Managing a new generation of workers and hybrid working effectively requires regular performance conversations, clear direction and strategic alignment with business goals, writes Seán McLoughney A new generation of workers requires a different approach to managing performance. Younger employees need and expect more frequent conversations about their performance and want clarity and direction in terms of their work and career progression. Another issue facing managers is how best to manage working from home. The debate over hybrid working arrangements is ongoing, but there is a lot of research on the benefits and pitfalls of remote working. While managers may prefer that their team works in the office, people often prefer the flexibility of working from home at least two days a week. This presents a problem when it comes to managing performance, however. Managers tend to manage performance based on what they see and hear and their interactions with their team. There is a lack of visibility when people work from home. This can lead to people feeling that their efforts are not being recognised and valued by management. Here are simple steps managers can take to overcome these issues. Give time and support Show you care about your team by giving them your time and real support. Setting aside at least one hour once a quarter to focus on performance and career progression is the minimum that talented people expect. This investment in your team is important in retaining your best people. On average, people will give you 1,900 hours of their time per year. How much one-to-one time do you give them as their manager? Regular performance conversations are about more than just discussing people’s key targets and objectives. These conversations also allow you to check in with people who work from home and keep up to date with what they are working on. Regular and meaningful conversations and feedback underpin a high-performance culture. Discuss the business plan Give context to your team’s performance by discussing your organisation’s business plan. Your role is to translate the business strategy at its highest level into what it means for the team and each individual within it. People are more engaged when they know that their work matters. Discussing the business plan will show them how they can make a positive contribution to the business. At a team meeting, outline the key areas of the plan and how it impacts the team. Describe what success looks like by the end of the year. Ask the team what they think needs to happen to achieve these expected results. You can also encourage everyone to set goals for themselves based on this discussion. This will increase personal responsibility by fostering a sense of ownership for their performance. Discuss strategy Always explain the business reason when goals change. Surviving in a dynamic business environment requires people to be flexible and agile because companies need to adapt to market conditions. Ensure that everyone’s priorities are aligned with current team goals to stay on top of your ever-changing demands. This will encourage your team to focus on what matters to your business in the present moment rather than spending time working on goals set at the start of the year, which are now outdated. Regular performance conversations will bring clarity and direction to your team. They provide managers with a great platform to communicate expectation levels and ensure that their efforts are focused on the current priorities that matter. Show real support If the achievement of your business goals is dependent on how you manage your team and new team members, then it is important to show real support. Set aside regular time for meaningful performance conversations regardless of where your team members are located, bring context to their efforts and ensure everyone is focused on current priorities. Seán McLoughney is the founder of LearningCurve and author of Time Management, Meaningful Performance Reviews and Slave to a Job, Master of your Career, all published by Chartered Accountants Ireland

Tax measures to be introduced in Budget 2025 must not add to the already heavy compliance burden facing SMEs and promote greater investment in domestic business. Kim Doyle explains why The Irish economy needs both domestic direct investment (DDI) and foreign direct investment (FDI) to grow and diversify while supporting a sustainable tax base. According to the CSO Business in Ireland 2021 report, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accounted for 99.8 percent of all businesses and over 69 percent of persons employed in Ireland. This demonstrates the vital role SMEs play, acting as the “engine room” of the Irish economy. While there are numerous forces already driving a successful entrepreneurial landscape in Ireland – such as a skilled workforce, digitalisation and technological advances – our tax system is critical and should act coherently to drive domestic investment and support a strong SME ecosystem. Additional tax measures should be implemented to build stronger DDI and provide an attractive entrepreneurial landscape for SME growth and scale-up. Now is the time. Budget 2025 is a couple of months away. New tax policies and changes to current tax measures may be announced on budget day. I hope the following tax measures for SMEs are included. Capital gains tax retirement relief Age limits on retirement relief of €10 million for individuals aged between 55 years and 69 years and €3 million for individuals from 70 years, where the disposal is within the family and made on or after 1 January 