Most employment contracts, in particular those of senior key individuals, will likely include a set of post-termination restrictive covenants. For example, a promise not to join a competitor for a set period post-employment. However, the question of whether such a contractual commitment is, in fact, truly enforceable, was recently addressed by the High Court following the 8 day hearing of Ryanair DAC v Peter Bellew.

English High Court objects to the scheme of transfer of £12 billion annuities from Prudential Assurance Company to Rothesay Life Plc

The continued trend of substantial compensation awards, against the backdrop of Ireland's ageing workforce and plans to increase the State pension age to 67 next year (and to 68 in 2028), is a cause of concern for employers attempting to balance their business needs without cutting across Ireland's equality laws.

On 6 January 2020, ESMA published its Level 3 Guidelines for compliance with the obligation to report securities financing transactions under the SFTR.

Welcome to the January 2020 edition of Legal News. We at William Fry aim to keep you up to date on legal developments that may affect you or your business.

The recent Supreme Court judgment of Mr Justice MacMenamin in Dunnes Stores v Revenue Commissioners & Others [2019] IESC 50 considered the fundamental features of the plastic bag levy provisions contained in the Waste Management Act 1996 and related legislation.

In the final instalment of our 12 Days of Christmas series, we look at some developments that we can expect in 2020.

In an opinion delivered on 19 December 2019, Advocate General Henrik Saugmandsgaard Øe finds that the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) should declare that the Commission's decision on standard contractual clauses (SCCs), widely used for the international data transfers, is valid. William Fry represented BSA The Software Alliance, (which includes Microsoft, Apple, Workday, Adobe and others) before the Irish Court that made this reference.

In the penultimate instalment of our '12 Days of Christmas' series, we highlight three pension law developments from 2019.