Calls for major changes to proposed remote work laws

ICTU leader: "In its current form, the right to right to request remote work bill is not a fair balance of employer and employee needs"

Patricia King, ICTU’s general secretary, said:  “ICTU and affiliates are urging all members of the Oireachtas to work with trade unions and Government in getting this legislation fit for purpose and enacted without delay to ensure that the gains from remote working are not lost.”

Employees should be obliged to give objective reasons if they refuse an employee’s request to work remotely, a number of industry leaders have commented this week.

Firstly, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, in its address to the Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment this week, ICTU’s general secretary, Patricia King, has demanded significant amendments to proposed legislation designed to establish workers’ rights to request remote working arrangements.

The union federation told the Oireachtas Committee that an employer’s reasons for refusing an employee’s request to work remotely must be proportionate, relate to genuine business needs, and take account of all the circumstances of both the business and the employee.

Patricia King said: “Our cross-union campaign is clear: If enacted in its current form, the right to right to request remote work bill will not deliver robust legislation guaranteeing fair procedure and balancing employer and employee needs.

“While most jobs require a physical presence in the workplace, as many as one in four workers in employment worked from home during the first lockdown. Remote working has now moved into the mainstream of workplace issues,” she added.

“Remote working has been shown to improve workers’ quality of life and their wellbeing. It can benefit the environment and rural regeneration. It makes good business and economic sense too. Studies repeatedly find that most employers report that productivity either increased or stayed the same over the past two years.”

 The joint union submission also says staff should have a legal right to appeal the reason for refusing a request to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). As currently written, the bill only allows for a complaint to the WRC on technical grounds.

Ms King added: “ICTU and affiliates are urging all members of the Oireachtas to work with trade unions and Government in getting this legislation fit for purpose and enacted without delay to ensure that the gains from remote working are not lost.”

 ICTU and its affiliates first called for legislation on requesting remote work in the summer of 2020, saying this would bring Irish workers’ rights in line with other wealthy countries. The Government agreed, but its proposed legislation has been widely criticised for falling far short of what’s required.

Louise O'Reilly, Sinn Fein spokesperson on Workers Rights, endorses the ICTU position that greater fairness is needed in the right to right to request remote work bill. 

ICTU’s views on the need to review remote working legislation were picked up by Sinn Fein TD Louise O’Reilly, who raised the issue during Dáil debate.

Deputy O’Reilly said: “Ms Patricia King, the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, outlined deep concerns that she and ICTU affiliates have in relation to a complete lack of consultation on the right to request remote working.

“The matter is being referred to in industrial relations circles as the right for employers to say no to remote working. The lack of consultation led to deeply flawed legislation. We do not want to see that mistake replicated. What consultation and discussions have taken place on the abolition of mandatory retirement?” 

Deirdre Malone, associate partner in employment with EY.

Meanwhile, Deirdre Malone, associate partner, head of Employment Law, with EY Law Ireland, is also of the view that significant changes will be required for the new remote working legislation to meet the challenges that will be raised by workers.

In particular, she notes that the criticism directed against the legislative drafting is due to the lack of provision available for an employee to seek relief outside of their employer’s business from the WRC.

“In its current draft, employees can only appeal on procedural grounds without any opportunity to get under the bonnet to challenge an employer’s grounds for refusal,” said Deirdre Malone. “A fairly significant number of changes will be required to make a piece of legislation that will be fit for purpose.

“The draft legislation around Remote Working contains 13 business grounds why businesses can refuse requests to work from employees. It’s not an exhaustive list, so there is great scope for employers to refuse requests for remote working arrangements without having to set out any real explanation for their refusal.

“There is a sense in the market that an employer can simply say ‘because I said so’ – so both the unions and the employer bodies are exercised (rightly) in achieving a piece of legislation that is fit for purpose and provides real opportunity for a fully reimagined workplace.

“As drafted, employees have no way in which to challenge an employer’s refusal as the relief available is limited to the WRC on procedural grounds. In its current draft, employers will continue to have autonomy on whether to accept or refuse the application fully without any external review mechanism.”