2025. These limits will deters the transfer of family businesses during the lifetime of an entrepreneur and presents problems in the transfer of a family business to the next generation. While a business may be valuable and exceed these limits, there may not be liquid funds to discharge a tax liability arising on a transfer of that business. This would be for the benefit and longevity of the business. This may delay family successions until such time that the transfer occurs as part of an inheritance. Such an outcome is counterproductive, considering that the purpose and intent of retirement relief is to facilitate transfers of businesses to the next generation at an optimum time for the business rather than on the death of the owner. Stamp duty relief Currently, relief from CGT (e.g. retirement relief, revised entrepreneur relief) and Capital Acquisitions Tax (CAT) – e.g. business relief – may apply to the passing of a business to the next generation. Such transfers often include commercial property. There is no relief for the 7.5 percent stamp duty charge arising on the transfer of the property, however. Consanguinity relief should be extended to encourage and support lifetime transfers of business property to the next generation. Angel investor relief Angel investor relief could be simplified and conditions eased to provide the intended benefits to innovative SMEs. The reduced CGT rate of 16 percent (or 18 percent in the case of investment through a partnership) for angel investment in innovative start-ups is a positive measure and should open the door to much-needed investment. This may help the sector to grow and foster entrepreneurship in Ireland. Numerous conditions must be satisfied to qualify for this relief, however, and there are penalties for getting it wrong. Practically, this means this relief may be difficult to avail of and the flow of benefits to innovative SMEs may be hampered. The relief needs to be simplified and the conditions made less onerous in order for this relief to provide the intended benefits to innovative start-ups and their investors. Decarbonisation and digitalisation New decarbonisation digitalisation credits would assist in addressing the reality that SMEs are working to keep up to speed with mega trends in both areas. They may be doing this either by researching, developing and delivering products to address the impact of these trends or by implementing relevant technologies in the business. This could be modelled on the research and development (R&D) tax credit regime, such that a new decarbonisation credit would support businesses seeking to lower carbon emissions and accelerate the decarbonisation process.   Similarly, a new digitalisation tax credit could support businesses with their digital transformation. Simplification A review of the statutory corporation tax return (Form CT1) and the Irish tax legislation is needed.   The Form CT1 has become cumbersome in recent years, mainly due to the volume of significant tax policy changes requiring additions to Form CT1. There is an opportunity to simplify the Form CT1 and ease the administrative burden, particularly for SMEs not within scope of recent tax policy changes driven by international tax reform.   The establishment and ongoing work of the  Tax Administration Liaison Committee Sub-Committee on the Simplification and Modernisation of Business Reliefs for SMEs is an important forum for stakeholders to work together to identify opportunities to simplify and modernise the administration of business supports. Now, though, the government must review other areas of the Irish tax system. Irish tax legislation, particularly the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, should be reviewed with a view to simplification as a matter of priority. The SME Test The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s SME Test is to help policymakers consider the potential impact of any new legislation or regulation in terms of the regulatory burden it places on SMEs. The SME Test should support the design of tax policies that reflect less stringent compliance requirements for SMEs. It is vital that new tax policies do not add to the already heavy compliance burden facing SMES, while also providing support, opportunities for growth and promoting greater domestic investment. Kim Doyle is Director of Tax Policy and Technical Services at Deloitte

As Ireland enters its third year of gender pay gap reporting, Andrew Egan and Aoife Newton outline legislative updates, bonus gap impacts and new reporting requirements As many employers in Ireland commence their third year of gender pay gap reporting, it is essential to understand the legislative changes and analyse bonus trends following the introduction of the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, and identify important changes for employers to note as they begin this year’s gender pay gap reporting cycle. Bonus gap analysis A fundamental feature of the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021 reporting requirements relates to bonus gap calculations. These calculations are used to understand the disparity in bonus payments between genders within an organisation. Bonus payments can also considerably impact total remuneration (as bonus pay is built into ordinary pay results), affecting the overall pay gap within an organisation. As a result, the observation of a large bonus gap is often reflected in the overall pay gap. Pay gap trends More than 1,000 gender pay reports from 2022 and 2023 have been analysed by KPMG’s data team to identify key trends in Ireland across different