Thomas Lyons 
Peninsula, a Cork-based human resources (HR) firm, has reported an increase in the number of multinationals using its services through non-disclosure agreements. According to the firm, outsourcing HR services may be viewed as “taboo” by some companies. While Peninsula declined to comment on the specific sector of multinationals in Ireland that are seeking its services, the global headwinds, including inflationary pressures and rising interest rates, have impacted a number of large firms in the last year, leading to thousands of redundancies, particularly in the tech sector.
Raj Singh, CEO of Peninsula’s Irish arm, said, “The Irish market has a lot of large US organisations that don’t necessarily have local expertise when it comes to local employment law. We are now starting to work as an effective outsource for large organisations.” Peninsula has traditionally worked with smaller companies in sectors such as hospitality.
Finance Minister Michael McGrath visited Peninsula’s office on South Mall in Cork City to discuss the firm’s growth plans in Ireland. The Peninsula Group has another office in Dublin, as well as offices in the North, Australia, Canada, London, Scotland, England, and New Zealand. The company, a family business founded by two UK brothers, Peter and Fred Done, in 1983, opened its first Irish office in Dublin in 1997 before opening its second in Cork in 2020. The company has around 7,000 business clients across Ireland.
Peninsula’s focus for Ireland is on growing its business out of Munster, as there are fewer firms that provide HR services in the province compared to Leinster. However, a tight labor market has hindered expansion. The company’s COO, Moira Grassick, stated that “Some of the challenges that we have at the moment is definitely around recruitment.” Peninsula’s recruitment drive is also to ensure it has an adequate number of employees to deal with queries relating to employment law. A range of employment-related laws have either been introduced or will come into effect this year, including the EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions, which outlines a range of minimum requirements to protect workers, as well as the Sick Leave Act 2022, which was signed into law in July. From January 1, employers have a legal obligation to pay up to three days of paid sick leave to any staff member who is medically certified as unavailable for work due to illness or injury.
