Employees Engaging With Public Consultation on Remote Working

It has been reported that Employees are responding in large numbers to a public consultation on the right to request a remote working arrangement under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (the Act).

The right to request a remote working arrangement came into force for all Employees in March 2024. As required by the Act, a legislative review of the operation of the remote working provisions must be carried out not earlier than one year and not later than two years following the commencement of the legislation.

As part of this scheduled review, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has launched a public consultation to gather views on the effectiveness of the legislation in providing the new entitlements, to evaluate the clarity of the legislation and to identify any unintended consequences of the legislation.

If you would like to participate in this public consultation to represent employers’ views on behalf of your organisation, please follow the link below for further details: Public consultation on the review of the operation of the right to request remote working legislation.

Reports this week indicate that the vast majority of early responses have been from Employees. The Government has committed to ensuring that this legislation remains up to date and fit for purpose, supporting the Programme for Government’s commitment to promote flexible working arrangements that benefit both Employees and Organisations. Given the initial high volume of Employee feedback, it will be interesting to note if any changes to existing remote work entitlements emerge from this review process.

The public consultation will remain open until 3 pm on 9th December 2025.

We will continue to keep our Clients updated on any further developments.

For further details or if your Organisation needs advice, support, or guidance on remote working, managing increased labour costs, workforce planning, auto-enrolment, compliance requirements, or any HR issues, please contact Adare by calling (01) 561 3594 or emailing info@adarehrm.ie to learn what services are available to support your business.