Right to request remote work law proposed in Ireland

The right to request remote work may soon become law in Ireland, making permanent a pandemic-related precaution.

Currently all employees in Ireland can ask their employers for the right to work remotely. However, there is no legal framework around which a request can be made and how it should be dealt with by the employer.

The proposed new law will clearly state how remote work requests should be facilitated.

The report comes at time when Ireland’s government is grappling with a number workplace issues related to the cOVID-19 pandemic. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said in published reports that details about returning to workplaces are included in the government’s latest Covid-19 roadmap slated for publication on 31 August 2021.

Leo Varadkar, Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said in a statement “that a real opportunity now exists to “make remote and blended working a permanent part of normal working life.”

“Because of the pandemic, a lot of people are required to work from home. After the pandemic, people should have a choice, so long as the work gets done and business and service needs are met. That’s the principle I want to apply,” Varadkar said in a statement.

“The intention is to introduce a mechanism for employees to request remote working that is fair to workers but does not place an undue burden on employers. This new legislation will be a priority in the new Dáil term. We will also continue to provide up to date advice, guidance and information on all aspects of remote working for workers and employers.”

A total of 175 submissions were received for the survey. Most of the responses, 126, coming from individual workers. Another 26 submissions came from private companies, 18 industry groups, four trade unions and one political party.

Varadkar wants to introduce the right to request remote work legislation in Ireland’s Dáil when it resumes September 15, Extra.ie reports.

The report was received with cautious optimism and some skepticism by both business and labor groups in Ireland.

The new report’s content was “reasonably predictable,” Neil McDonnell, chief executive of the small and medium-sized businesses representative group ISME, told the Irish Times (IT).

It is important to remember that one size does not fit all when it comes to working from home, McDonnell told the IT. Working from home works for certain professional and service business but not for businesses like construction or hospitality, he said.

Laura Bambrick, head of social policy and employment affairs with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, told the Irish Times that reports such the one just released by Varadkar rarely influence legislation and she was surprised it was released with “such fanfare.”

Bambrick cautioned that the report gave the same weight to the view of a small group of individuals as it did to representatives groups such as her union.

Ireland lags behind other nations in terms of request for remote working rules and that there are many examples of what does and does not work, she said.

“Really we are just catching up with our more enlightened peers,” Bambrick told the IT.

Varadkar proposed a Remote Working Strategy for Ireland in January 2021 with the aim of making “remote working a permanent option for life after the pandemic. Developed under the guidance of a broad interdepartmental group of government departments and state agencies, the strategy drew from the findings of the 2019 Remote Work in Ireland report, results of the Public Consultation on Remote Work Guidance, and new research on the topic in 2020.

“Many people will want to continue on to do at least some remote working after the pandemic, and it’s really important that we protect the rights and entitlements of those workers so that they can still ‘switch off’ from work,” Varadkar said in a statement announcing the strategy. “That is why we have included the right to disconnect piece. We want to put in place the structures which ensure we take advantage of the benefits of remote working and protect against the downsides.”

Remote working proposed laws, rules and initiatives include:

• Legislation providing employees the right to request remote working
• Introduce a legally admissible code of practice on the right to disconnect from work – covering phone calls, emails and switch-off time
• Invest in remote work hubs, ensuring they are in locations that suit commuters and are close to childcare facilities
• Explore the acceleration of the National Broadband Plan
• Review the treatment of remote working for the purposes of tax and expenditure in the next Budget
• Lead by example by mandating that home and remote working should be the norm for 20% of public sector employees

The survey found that 85% of employers and employees believe that businesses should fund the cost of remote working. Other findings: 31% of people said that people should working for a company for at least a year before being allowed to work remotely. The survey’s respondents said most common reasons why remote work could be denied include the physical nature of the job (38%), health and safety concerns (14%) and poor wi-fi (11%).