industries: From 2022 to 2023, the average bonus gap in Ireland rose by 1.5 percent, up from 16.5 percent to 18 percent. In 2023, 87 percent of the employers analysed reported a bonus pay gap in favour of men. The most common reason cited by employers for their pay gap related to a higher proportion of men occupying senior roles. The bonus gaps are biggest in the insurance, real estate and construction, financial services and professional services industries. Senior roles are typically associated with higher bonus remuneration. We expect bonus and pay gaps to persist if women remain underrepresented at senior levels. Correctly determining the cause of an employer’s gender pay gap is critical in addressing the problem and improving the gap in future reporting cycles. We are seeing employers having to more clearly define their bonus pay models to ensure greater transparency and consistency of treatment of men and women to reduce or eliminate bonus pay gaps, which in turn will positively impact their overall gender pay gap. Gender Pay Gap Reporting in 2024 In late May 2024, the Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 20A) (Gender Pay Gap Information) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (the 2024 Regulations) were introduced. Following this, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth updated its Gender Pay Gap FAQs for employers document (the FAQs) and the associated Guidance Note document. The 2024 Regulations amend the original Employment Equality Act 1998 (Section 20A) (Gender Pay Gap Information) Regulations 2022 (the 2022 Regulations) to reflect the obligation of relevant employers with over 150 employees to report on their gender pay gap in 2024. This reporting threshold will expand to those with over 50 employees in 2025. The 2024 Regulations also provided an update on the definition of ‘basic pay’ to include payment when an employee is on certain types of statutory leave (adoptive leave, maternity leave, parents leave (or transferred parents leave) paternity leave (or transferred paternity leave), entitling them to a corresponding social welfare benefit. Employees entitled to the relevant benefit for each of these types of leave under the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 shall now have these payments included as a component of their basic pay calculations. Employers should incorporate salary top-ups to employees on statutory leave as listed above when calculating employees’ pay. The FAQs guides employers who do not pay a top-up to employees to ‘report on the benefit the employee is paid where eligible.’ Online reporting We understand that the development of an online reporting system is underway. We expect this will consist of a central portal where all employer data will be uploaded. While we think it is unlikely this will be in place for 2024 reporting, we are awaiting further details on its implementation and whether its operation will move the reporting deadline from December to November in future years. This change would result in employers having five months from their June snapshot date to report on their gender pay gap, instead of the current six-month period. Gender pay gap and shares One of the most significant changes brought about by the 2024 Regulations was the shift in the approach to how share options and interests in shares are treated for gender pay gap calculations. After the 2022 Regulations were introduced, many employers struggled with the application of these elements as a part of bonus remuneration calculations. Share options and interests in shares are now included in the benefit-in-kind calculations rather than under bonus remuneration. The definition of benefit-in-kind now includes “any non-cash benefit of an estimated monetary value and, for the purposes of these regulations, includes share options and interests in shares.” Shares (distinct from share options and interests in shares) are still part of bonus pay and, as such, the value of shares issued during the reporting period should be included in bonus remuneration calculations. Andrew Egan is Director at KPMG and Aoife Newton is Director at KPMG Law

Geraldine Gallagher explains the challenges for people returning to work following maternity leave, and how HR managers and leaders can best support these employees When a person returns to work following maternity leave, everyone in the workplace may see her as the same person who went on maternity leave. However, she is no longer that same person, due to her new identity – a working parent with competing responsibilities. She may not know quite who she is anymore and this is part of the reason that transitioning back to work is more challenging for working parents than managers usually realise. However, we can do a lot about making it better. Supporting women returning to work following maternity leave is not just a matter of ‘the right thing to do’. It impacts the bottom line, makes good business sense and is a strategic opportunity for employers. Maternity leave is a short period in a woman’s overall career, which presents organisations with an opportunity to implement supportive policies and practices to retain top talent, enhance diversity, boost employee engagement and drive overall business success. Embracing these opportunities creates a win-win situation for employees and employers, leading to a more dynamic, inclusive and productive workplace. The impact of maternity leave HR managers and leaders need to be aware of the impact going on maternity leave and returning can have on women. By not being fully aware of the transition your