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The Daily PollTÁNAISTE LEO VARADKAR has said the government is looking at providing people with the legal right to request remote working in their employment.
Asked whether enough is being done to encourage employers to facilitate staff working from home during Level 3, Varadkar said that a public consultation is being put in train to look at the issue.
The pandemic has presented major challenges for both employees and employers alike. Already, questions are being raised over the efficacy of such a move by Government.
Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan told TheJournal.ie this morning that giving people a right to ask to work from home without also giving them a right to work from home would be “pointless” and will lead to people believing they have rights that they do not actually have.
“For it to be serious, there’d have to be a whole mechanism to work out what circumstances it is ‘possible’ for an employee to work from home and then you’d also have to indemnify employers,” he said.
Today, we’re asking: Should employees be given the right to ask to work from home?
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Where possible, it should absolutely be incentivised. Less traffic. Less commuting. Less pollution. Quieter public transport. Happier people.
@LangerDan: absolutely!
@LangerDan: Some happier people. Some (usually younger) people living in shared or small accommodation finding it very difficult.
@LangerDan: All well and good saying the positives. But what about the negatives?
If it’s easy to work from home it’s easy for employers to move those jobs to other countries
@LangerDan: The issue is it’s only giving the employee the right to ask to WFH, the employer can and will still say no.
@David Law: due to being stuck in cities with very high rent prices per square foot.
I’m sure if they were guaranteed remote work you would see people move to more affordable locations.
@Adam Sheridan: think you’re underestimating how important work-related socialising is for younger people
@David Law: and they won’t have to – it’s the option that’s desired
Unless I bring a foundation, cement mixer and lorry load of blocks home with me I dont think my boss would be to Keen
@Kyle: it’s a stoop-Id question as a lot of people simply can’t work from home so what’s the point of giving them the right to ask?
@Kyle: Milkman and postman would find it tricky as well.
@John Lyons: I guess for those that can?
@John Lyons: Make life a lot easier for those that can’t on the commute to work (assuming you have to deal with the sort of traffic I have to)
@Gavin Conran: that’s true. Traffic is a dream lately. The only plus to covid
@Kyle: Well of course there are those who cant. I am a graphic designer no need to have me on the road in the morning. Make your trips in the cement mixer easier with less traffic.
@John Lyons: based on cso data up to 30% of the Irish workforce are in jobs that can be done from home. That’s a lot of the workforce.
@John Lyons: I was going to say that’s a “stoop-Id” comment because a lot of people quite simply can wfh, but I forgot objection by means of begrudgery is written into the Irish constitution..
@Benny McHale: postmen will open your mail at home and give you a ring if there’s anything urgent
@Kyle: Ah build a bridge why don’t ya…:)
@Jason Walsh: yes so if the question was should those who can work from home have the right to request it then it would make sense! I’m all for it but the question asked was nonsensical
@Kyle: Apart from the traffic light sequences , many lights causing unnecessary holdups, eg Doyles Corner
@Jazz Buckler: yes lots of people can but that wasn’t the question- it didn’t specify that it referred to people who could work from home so it’s not the comment that is stup1d
@John Lyons: Begrudgery at its finest there. I can’t so why should someone else be able to!
@John Lyons: if you can’t then obviously you wouldn’t ask
@Kyle: you’d have a grand extension at the end of all this if he was.
@Kyle:
@Benny McHale: postman could just read all your mail at home and let you know if there’s anything important…
@Kyle: People who work at desk jobs have this weird tendency to assume that that’s what everyone does forgetting that someone had to build their office building in the first place. People who can should be allowed though
No one should have to go into an office to work right now. The employer has a duty to protect the health & safety of staff and provide the technology (VPN) to enable people to work from home. The employee should make the decision to wfh and the employer should allow it without argument, end of.
@Edel Quinn: Exactly.. Should be a no brainer if the employee can work from home… And have proper broadband speed to enable him/her to do so.
@Edel Quinn: I’m lucky enough to work for a company which has this infrastructure in place and let’s me have the ability to work form home. What about a smaller company that doesn’t. Who is going to pick up the cost of having this all setup? are they going to get Grant’s from the government? Where as the same company can just ensure their staff takes personal responsibility and ensures they are socially distanced around an office at a fraction of the cost. If the company has it by all means use it but you cannot force a company to possibly bankrupt itself to set this all up from scratch.
@Joe: surely the IT infrastructure to support working from home is cheaper than rent and rates on a commercial property? Particularly a property large enough to permit social distancing?
