People employed in Ireland will have the legal right to seek to work from home permanently.
The Irish Times reports that new Government plans set to be announced on Friday will include bringing in a new law for workers to have the right to request their employer allow them work remotely.
A new legally admissible code of practice on the right to disconnect from work, including phone calls, emails and switch-off time, will also be introduced under the plans.
It is also proposed that, on average, up to 20 per cent of staff in the public service could work from home as the norm.
The new Government plans will come in the form of a strategy on remote working, set to be published on Friday by Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Leo Varadkar.
I want remote working to be part of a whole new world of work
It is expected the new system will be put in place before the end of this year.
“Post-pandemic, I want remote working to be part of a whole new world of work, and this new Government strategy sets out how we will enable it,” Mr Varadkar said.
“Working from home has become the norm for many in 2020. We want remote, blended and flexible working arrangements to be a much bigger part of life after Covid.
“We’ve seen that there can be huge benefits: more flexibility, less commuting, more time for family and friends. It’s better for the transport emissions, and for quality of life, but it has to be done right.”
Cultural shift
Mr Varadkar said many people would want to continue to work remotely at least in part after the pandemic. It was very important that the Government protect the rights and entitlements of such workers so that they could “switch off” from their jobs.
To facilitate greater remote working, employment rights needed to be updated and there needed to be a cultural shift, Mr Varadkar said.
As part of the new strategy, the Government will also explore the acceleration of the national broadband plan and investing in more remote working hubs that are close to childcare facilities.
There is also a plan to review the treatment of remote working for the purposes of tax.
