The 411 on The Right to Request Remote Working
This upcoming legislation will give employees the right to request remote working and work is underway on its development. A framework will be developed on how those requests can be considered. The Work Life Balance Directive (which must be fully transposed into Irish law by August 2022), has been mentioned throughout the development of the remote working legislation.
This Directive is to provide every employee with children up to eight years of age, and carers, the right to request flexible working arrangements, this remote working legislation will further support an employee’s work life balance. The Directive gives Member States discretion to legislate around the duration of flexible working arrangements and provides that employers “should be able to decide whether to accept or refuse a worker’s request”.
Within the strategy document, it states that introducing legislation on this topic will provide employees a framework around which such a request could be based and that this could provide clarity to employers on best practice on dealing with such requests.
The drafting of this legislation will be much anticipated, as there is currently a lack of a legal or agreed definition of remote working during a time of mandatory remote working caused by Covid-19.
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