireland) (CA 2014 (IRL)) to inspect certain registers and documents held at the registered office. Changing the registered office An LTD may change its registered office address by giving notice to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) on a Form B2. The LTD must notify the CRO within 14 days after the date of the change. If an LTD fails to comply with this obligation, the LTD and any officer of it who is in default

ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note explores key elements regarding the registration of a virtual asset service provider in Ireland. Regulatory framework Virtual assets present significant money laundering and terrorist financing risks. To address these risks, the European Union adopted Directive (EU) 2018/843 (AMLD5) which, among other things, brings virtual asset service providers within the scope of the EU anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorist (AML/CFT) regulatory framework. Ireland’s AML/CFT regulatory framework is contained in the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (Ireland) CJ(MLTF)A 2010 (IRL)) as amended. Ireland transposed the AMLD5 in March 2021 with the enactment of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) (Amendment) Act 2021 (Ireland) which amended the CJ(MLTF)A 2010 (IRL). What is a virtual asset service provider? Under the CJ(MLTF)A 2010 (IRL), a virtual asset service provider (VASP) generally means any person (natural or legal) established in the State (ie Ireland) who

This Practice Note explains how security which has been created by an Irish company incorporated under the Companies Act 2014 (Ireland) (CA 2014 (IRL)) is perfected by registration in the Companies Registration Office (CRO). What does it mean to ‘perfect’ security? In many cases, when security is created, further steps must be taken to ‘perfect’ that security in order to ensure that the security interest is, and remains, effective against third parties. Perfection can be achieved in a number of ways, depending on: • the type of security interest granted • the type of entity granting the security, and • the type of asset which is secured by the security The main ways in which security is perfected are: • by registration, or • by notice to a third party Who may register charges at the Companies Registration Office? Under CA 2014 (IRL), s 410, the obligation to register a charge lies with the company, or any person interested in the charge (such as the secured party). In practice,

This Practice Note discusses the regulation of Retail Credit Firms in Ireland. It outlines the definition of a Retail Credit Firm under Central Bank Act 1997 (Ireland) (CBA 1997 (IRL) as amended by the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Retail Credit and Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2022 (Ireland) (CP(RRCCSF)A 2022 (IRL)). It provides an overview of the regulatory regime for Retail Credit Firms. It explains the application process for authorisation as a Retail Credit Firm and when a Retail Credit Firm could avail of the transitional provisions. The CP(RRCCSF)A 2022 (IRL) commenced on 10 May 2022 and expanded the definition of Retail Credit Firm in the CBA 1997 (IRL) beyond its initial remit, being cash loans (whether or not secured over land) to encompass hire-purchase and consumer-hire arrangements and other deferred payments or forms of financial accommodation. A Retail Credit Firm is a firm that carries out the ‘relevant activity’ of: • directly or indirectly providing credit to, or • entering into a consumer-hire agreement or hire-purchase agreement with, a

This Practice Note discusses the regulation of crowdfunding in Ireland under Regulation (EU) 2020/1503 (the ECSP Regulation) and SI No 702/2021 European Union (Crowdfunding) Regulations 2021 (Ireland) (SI 702/2021 (IRL)). It should be read in conjunction with Practice Notes: EU Regulation of crowdfunding—the ECSP Regulation and the MiFID II Crowdfunding Directive and The UK regulation of crowdfunding platforms—essentials. Equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer business lending in Ireland Prior to the ECSP Regulation, equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer business lending (P2P lending) in Ireland was not regulated unless the crowdfunding platform also carried out some other related regulated services, such as payment services or Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (2004/39/EC) (MiFID) investment services. As part of its 2017 Action Plan under the International Financial Services 2020 Strategy on the long term vision for the development of Ireland’s international financial services sector, the Irish government committed to carry out a public consultation on crowdfunding in the context of the European Commission’s Action Plan on Building a Capital Markets Union (originally launched in 2015). In April 2017, the

This Practice Note discusses the definition and regulatory requirements for ‘high cost credit providers’ in Ireland. It explains that such providers must obtain authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) to offer high cost credit services. This Practice Note also covers the application process for authorisation, renewal requirements, and transitional arrangements, providing an overview of the regulatory regime for these financial providers. What is a high cost credit provider? According to s 97 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 (Ireland) (CCA 1995 (IRL)) (as amended), a person who meets the definition of a ‘high cost credit provider’ is required to obtain authorisation from the CBI in order to provide these services. High cost credit providers were previously known as ‘moneylenders’, who were required to hold a ‘moneylender’s licence’ until the Consumer Credit (Amendment) Act 2022 (Ireland) (CC(A)A 2022 (IRL)) took effect on 14 November 2022. A ‘high cost credit provider’ is a person who: • engages in the provision of ‘high cost credit’, being credit supplied by a high cost credit provider

Payment service providers—the regulatory framework SI No 6/2018 EU (Payment Services) Regulations 2018 (Ireland) (SI No 6/2018 (IRL)), which transposes into Irish law the second Payment Services Directive (EU) 2015/2366 (PSD2). For further guidance on PSD2, see Practice Notes: • EU regulation of payment services—essentials • EU Payment Services Directive 2 (EU PSD2)—one minute guide SI No 6/2018 (IRL) also made amendments to SI No 183/2011 European Communities (Electronic Money) Regulations 2011 (Ireland) (SI No 183/2011 (IRL)). For further guidance on SI No 183/2011 (IRL), see Practice Note: Ireland—The regulated activity of issuing electronic money. What are payment services? ‘Payment services’ are defined in the SI No 6/2018 (IRL) as ‘any business activity set out in Annex I of PSD2’. Directive (EU) 2015/2366, art 4(3), SI No 6/2018 (IRL), reg 2(2) and SI No 6/2018 (IRL), Sch 1 are subject to specific exclusions (SI No 6/2018 (IRL), reg 4(1) and Directive (EU) 2015/2366, art 3 (PSD2)—see below). The specified ‘payment services’ activities are: • services enabling cash to be placed