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"Statutory Right To Remote Work Would Be Transformative Especially For Women"

Stock image: Pexels

Kildare TD criticises remote working legislation.

The working from home refusal grounds are so all encompassing, they make a mockery of the stated purpose of the legislation, according to Social Democrats Enterprise Spokesperson Catherine Murphy.

The Kildare North TD says the government’s working from home Bill is an employers’ charter which only serves to undermine the right to work from home,
 
Murphy commented:“I was concerned, before the legislation was published, that the Bill would be tepid and underwhelming.

"Those fears have now been borne out.

"Instead of granting employees a right to work from home, the legislation is an employers’  charter which creates wide-ranging exemptions from the entitlement.
 
“For instance, a request to work from home can be refused if an employer feels there is a “potential negative impact” on quality of work or performance – not an actual or verified negative impact.
 
“A statutory right to work from home has the capacity to be transformative – especially for women, disabled people and carers, many of whom have been locked out of the jobs market, because of restrictive work practises, for far too long," she insisted

"A real right to work from home would also have myriad positive impacts on the environment, by reducing car journeys and improving air quality; facilitate rural regeneration and ease housing pressure in urban areas.
 
“There were many negative consequences to covid, but one of the few positive impacts was the revolution in work practises that occurred over the past two years.

"We now need to embed those reformed work practises and ensure that hard-won progress is not lost,"

"The government must amend its legislation and provide a real right to work from home – one that can only be refused on reasonable grounds,” she concluded.

Catherine Murphy TD spoke with Ciara Noble on Wednesday's Kildare Today:

There are 13 reasons an employer can refuse a request to work from home;

  •    The nature of the work not allowing for the work to be done remotely, such as in healthcare or retail.
  •     The employer cannot re-organise work among existing staff.
  •     If the employer feels there is a potential negative impact on quality of work.
  •     If the employer feels there is a potential negative impact on performance.
  •     Planned structural changes within the company.
  •     Any burden of additional costs, taking into account the financial and other costs entailed and the scale and financial resources of the employer’s business.
  •     Concerns about the protection of business confidentiality or intellectual property.
  •     Concerns about the suitability of the proposed workspace on health and safety grounds.
  •     Concerns about the suitability of the proposed workspace on data protection grounds.
  •     Concerns about the internet connectivity of the proposed remote-working location.
  •     An inordinate distance between the proposed remote location and on-site location.
  •     If the proposed remote-working arrangement conflicts with the provisions of a collective working agreement.
  •     An ongoing or recently concluded formal disciplinary process.

 

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