Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to an organisation’s research study (details supplied), which found that one third of hybrid workers struggle to disconnect. [25327/22]

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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Hybrid and remote working have been discussed at the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Remote and hybrid working have become the new normal for employers and employees. In that context, the recent report makes for important reading. One concerning aspect it notes is that one third of hybrid workers struggle to disconnect. That is the core of the question.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am aware of the study and have asked officials to consider the findings in the context of the national remote work strategy. The study was conducted earlier this year by a multinational company. It included more than 600 workers based in Ireland as part of a wider survey that encompassed the views of 31,000 technology and healthcare workers in 31 countries. Although the study indicated that half of those surveyed placed a high value on flexible work practices, its findings also suggested that approximately one third of the hybrid workers who responded had experienced challenges disconnecting from work. It is important to state that in an Irish context, this survey relates only to a relatively small cohort of workers within specific sectors and cannot be taken as indicative of all those who have hybrid work arrangements.

Nonetheless, an always-on culture can present challenges in workplaces even when hybrid or remote working is not a factor. For that reason, in November 2020, I requested that the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, prepare a draft code of practice on the right to disconnect, in accordance with section 20(2) of the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The code is a best-practice guide covering statutory obligations around record-keeping, maximum average weekly working hours permitted for employees and rest period entitlements. It is also aimed at ensuring that employees are aware of their legal entitlements and how to raise concerns over non-compliance.

The European Parliament has also proposed a directive on an EU-wide right to disconnect. My officials are following these developments closely and although it may be some time before we see progress at a European level, Ireland is ahead with our code of practice is already in place. Flexible work practices should aid work-life balance generally. That is why I have prioritised the right to request remote work legislation, which is currently undergoing pre-legislative scrutiny.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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Microsoft Ireland's work trend index provided many nuggets of information on both the positive and negative aspects of the world of work. One part of the research which jumped out at us was that one third of hybrid workers, 31%, struggle to disconnect. Naturally, this is problematic for workers because it can lead to burnout, stress and health problems. Indeed, a study from the WHO found that 745,000 people died in 2016 as a result of stroke and heart disease due to long working hours. The research from the WHO found that long working hours were estimated to be responsible for approximately one third of all work-related diseases, making them the single largest occupational disease and burden. This is why we were concerned when we saw the data from Microsoft Ireland. I know the Tánaiste is not oblivious to this issue. As he has just said, he brought forward a code of practice on the right to disconnect but it is not a right unless it is legally enshrined. Sinn Féin has brought forward a Bill to deliver a legal right to disconnect in order that these workers can be protected. These are workers who are experiencing excessive out-of-hours contact on a daily basis. This is causing untold damage to them, their friends and their families.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The issue with regard to being always on or finding it difficult to disconnect is not just a matter for remote and hybrid workers. It can be a matter for anybody whose work is not of a physical nature. If one does work that is largely of a physical nature, such as in construction or hospitality, when one goes home, one goes home. Anyone who has an office-based job, however, now goes home and has devices on which he or she still gets emails, texts and messages pretty much 24-7. Given our particular line of work, we can understand that very well. The main protection in that regard is the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, which states that employees cannot work more than 48 hours per week on average over a reference period of four months and that they must be provided with at least 11 consecutive hours of daily rest and at least 24 hours of uninterrupted weekly rest every seven days over a reference period of two weeks. These are statutory standards enshrined in law, but it may be that a particular contract of employment provides for a shorter working week and longer rest periods. Apart from a few limited exceptions, the Act applies to all employees, regardless of whether they are based in an office or working remotely.

Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein)
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The failure to enshrine a right to disconnect in law is incredibly frustrating and disappointing for workers who are suffering excessive out-of-hours contact. The establishment of a code of practice is a welcome first step, but if an employer ignores or breaches it, that is not an offence. As a result, there is no compellability factor. For some time now, excessive out-of-hours contact has been an issue for workers. The pandemic made this worse. The line between work time and personal time, as the Tánaiste said, has been totally eroded by technological developments that have led to an always-on culture. Workers are contactable and readily available to receive work emails, calls, text and WhatsApp messages and push notifications at every hour of the day, every day of the week. Throughout the pandemic, countless workers have related how they are totally drained and stressed due to employers contacting them late at night or at the weekend to request that tasks be completed immediately. Such situations have had a devastating impact on workers' physical and mental health. The current situation whereby workers are excessively contacted is unfair and unhealthy. This hurts productivity because a worker who is burned out cannot perform to the best of his or her ability. Workers not only deserve a legal right to disconnect, which is protected in law, they absolutely need it.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I certainly do not rule out the possibility of placing the code of practice on a statutory footing in the future. I have written to the WRC to ask it for its view on how the code has been working. It has been in place for more than a year. I have written to the WRC to ask for views and opinions as to whether it is working, to what extent it has been effective and how we could improve things. I emphasise that the protection that exists in law is the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. If somebody is at home after a long day's work and then spends an hour replying to work emails, that is work. We probably would benefit from a few more test cases or a few more people coming forward to say that their rights under the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 have been breached. In reality, that does not happen, because people are very dedicated to the work that they do, want to get it done and are willing to put in extra hours, even beyond the 48-hour limit. However, it would be helpful to see a few more cases of people coming forward and testing the existing law that we have.