employees are going through, you miss the opportunity to fully engage, retain and support them. There are several considerations you should be aware of for your returning employees. When the individual has returned, please remember they are still navigating a personal transition; not just physically but emotionally and psychologically. Re-assure them that what they are feeling is normal and it doesn’t change how you see them. The individual now has a new identity as a working parent. For first-time parents, this is a new identity to navigate. For parents who have expanded their family, they also have the new identity of a working parent to several children, which also comes with additional responsibility. The individual may also be experiencing a crisis of confidence because of being out of the workplace for a period. When they return, it will take time for the individual to gain a sense of belonging and to re-build their confidence. Transition into and out of maternity leave Performance reviews and the process of engaging with reviews while the individual is on maternity leave; Promotion opportunities while on maternity leave, and who will communicate these to the individual; Further career opportunities; How the individual prefers to keep up to date with company communications while on maternity leave; and The company policies and benefits/services available to them now, while on maternity leave and when they return, such as sleep consultants, breastfeeding support and maternity transition coaching support. When a member of staff is returning from maternity leave, the lines of communication should remain open to discuss: What the individual may need to ease their transition back. For example, some employers offer a phased return or flexibility. Ensure everything the individual needs has been set up and ready for their return, including a laptop, office access, log-in details, new system user set-up and system training. Be open and clear on the individual’s role and their objectives. This prevents the individual from questioning their place in the workplace. Re-boarding process: It can be useful to assign a “buddy” during this stage to support the individual both emotionally (especially if their buddy is a working parent) and administratively, such as helping them get up to speed with new systems or processes. Offer maternity transition workshops or one-to-one maternity transition coaching support with an expert who can guide and support them. Employers should consider Keeping in Touch days to maintain connections and ease transitions for employees. Ultimately, embracing these opportunities benefits both employees and employers, fostering a supportive organisational culture. Geraldine Gallagher is a Leadership and Transition Coach at Inspire Coaching

Companies integrating tax disclosures into sustainability efforts face a complex transparency challenge. David McGee explains why Tax is becoming an increasingly important aspect of a company’s social responsibility and overall values. This is evident in its inclusion in sustainability reporting frameworks, such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). The trend towards integrating tax disclosures into sustainability efforts indicates that companies face a complex and ongoing challenge regarding tax transparency and sustainability. PwC’s 2024 Tax Transparency Report analysed the tax disclosures of all 20 companies listed on the main market of the Irish Stock Exchange (Euronext Dublin) to see how prepared they are for tax disclosures under the CSRD and how it affects their tax approach. Tax policy approach We found that companies primarily make tax disclosures through a tax strategy, also known as a company's approach to tax or tax policy. We discovered that 80 percent of companies mentioned tax in their broader sustainability reports, up 14 percent on last year. This indicates that companies recognise the importance of tax as an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metric in which their stakeholders are interested. Additionally, one more company reported on tax with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) 207 standard compared to last year. However, few companies describe how their approach to tax links to their sustainability strategy. This may be due to simply not connecting the dots between tax and sustainability efforts. The CSRD is still in its relative infancy and, as such, the number of companies reporting a link between their tax and sustainability strategy is expected to rise in the years ahead. Broader implications Integrating economic and social impacts into tax strategy reflects an organisation’s commitment to considering the broader implications of its actions beyond mere financial gains, including its impact on communities and the environment. Here are some key steps businesses can take today: Engage the board: Increasing investor pressure on tax means tax transparency is now a board-level issue. It is essential for your board, tax function and ESG teams to fully engage with this issue and to align tax practices with sustainability strategy. Engage with your sustainability teams: Tax and sustainability teams should work closely to ensure that double materiality assessments carried out under the CSRD consider tax-related impact, risks and opportunities. This will contribute to informed decisions on the materiality of tax. Prioritise your tax strategy: Prioritise creating a formal tax strategy to guide disclosures and to control the narrative regarding your company’s tax practices and transparency efforts. Consider what, and to