Workplace Relations Commission Annual Report 2025
May 2026On 24 April 2026, the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”) published its Annual Report for 2025, marking ten years since its establishment under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The Report provides a detailed analysis of the evolving landscape of employment regulation and dispute resolution in Ireland and reflects an organisation operating under sustained pressure, increasing complexity and heightened public engagement.
Against a backdrop of record employment levels, expanding statutory rights and rapid social and technological change, the WRC’s workload continued to rise sharply in 2025. For practitioners, employers and employees alike, the Report offers important insights into regulatory trends, enforcement priorities and procedural developments likely to shape workplace relations in the years ahead.
Rising demand and public engagement
Demand for the WRC’s services increased across almost all areas in 2025. The Information and Customer Service Unit dealt with over 64,600 calls, a 9% increase on 2024, while the WRC website recorded approximately 4.7 million page views, up 10% from last year. These figures underline the growing reliance placed on the WRC by both employers and workers seeking guidance on employment rights, equality and industrial relations matters.
A particularly notable feature of the Report is the dramatic increase in complaints. The WRC received 10,559 complaint applications in 2025, representing a 44% increase on the previous year and generating over 19,000 specific complaints. The most prevalent issues were:
- Pay
- Unfair dismissal
- Discrimination and equality claims
- Terms and conditions of employment
- Working time
- Trade Disputes/IR Issues
Adjudication under pressure
The Adjudication Service offered by the WRC faced significant capacity challenges throughout 2025. Although the volume of adjudication files created in 2025 increased by 30%, the number of hearings held fell slightly. This not only reflects the increasing length and complexity of cases and ongoing resource constraints but also the impact that the Zalewski decision had on enhanced procedural safeguards.
| Adjudication Files Created | Hearings Scheduled | |
| 2024 | 6,678 | 9,020 |
| 2025 | 8,690 | 7,727 |
2025 saw the number of hearings scheduled in 2025, drop by 14% on the previous year, demonstrating the capacity issues that the WRC is facing in this service.
Despite these pressures, the WRC maintained a strong performance in the issuing of decisions. A total of 2,506 adjudication decisions were issued during the year with a median timeframe of 39 working days from hearing to decision, emphasising the WRC’s prioritisation of timely decision making. Notably, approximately 63% of complaints were withdrawn before, during or after adjudication, highlighting the extent of engagement and case management required even where matters do not ultimately proceed to a final determination.
Appeals to the Labour Court continue to provide a useful indicator of decision quality. In 2025, the WRC was notified of 300 decisions/recommendations that were issued by the Labour Court. Of these:
- 68% were upheld;
- 17% were varied; and
- 15% were overturned.
Expansion of mediation and early resolution
Pre-adjudication mediation continues to grow as a core feature of the WRC’s dispute resolution framework. In 2025, the WRC delivered 1,034 pre-adjudication mediations, a 16% increase on 2024 and the first time the service exceeded 1,000 mediations in a single year.
Approximately 54% of mediations resulted in resolution, with a further cohort of cases being withdrawn following engagement with the mediation process. In total, over 1,800 complaints were concluded prior to adjudication, reinforcing the cost-effective and less adversarial role that mediation plays in resolving workplace disputes. Telephone mediation continued to show particularly strong outcomes, while face-to-face mediation remained essential in equality, unfair dismissal and more complex cases.
Inspection, enforcement and prosecutions
The Inspection and Enforcement Division remained a highly active and visible element of the WRC’s work. In 2025, 5,596 workplace inspection visits were conducted with 1,775 employers found to be in breach of employment law. The Report makes clear that non-compliance remains concentrated in specific sectors, particularly food services, hair and beauty, agriculture, meat processing and hospitality.
The WRC recovered €1.58 million in unpaid wages during the year and significantly increased its enforcement activity. In 2025, we saw:
- 223 prosecutions brought (up by 27% on the previous year);
- An 82% prosecution success rate; and
- Additional tools such as compliance notices and fixed payment notices used.
Joint inspections with An Garda Síochána, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Social Protection also continued to grow, reflecting a strong emphasis on coordinated enforcement.
Legal and strategic developments
The Legal Division played a prominent role during 2025, both operationally and strategically. Of particular note was the publication of guidance on the use of artificial intelligence in submissions before the WRC, responding to an emerging trend of AI-generated pleadings. This highlights the continued obligation on parties regarding the importance of human oversight to safeguard against risks.
The Report also highlights the WRC’s engagement with significant legislative change, including developments in disability discrimination, gender pay gap reporting and pay transparency. The designation of the WRC as a Market Surveillance Authority under the EU Artificial Intelligence Act signals an expanded regulatory role for the Commission.
Looking ahead
The 2025 Report coincides with the launch of the WRC’s new Strategy Statement “A Decade of Impact, a Future of Fair Work and Equality”. The central tenets of this ensure that the WRC can continue to protect workers rights, resolve disputes, empower people with knowledge and strengthen the WRC’s capabilities through continuous improvement.
For employers and practitioners, it is clear that engagement with the WRC is intensifying with enforcement activity becoming increasingly targeted and procedural expectations continuing to rise. As statutory rights expand and disputes become more complex, the WRC’s influence on Irish employment law and industrial relations is set to grow further.
Final thoughts
The WRC Annual Report reinforces the increasingly central role of the Commission in the resolution and enforcement of workplace disputes. At the same time, the WRC’s strategic focus on early resolution, procedural reform and organisational restructuring signals a more structured and interventionist approach to employment regulation in the years ahead. Employers should take note of the clear trends emerging from the Report and ensure that workplace policies, record‑keeping and dispute‑management practices are robust, up to date and capable of withstanding increasing scrutiny.
If you have any questions regarding the information discussed in this article, please contact Sarah Conroy and Alexandra Wilde.
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