@Y U no spell good?: so you’re suggesting they supply as many people as possible with the ability to work from home (Laptops/Office Equipment etc.), then cancel their lease or sell their large office and move shop?
The right to ask? Or right to demand?
@Alan McDonald: The question is wrong. And the option “I can’t work from home” is irrelevant. If you can’t work from home you should be glad of the lack of traffic!
@SC: the lack of traffic is countered by the fact that the Gardai are engaged in slowing down traffic on motorways.
@Adam Conroy: you mean stopping speeding which is the number 2 reason for accidents?
@Adam Conroy: Doesn’t make sense as the Gardai are there regardless.
@Alan McDonald: of you have to ask for it, then it’s not a right.
@SC: finally someone else with some sense
@Alan McDonald: my thought exactly. Anyone can ask to work from home and always have been able to ask. It’s the response where the problem lies…..
I could easily work from home. But my boss “doesn’t believe in it”
@Helen: Doesn’t believe anyone is working from home or doesn’t believe anyone works when at home?
@Helen: Tell your boss that Microsoft (indefinitely), Google (”forever”), Facebook (Summer 2021) and Twitter
are letting people work from home…and heaven knows if it cut into productivity or profits even a little that would not be happening. Be assured they did the maths on this one.
@Bee Bonthuys: Be assured they also have the technology for productivity tracking, or are implementing it, and those who are not productive will not last. Look up Crossover for work and the application they use for tracking remote workers productivity as an example. You start it each day and stop the clock if you’re doing anything that isn’t work related, like making tea, browsing non work websites, filling the washing machine etc, then you restart the clock when you are ready to start working again. You have to meet the full hours agreed each day is my understanding, so not traditional 9-5, accurate hourly productivity tracking.
People should be careful what they wish for. Not everyone is as busy as they let on. You know who you are – your employers will soon know too.
I think we have the ‘right’ to ask, just like we have the right to ask for a pay rise, more holidays, etc. We can ask all we want, it doesn’t mean employers will say yes.
@EvieXVI: Thats exactly how I see it – I don’t get what is new with this.
This is nonsense. The government should incentivise this through tax breaks etc. Nurses, Teachers, Gárdaí, Retail and Food cannot work from home. Anyone who uses a computer can. So the government should just incentivise companies to allow people to work from home.
@Big Red: why incentivise not order? They are supposed to have some power over businesses. Desks and computers are portable (people can take them home) and most people are not working on high security projects. Those whose homes are not suitable can still go to the office.
@SC: Agreed! Aren’t less overheads in rent/heat/electric enough of an incentive? If your company can successfully operate with people working from home I think it’s a no-brainer. Absolutely no need for incentives.
@Jennifer Coyle: how about no jobs left at the end of this charade? The incentive is the job exists. But not for very much longer if you fear mongers get your way!
@Bill: Walk us through that logic…
@Bill: What job am I getting rid of here Bill? I’m a bit confused. Person in question works from home. If you’re talking about foot traffic for coffee shops and the likes, I see your point. But on the other hand, if commuters work from home they instead pump their money into their towns. Take a spin round rural Ireland and see all the towns whose shops are boarded up. Couldn’t you say that the government should take this opportunity to incentivse our rural communities and bolster populations allowing people who want to buy in Dublin have more opportunities to do so?
@Big Red: they do! You can claim a massive €3 per day wfh allowance dreamt up by some politician pulling down €50k per annum in unvouched expenses
@Jennifer Coyle: the best is probably a hybrid version. In the office some days, Working from home the rest.
The question should be
“Where feasible, should employees be given the right to work from home?”
@Tyrone Williams: It doesn’t matter regardless as far as I’m concerned. I already have the right to ask to work from home, and my employer has the right to say no. Nothing changes here.
@Tyrone Williams: Sorry…I misread what you put there – agreed.
Surely everyone has the right to ask. Equally the employer has the right to say no
NO. Employers should be legally obligated to state,within certain criteria, why their work force cannot work from home. Another toothless tiger dressed up as positive action by Lieo.
If you don’t need to be in an office to do your work, it should be absolutely optional. I don’t see why not. The government could give some incentive to companies to make it work.
Better for the environment, cities, everything will get less crowded.