whom, you are reporting: Understand the material tax matters your stakeholders want to know about and why. Review your current disclosures to see if they align with stakeholder expectations and/or regulatory requirements. Consider clarity and context in communications to help your target audience understand what’s at stake. Establish optimal reporting framework: Choose a reporting framework that aligns with your company's values and stakeholder interests. If you are using an existing framework like GRI for sustainability, align your tax disclosures accordingly. Set up tax disclosure processes: Implement formal procedures and governance to uphold the integrity of both qualitative and quantitative tax disclosures. This helps to ensure accountability and consistency. David McGee is Environmental, Social and Governance Leader with PwC Ireland

Aoife Hughes outlines what life-work balance is and the steps you can take to break unhealthy habits and achieve equilibrium Life-work balance often feels unattainable as we have a lot of time competitors, all champing at the bit to claim time and energy from us. Life-work balance can be defined as a series of habit changes, powered by a permission mindset, vision, strategies and systems. The metric of success is time to invest into your self-care. Here, I outline some key steps you can take to achieve the ultimate life-work balance. Permission to embrace self-care First, build a permission mindset to invest time into your self-care. This is a term that often incurs frustration as we feel we ‘don’t have time’ to invest into self-care. Self-care can be seen across three lenses: physical, emotional and social health. They can be interlinked. Self-care is a strategy to manage emotional stress to ‘find calm in the chaos’. We all experience chaos in life. ‘Big’ chaos can involve life-changing events such as moving house, having children or falling ill. ‘Small’ chaos is the day-to-day stress from getting to work on time, deadlines and cooking dinner. Building boundaries and prioritisation are critical components to managing self-care and stress. To deal with the chaos, and care for yourself, identify when you are stressed by noticing when your heart starts racing and you can’t concentrate. Manage this by inhaling for four seconds, holding your breath for seven seconds and exhaling for eight seconds. Future vision Design your ideal life-work balance by visualising what you want. Then, define your core values. These values are the deeply-held beliefs that guide your behaviours and decisions. Building awareness about limiting beliefs that impact your thoughts, emotions and habits is key to implementing change. Creating your goals involves change – something that is not easy as we are not conditioned for change. We are wired to stay within our comfort zone as we don’t have any emotional connection with something that we have not yet experienced. To achieve your goals to reach your vision, you need to break old habits and start building new ones. You can do this by identifying one goal to help you reach your vision. Change one limiting belief to build or break a habit to reach your goal. And if you need extra help, the How to Run Your Home Like a Business Framework supports habit changes with strategies and systems to manage the physical and mental load that comes with home and family life to make room for self-care. Building strategies Building a strategy to manage your home and family life involves identifying your ‘partner in the business’. This can be your roommate, family member or life partner. Create a plan for the work associated with the home and family. Look at the projects and tasks that need to be completed on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual basis – just like how you would approach project management in the workplace. Next, look at your internal team, which could be your immediate family, and identify who your ‘village’ are. Leadership and asking for help are key to achieving success with implementing your strategies. Finally, identify what projects you would like to complete in your home. Manage when you would like to have these projects completed by creating a prioritisation plan. Systems management Now that you have your strategies and team in place, building systems and delegation are the final components. Identify what your key pain points are in terms of managing the physical and mental load that comes with home and family life. Give yourself permission to set a budget and invest in solving problems by expanding your team with external suppliers. For example, hiring a cleaner to manage weekly tasks will lighten the physical and mental load that comes with the home. The key cyclical tasks related to the home are cooking, laundry and dishes. They come with a heavy workload as they need to be managed regularly. Delegate ownership around these tasks by playing to the strengths of each partner. Delegation can be challenging. Working with the ‘progress over perfection’ mantra and accepting that tasks may be approached in a different manner, can help to overcome some of the challenges. Leverage planning tools and applications to streamline the systems you create to save time. Identify who owns a task that needs to be managed weekly, then create a system and schedule this task with an online calendar or app. Begin at the start Life-work balance is a fitness – you decide how far you want to take it. The hardest part is starting. Once you build your permission mindset and vision, however, you’ll soon find that the rest will fall into place. Aoife Hughes is the founder of FRAZZLE