A Government review of the remote working landscape which concludes the current system is working well with no changes to current legislation required has been described as “out of touch with reality” by trade unions.
The review, which follows a public consultation to which more than 8,000 submissions were made, was carried out by the Department of Enterprise. It concludes that 94 per cent of employees’ requests are approved, either fully or in part while employers report minimal administrative burden with operating the system.
However, the report also found “low use and awareness of the legislation – particularly among those living in rural communities”.
A perception that the current Code of Practice favours is acknowledged in the report and it is stated the Minister, Peter Burke, will request the Workplace Relations Commission to review the current code in conjunction with representatives of employers and workers.
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Among the recommendations included are revised templates intended to help employees make their case that aspects of their roles could be carried out remotely, more detailed explanations from employers in cases where permission is refused and the hearing of internal appeals by a different person to the one who refused any original application.
A more fundamental reassessment of the role of the WRC in the appeals process is ruled out, however, with the report stating that “it would be inappropriate to provide adjudication officers of the WRC with the power to assess the merits of a remote working decision or direct employers on how to run their business”.
Responding to the report, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said the contents suggested the department was “out of touch with reality“.
“Unions and the thousands of people who responded to the review in good faith won’t be fobbed off with an awareness raising campaign and tweaks to the Code of Practice,” said the organisation’s social policy officer, Dr Laura Bambrick. “The genie is out of the bottle on remote working. For too many their right, as currently legislated, is failing to deliver, as the close to zero per cent success rate for WRC cases taken by employees makes abundantly clear.”
Alison Hodgson, Ireland director of The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, to which some 6,000 human resources personnel are affiliated, said the system has worked “exactly as it was designed to” but this only covered ”the mechanics of requesting to work from home".
She said that a greater requirement for employers to communicate the reasoning behind their decisions was welcome.
The right to request remote working was established in 2024, with a requirement on employers to consider applications for remote working arrangements but no legal obligation to grant them.
The issue gained huge prominence during the pandemic when large numbers of workers found the freedom to work at home a positive one. Almost one million people still do some or all of their work from home but that number declined over the course of last year as the number of those required to be fully back onsite also increased.
Unions have complained that where employers change their policies in relation to the issue, workers are efectively obliged to comply.
Commenting on the report, however, Burke said “the review shows that when employees and employers engage with the legislative framework, it works – supporting flexibility and improved work life balance.
“Remote work has the potential to open up opportunities far beyond our major cities, and it is vital that people in every part of the country understand the rights available to them.
“The recommendations within the report will ensure that the right to request remote work is transparent and understood by both employers and employees, contributing to an attractive labour market and a competitive, future‑focused business environment.”