Lesser traffic in the morning is definitely a positive
At the start, the place I worked in were getting everyone ready to work from home, making sure we all had laptops, net & a space to work from. I had to buy a new laptop which I had informed my employer of prior to purchasing myself so she knew I’d be all set up. When it came to it everyone else was allowed work from home besides me, they claimed there was no work for me to do as I was a sales admin, yet the sales admin in other, similar, department still got to work and to this day they are still making sales and writing in local paper how the whole sales team and admin have adapted to the new work from home way of things. All I got a week after telling boss I was pregnant was a redundancy letter which also stated my position would be reviewed again in Jan knowing full well I am due in Dec
@Sam Glynn: sounds like you have a case for unfair dismissal. That is assuming no one else was made redundant at the same time
@Craic_a_tower: do you know how I go about bringing a case forward?
@Sam Glynn: I would take that to the WRC.
@Sam Glynn: haha It’s amazing many employers still don’t check the legality of their decisions.
Go to a solicitor before you go to the wrc, because you’ll want everything in order first, ie distinguishing unfair and wrongful dismissal.
What if you don’t have the facilities to work from home not everyone has a spare room to turn into an office, so lock yourself into your bedroom and work from there that doesn’t sound good for anyone’s health.
What folks answered no ? Show yourselves
@Jh2019: I did.
@Caoimhín: Why so?
@Gavin Conran: if an employer is paying someone to work, the employer should be able to state where they are working and be able to keep an eye on people. People saying employers don’t lack trust.. Correct you can’t r trust everyone and the right to work without direct supervision should be earned not demanded.
Been working from home for 7 months.
The novelty has well worn off.
Workers have the right to a safe workspace. whether that is in office or home is up to the employer to cater for.
Workers do not have the right to demand that they work from home if a safe space is provided. Some people arguing about commutes on public transport etc. not being safe. Unfortunately, like it or not, it is not up to the employer to get you to work
@Jack Inman: it is absolutely the employer’s fault if, for no good reason, they have people from different households, including many young people from house shares which are already high risk, commuting in on public transport and working together during a public health crisis. Businesses are selfish and greedy and that’s why we need rules to stop them profiting at the expense of public health.
You can have the right to ask for just about anything. It doesn’t give you the right to that thing. So ya, ask away.
I’m a tour guide…I could give tours of my home I guess…
All employers should encourage staff to work from home if the nature of work allows. For the listed in this article reasons. Even if they invest in technology to accommodate this they will save on rental space, utilities, etc. There must be however a clock in system as not all are diligent enough to work unsupervised.
Why do you need the right to ask? Surely you can ask for whatever you want.
Roles that can be carried out at home should not be forced to commute. Even meetings can be efficiently done online with the likes of Skype and Zoom. Having to waste, in my case, over 3 hours a day sitting in the car is ridiculous.
The right to ask? I’m pretty sure every employee has the right to ask for anything at all. Doesn’t mean they’ll get it.
Where feasible I am all for working from home, it suits some, but may not suit others, but remember, just because you ask your employer for something, does mean they will or even have to give it to you.
@Brian McDonnell: the poll should be “should we have the right to demand wfh unless the employer gives sound reasons”
We worked from home April and May. Employer brought us all back then as felt some staff w ere not pulling their weight. So far this time we are all in the office and no mention of wfh. It is open plan, we are 2m apart but still
@Brian Hunt: In my job we’ve been as productive as we were while in the office – although I have many colleagues who are in a different locations so we were already remotely collaborating before April. Yes, I miss the social aspects but it’s not a deal breaker – sure there are people whose work forms a large portion of their social life but I’ve discovered over the years it’s best not to be that much emotionally or socially invested in work as it’s not good if layoffs happen.
It is truly amazing at times the traction that populist nonsense gets with people in this country.
@john smyth: it’s clear that there are far more employees than employers on this forum. All my employees work from home and have always worked from home but if they had the right to demand it then employers should have the right to decide they don’t need them. Employers also have the right to shut up shop and start again and that is what many are doing. It’s so easy to talk about rights and entitlement but who is going to pay for it all?
“Should employees be given the right to ask to work from home?” with one choice answer being “I can’t work from home because of my job.” Surely that doesn’t make any sense, at all?
Also anyone can ask whether you have the right to or not. It’s the answer that’s the bit that matters.
That is a weird way to ask it. I mean as employees, we can ask for whatever we want…….it doesn’t mean we can get it. Being allowed to ask for something is not the same thing as your employer being obliged to consider it and tell you why it’s not possible.
Ultra Violet robots are now being used to disinfect offices. People will be returning to work when that technology is out there.
They already have that right. Leo spouting sh**e again.
You can always ask
As someone already said, we already have the “right to ask” to work from home. This is at the discretion of the employer. Its just headline grabbing by Leo making it look like he is giving us something new when he is just bullsh!ting
All the salty people still getting the bus, lol.
Why wouldn’t you have the right to ask?
have your say