Lawyers at A&L Goodbody (ALG) have concluded that a bill published last week leaves employers “very much in the driving seat” in deciding whether to accommodate a request to work remotely.

The draft scheme of the Right to Request Remote Working Bill 2022 does not give employees a general right to work remotely, but they will have a right, through a process set out in the bill, to request a remote-working arrangement.

In an analysis on the firm’s website. ALG lawyers stress that it remains to be seen whether what some see as an imbalance will change as the bill is debated in the coming weeks.

The bill sets out the procedures to be followed by employees and employers when a request to work remotely is made.

Appeals process

The ALG analysis points out that an internal appeal process is recommended as best practice for all requests that are refused.

“The general scheme does not expressly direct employers to put an appeals process in place, but rather assumes that this will be done, and there are no consequences for employers who do not put an appeal mechanism in place,” the lawyers write.

They note that – to the surprise of many commentators – the bill does not provide for a right to challenge an employer’s decision to refuse a request before the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

The lawyers say that this is somewhat at odds with the statement made by Leo Varadkar (Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment) that “employers will have to give a solid reason that stands up” for refusing a request.

The minister added that, while that requirement might not be clear from the general scheme, it “certainly will be clear in the final legislation when it’s published”.

Preparing policies

According to ALG, this suggests that employers will not be immune from scrutiny by the WRC when it comes to their decision-making on refusing remote-working requests.

In its current form, the bill sets out a mechanism for employees to complain to the WRC only in limited scenarios – mainly where an employer has not followed the correct procedure for handling a request.

The ALG lawyers urge employers to begin preparing a policy that outlines how remote-working requests are to be made, and how decisions on those requests will be made.

They add that organisations should put decision-making on future hybrid working arrangements “at the top of their HR agenda”.