Key Contacts: Cian Moriarty – Partner |
Workplace Relations Commission Annual Report 2025: Key Trends for Employers
Each year the Employment and Immigration team at Philip Lee LLP review the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) Annual Report and the latest figures published at the end of April 2026 for 2025 to provide some useful insights for employers.
One of the most notable findings from the 2025 report is the significant increase in claims brought before the WRC.
In 2025, the WRC received over 10,500 complaint applications, representing more than 19,000 individual complaints. That’s a 44% increase in applications and a 28% increase in specific complaints compared with the previous year.
Even more noteworthy is the fact that this represents a 73% increase in applications compared to 2023 and nearly 38% increase in specific complaints.
When you compare this to an average of 2% increase in the number of employees year on year it’s clear that employees are claiming more and more frequently against their employers.
What are employees complaining about?
The biggest categories of complaint remain fairly familiar:
- There was almost 5k Pay-related issues accounting for 26% of complaints, the highest category,
- Almost 3,300 unfair dismissal claims make up 17%.
- Almost 2,700 Equality complaints accounted for 14% continue to rise, with disability, race and gender remaining the most frequently cited grounds, and disability complaints alone increasing by over 50% since 2024.
The WRC attributes this to the emergence of new and more complex areas of dispute, and heightened awareness of statutory rights and obligations.
It must be considered that AI also plays a significant role in terms of purporting to inform employees of their rights and entitlements.
It is also the case that since WRC cases are heard in public there is more media reporting of employment disputes and therefore more knowledge and more discussions about employment rights generally.
What should employers take from all of this?
There are three key themes emerging from the report.
First, getting the basics right on pay, contracts and procedures remain essential.
Claims are on the rise, employees are more knowledgeable and more willing to challenge their employer than ever before, and prevention is almost always cheaper than litigation.
Second, equality and reasonable accommodation issues around employees with disabilities deserve increasing attention and must be considered carefully and meaningfully.
Third, with disputes becoming more complex and costly, early advice and proactive management of issues has never been more valuable.
The WRC Annual Report 2025 provides valuable insights into workplace trends and disputes across Ireland. In the accompanying video, Partner Cian Moriarty outlines the key findings and what employers should be aware of. Contact our team to find out how we can help.
