[Ireland] ‘Work from home’ legislation will radically change the employment landscape

Employees in Ireland will soon be legally entitled to work from home following the government’s confirmation of its support for newly released employment legislation. The new measures will help support people who want to work remotely, affording them the legal rights and protections they will need if they wish to challenge their employers. 

Additionally, new legally admissible codes of practice will be introduced giving people the right to disconnect from work and allowing them to be them inaccessible - by email, telephone etc. - for a set number of hours each day. 

The legislation is expected to be introduced before the end of 2021. It appears that the measures are intended to complement one another, as some workers have complained about experiencing a reduction in 'switch off' time since working from home.

Government officials have also proposed that up to 20 per cent of public sector workers (at a rough estimate) should regularly work from home in the future, subject to changing demand for certain frontline services like healthcare. Nevertheless, this would radically change the employment landscape throughout the country where, pre-COVID, 9-5 working days have been a staple fixture of Irish life. The Irish Post outlines the measures being proposed.

Employees in Ireland will soon be legally entitled to work from home following the government’s confirmation of its support for newly released employment legislation. The new measures will help support people who want to work remotely, affording them the legal rights and protections they will need if they wish to challenge their employers. 

Additionally, new legally admissible codes of practice will be introduced giving people the right to disconnect from work and allowing them to be them inaccessible - by email, telephone etc. - for a set number of hours each day. 

The legislation is expected to be introduced before the end of 2021. It appears that the measures are intended to complement one another, as some workers have complained about experiencing a reduction in 'switch off' time since working from home.

Government officials have also proposed that up to 20 per cent of public sector workers (at a rough estimate) should regularly work from home in the future, subject to changing demand for certain frontline services like healthcare. Nevertheless, this would radically change the employment landscape throughout the country where, pre-COVID, 9-5 working days have been a staple fixture of Irish life. The Irish Post outlines the measures being proposed.