A leading employment law solicitor is advising workers of their rights if employers try to insist on enforcing mask-wearing even after the rules are lifted.
The majority of Ireland’s Covid rules are set to end on Monday and it will no longer be compulsory to wear masks in schools, at work or in shops.
There will still be a recommendation to continue wearing masks on public transport and in healthcare settings.
Richard Grogan, who owns a well-known personal injury and employment law firm in Dublin, has been providing advice to Irish employees in recent months through his popular TikTok account.
The account has amassed almost 814,000 likes and has over 128,000 followers since it arrived on the video-sharing platform last December.
Mr Grogan, who established his firm Richard Grogan & Associates Solicitors in 2009, has gained popularity for his free legal advice on Irish employment law matters.
"An issue is coming up and I'm getting a lot of questions about the issue of mask-wearing now that the government has said you don't have to wear masks as to what an employer can do," he said in a video this week.
"I'm going to try and be as helpful as I can about this."
He goes on to explain: "Employers may very well have employees who are immune-compromised, you may have employees who are working with you who have families at home who are immune-compromised, there may be people who have health risks.
"Covid isn't completely gone so an employer in those situations, if they've done a health and safety assessment, can decide for the health and safety and wellbeing of everyone at work that there will be mask-wearing in the office.
"They can also put in the protections that are already there like hand-washing.
"So yes, an employer can insist upon mask-wearing."
