December 01, 2020
Working from Home (Covid-19) Bill 2020
The Labour Party published the Working from Home (Covid-19) Bill 2020 on 10th November 2020, which will address the urgent need for legislation as a result of a significant increase in remote working caused by the pandemic.
The Bill if passed, will provide Employees working from home with a right to switch off, a suitable home workstation and flat rate payment to cover the costs now taken up by Employees and disapply subject to conditions certain provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 in the case of certain Employees working temporarily from home.
Labour Employment Affairs spokesperson Marie Sherlock said:
“Giving workers the right to switch off will stop the blurring of lines between work and home caused by Covid-19. “The right to ‘disconnect’ will mean Employers have to clearly set out in writing their policy on out of hours communications, and this would provide workers with access to the protections provided under the Organisation of Working Time Act. So the Bill sets out that an Employee is entitled not to engage with electronic communications outside of their normal hours of work but, if they choose to do so, this would count as working time and be subject to the Act”.
This Bill has completed Dáil Éireann, Second Stage.
Sick Leave and Parental Leave (Covid-19) Bill 2020
The Government has launched a consultation process with a view to introducing a statutory sick pay scheme for Employees by the end of next year.
The Sick Leave and Parental Leave (Covid-19) Bill 2020 is a newly proposed piece of legislation which if passed, would provide for an entitlement for Employees to paid leave during periods of illness or injury, amend the entitlement to leave on grounds of force majeure for parents whose children are unable to attend school or childcare services by reason of Covid-19 measures.
Currently, there is no statutory entitlement to pay during sick leave for Employees in Ireland. However, many Organisations have a Sick Pay Scheme in place with the duration and level of pay being decided at their discretion. An Employee may be entitled to claim illness benefit from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection, subject to them meeting qualification criteria.
Section 2 of the proposed Bill provides that an Employee would be entitled to 6 weeks of paid sick leave due to illness or injury after the expiry of the first 4 weeks of that employment. This entitlement ceases after the completion of the said 6 weeks of sick leave or after completion of sick leave amounting to 30 days in total in any 12-month period. The pay in respect of an Employee’s sick leave shall be at the Employee’s normal weekly rate of pay.
Force Majeure leave is leave provided for Employees to deal with emergency situations arising from the illness or injury of a family member as set out in the Parental Leave (Amendment) Act 2006. Force Majeure entitlement is a maximum of 3 days paid leave in a 12-month period, or a maximum of 5 days in a 36-month period.
The Bill proposes to extend the right to receive paid Force Majeure leave in circumstances where, as a result of Covid-19 restrictions or lockdown, a school or pre-school service is closed or a child cannot attend their school or pre-school service. The Employee will be entitled to avail of paid Force Majeure leave for as long as the child is unable to attend the school or pre-school service and the presence of the Employee is required to care for that child.
This Bill is currently before Dáil Éireann, Second Stage. The Government is aiming to enact statutory sick pay legislation in Ireland by the end of 2021.