Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
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Section 13D(1) mirrors the provisions of the Parental Leave Act 1998, again looking to cover the scope of employment types that exist and any other relevant grounds for postponements that may arise and that have not already been provided for. When read with the other subsections, it is clear an employer cannot postpone the commencement of a flexible working arrangement without first consulting the employee in respect of the postponement, as is set out in section 13D(3), and setting out the grounds for the postponement in writing, as is provided for in section 13D(2). Notably, an employer cannot postpone the commencement of a flexible working arrangement where the agreement under section 13C(1)(a) has been already signed by the parties. The directive is clear regarding the need to balance the needs of workers with those of employers in respect of flexible working arrangements for caring purposes and the Bill looks to strike that balance.