Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I totally reject that it is turning the clock back. At present, workers do not have a legal right to request remote working. What is happening in practice at workplace level all over Ireland is that people are being very sensible. Even where employees do not have the right to remote working provided for in their contract, employers and employees are being very practical in the workplace and agreeing arrangements that suit both sides. That is what will happen; it is what is happening.

During the pandemic people were told to work at home. Some people will want to go back to the office full time, others will want to work remotely and most will want to blend. In the vast majority of circumstances that will be worked out at workplace level without the need for any Government intervention. Where this becomes relevant is in those cases where is no contractual right at present to remote working and where an employer has not worked out something at workplace level with the employees. In the proposed legislation, for example, there is a requirement that every business should have a remote working policy. That is not the case at present. I believe it would be beneficial for existing staff or any new staff that might arrive to at least know what their employer's policy is with regard to remote working. The legal right is essentially a procedure that will be followed if somebody requests remote working. It requires that the employer takes it seriously and allows for appeals to the Workplace Relations Commission.

However, the legislation is only at pre-legislative scrutiny stage. I am open to the view that it needs to be strengthened. Perhaps 13 reasons are too many and perhaps we have to make sure, as I indicated in the interviews I did about it, that it is not just a procedural right, that it is not a case of an employer just ticking a box and saying "No", that it is possible to have that reviewed and that somebody cannot just manifestly and ridiculously refuse a request that is reasonable. I am open to having the legislation strengthened. It is only at pre-legislative stage as the Bill is not yet drafted.