Ms Patricia King:

Two issues arise. If somebody requests the right to have remote working, the employer will try to meet the request. I think trying thereafter to put together a constructive dismissal case, which is usually based on the employee claiming to have had no choice but to leave because he or she could not deal with the circumstances, would be really difficult.

As for the issue of promotions and so on, there are issues arising from remote working - Ms McElwee may have alluded to them - such as how it would pan out in overall terms in the context of gender-related issues, promotions and so on. I would not in any way want to minimise the points the Deputy made, because they are significant issues. Previously, in the case of work sharing, job sharing and so on, policies were developed to try to ensure people would not be disadvantaged by virtue of the fact they were remote working, and that can be done using the procedures that are in place in a company.

The Deputy's points relate to real issues, but there are ways and means by which we can at least minimise those effects.