[Ireland] Workers and employers disagree over remote working

Workers and employers in Ireland disagree on many aspects of remote working, including the length of time people should be in employment before they can apply to base themselves outside the office, Irish Examiner reports.

On August 20 Tánaiste Leo Varadkar published a report based on 175 submissions received as part of the current process to draft laws giving employees the right to request remote work.

The submissions were made by workers, private companies, industry bodies and trade unions, they reveal that most employers believe their staff should have served a minimum of 12 months before having an entitlement to make a request for remote work.

Employers argue that this would ensure that an employee has had sufficient chances to integrate properly into a business and build good working relationships as well as gaining a strong understanding of an organisation's culture.

Submissions from employees, however, argue that access to remote working should not be determined by length of service but be governed by the employer and employee having a sense of trust in each other. They say the time is right when an employer knows the capability and experience of the employee and that the employee is familiar enough with the job requirements to allow them to work remotely.

Most of the workers who responded believe employers should respond to remote working requests within a month but businesses say they need a minimum of two months to consider the appropriateness of a request.

However, 86 per cent of submissions received considered it acceptable for an employer to offer an alternative hybrid working pattern, with a combination of remote work and onsite work.

With regard to the costs associated with working from home, 85 per cent of those who responded were in favour of the employer bearing the cost, 10 per cent were not. 12 per cent of those who responded suggested the introduction of a Government grant or tax incentive similar to the Cycle-to-Work scheme.

Mr Varadkar reportedly said there was now a "real opportunity" to make remote and blended working a much bigger part of normal working life. "Introducing a right to request remote working will set out a clear framework to facilitate remote and blended work options, in so far as possible.

"It will ensure that when an employer declines a request, there are stated reasons for doing so and conversations with workers are taking place in a structured way. We recognise that remote working won’t work for everyone or for every organisation, so the Government will take a balanced approach with the new legislation," Mr Varadkar said.

Earlier this year, the Tánaiste published Ireland’s first National Remote Work Strategy, to make remote and blended working a bigger part of post-pandemic life.

In Ireland, at present, every employee can ask their employer for the right to work remotely yet there is no legal framework around which a request can be made or to set out how it should be dealt with by an employer. The proposed new law will, as far as possible, clearly define how these requests should be facilitated.

The submissions recognised that not all occupations or particular roles would be suitable for remote working and Mr Varadkar said the Government were committed to taking a balanced approach with the new legislation.

Source: Irish Examiner

(Links via original reporting)

Workers and employers in Ireland disagree on many aspects of remote working, including the length of time people should be in employment before they can apply to base themselves outside the office, Irish Examiner reports.

On August 20 Tánaiste Leo Varadkar published a report based on 175 submissions received as part of the current process to draft laws giving employees the right to request remote work.

The submissions were made by workers, private companies, industry bodies and trade unions, they reveal that most employers believe their staff should have served a minimum of 12 months before having an entitlement to make a request for remote work.

Employers argue that this would ensure that an employee has had sufficient chances to integrate properly into a business and build good working relationships as well as gaining a strong understanding of an organisation's culture.

Submissions from employees, however, argue that access to remote working should not be determined by length of service but be governed by the employer and employee having a sense of trust in each other. They say the time is right when an employer knows the capability and experience of the employee and that the employee is familiar enough with the job requirements to allow them to work remotely.

Most of the workers who responded believe employers should respond to remote working requests within a month but businesses say they need a minimum of two months to consider the appropriateness of a request.

However, 86 per cent of submissions received considered it acceptable for an employer to offer an alternative hybrid working pattern, with a combination of remote work and onsite work.

With regard to the costs associated with working from home, 85 per cent of those who responded were in favour of the employer bearing the cost, 10 per cent were not. 12 per cent of those who responded suggested the introduction of a Government grant or tax incentive similar to the Cycle-to-Work scheme.

Mr Varadkar reportedly said there was now a "real opportunity" to make remote and blended working a much bigger part of normal working life. "Introducing a right to request remote working will set out a clear framework to facilitate remote and blended work options, in so far as possible.

"It will ensure that when an employer declines a request, there are stated reasons for doing so and conversations with workers are taking place in a structured way. We recognise that remote working won’t work for everyone or for every organisation, so the Government will take a balanced approach with the new legislation," Mr Varadkar said.

Earlier this year, the Tánaiste published Ireland’s first National Remote Work Strategy, to make remote and blended working a bigger part of post-pandemic life.

In Ireland, at present, every employee can ask their employer for the right to work remotely yet there is no legal framework around which a request can be made or to set out how it should be dealt with by an employer. The proposed new law will, as far as possible, clearly define how these requests should be facilitated.

The submissions recognised that not all occupations or particular roles would be suitable for remote working and Mr Varadkar said the Government were committed to taking a balanced approach with the new legislation.

Source: Irish Examiner

(Links via original reporting)