Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (Workplace Relations Commission Code of Practice on the Right to Request Flexible Working and the Right to Request Remote Working) Order 2024.

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Year: 2024
• Citation: IR SI 92/2024

STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

S.I. No.92of2024

Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (Workplace Relations Commission Code of Practice on the Right to Request Flexible Working and the Right to Request Remote Working) Order 2024

WHEREAS the Workplace Relations Commission has, under subsection (2) of section 31 of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (No. 8 of 2023), having received a direction from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, and following consultation with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, under subsection (1) of that section, prepared a draft code of practice on the Right to Request Flexible Working and the Right to Request Remote Working.

AND WHEREAS the Workplace Relations Commission has complied with subsection (3) of that section, and has submitted the draft code of practice to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

NOW I, SIMON COVENEY, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by subsection (5) of section 31 of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (No. 8 of 2023), and following consultation with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (Workplace Relations Commission Code of Practice on the Right to Request Flexible Working and the Right to Request Remote Working) Order 2024.

2. It is hereby declared that the code of practice set out in the Schedule shall be an approved code of practice for the purposes of Part 3 of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (No. 8 of 2023) and Part IIA of the Parental Leave Act 1998 (No. 30 of 1998).

SCHEDULE

Workplace Relations Commission

Code of Practice for Employers and Employees

Right to Request Flexible Working and Right to Request Remote Working

Contents

1. Foreword

2. Legislative Basis

3. Purpose of the Code of Practice

Part 1 Flexible Working

4. What is Flexible Working?

5. Right to Request Flexible Working

6. Making a Flexible Working Request

7. Right to a Response to a Flexible Working Request

8. Considering a Flexible Working Request

9. Changes to a Flexible Working Arrangement

10. Termination of a Flexible Working Arrangement

11. Return to Previous Working Arrangement

12. Abuse of a Flexible Working Arrangement

13. Protection of Employees from Penalisation

14. Raising Concerns

15. Record Keeping

Part 2 Remote Working

16. What is Remote Working?

17. Right to Request Remote Working

18. Making a Remote Working Request

19. Right to a Response to a Remote Working Request

20. Considering a Remote Working Arrangement

21. Changes to a Remote Working Arrangement

22. Termination of a Remote Working Arrangement

23. Return to Previous Working Arrangement

24. Abuse of a Remote Working Arrangement

25. Protection of Employees from Penalisation

26. Raising Concerns

27. Record Keeping

Part 3 Policy and Template Requests

28. Developing a Workplace Policy

29. Templates for Flexible Working and Remote Working Requests

1. Foreword

Responding to a request from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has prepared a Code of Practice (the Code) to give guidance on best practice to employers and employees on the right to request flexible working arrangements for caring purposes for certain categories of worker, and the right to request remote working for all workers. These statutory rights are set out in the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 and Parental Leave Acts 1998-2023.

The way in which many of us work has seen profound changes in recent years and there has been an increased focus on fostering participation in the labour force through flexible working solutions. Such solutions are increasingly a priority for society from a range of perspectives, from sustainability and positive environmental impacts, to increasing participation amongst women, older people and people with disabilities and all those with caring responsibilities.

At European level Directive 2019/1158 on Work Life Balance for Parents and Carers transposed in Ireland by the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provision Act 2023 aimed to increase the participation of women in the labour market and the shared take-up of family-related leave and flexible working. This development in tandem with the advent of Covid 19 and the rapid transition to remote working has transformed the way many of us work.

The knock-on effects of flexible and remote working arrangements can be far reaching. Parents and carers can benefit from better work life balance which can improve retention of experienced staff. Companies can benefit from a wider talent pool and employees have the opportunity to fit other commitments and activities around work. This can all lead to greater job satisfaction and better staff morale. At the same time, these types of arrangements can pose challenges, particularly in terms of collaboration, integration, team management and communication. These are areas which will require attention as the workplace evolves.

In the context of these new statutory rights, it was considered by Government that a Code of Practice to assist employees and employers to navigate the complexities of requests for flexible and remote working arrangements would be beneficial.

I would like to acknowledge the input of all those who made submissions as part of the consultation process on this Code and the work of the representatives of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation (Ibec) and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) who assisted the Commission in bringing this Code to fruition.

Anna Perry

Acting Director General

Workplace Relations Commission

2. Legislative Basis

Section 31(1) of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 provides that the Minister For Enterprise, Trade and Employment may, following consultation with the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, give a direction to the Commission to prepare and submit a Code of Practice for the purpose of practical guidance to employers, employees and any other persons as to the steps that may be taken for complying with the provisions of Part 11A of the Parental Leave Acts, 1998-2023, or Part 3 of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023.

Before submitting a draft Code of Practice to the Minister, the Commission shall request any person that it considers appropriate, including trade unions and employer representative bodies and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, to make representations to it in relation to the draft Code of Practice, and the Commission shall consider any such representations made.

Section 20(2) of the Workplace Relations Act, 2015 provides, at the request of the Minister, for the preparation of draft codes of practice by the WRC for submission to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. Codes of practice are written guidelines, agreed in a consultative process, setting out guidance and best practice for employers and employees with respect to compliance with employment legislation.

These statutory functions fit within the WRC’s overall remit of promoting improvement and maintenance of good workplace relations; promoting and encouraging compliance with relevant employment, equality and equal status legislation and codes of practice; providing information to the public; and conducting reviews of, and monitoring developments in workplace relations generally.

While failure to follow a code is not an offence in itself, both section 20(9) Workplace Relations Act, 2015 and section 31(9) of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2023 provides that in any proceedings before a Court, the Labour Court or an Adjudication Officer of the WRC, a Code of Practice shall be admissible in evidence. Any provision of the Code which appears to the Court, body or officer concerned to be relevant to any question arising in the proceedings shall be taken into account in determining that question.

In accordance with the statutory requirements, the WRC carried out a public consultation and received over 50 submissions which were fully considered in the development of this Code. In finalising the Code, the WRC engaged with representatives of employers and employees, including Ibec and ICTU.

3. Purpose of the Code of Practice

The purpose of this Code is to provide guidance to employers and employees in relation to how requests for flexible and remote working arrangements are made and handled. It is designed to support employers, employees and/or their representatives in understanding the rights and obligations set out in the Parental Leave Acts, 1998-2023 as amended by the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2023 in relation to requests for Flexible Working (FW) and the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2023 in relation to requests for Remote Working (RW). It aims to give guidance on best practice principles throughout these processes, including the decision-making process when considering requests and any changes that may be sought or made to an arrangement.

Specifically, the purpose of the Code is to:

• set out the detail of the processes regarding making and managing requests for FW and RW including when changes are sought or made to the agreed arrangement;

• support employers in objective, fair and reasonable decision-making when considering requests for FW or RW;

• offer practical guidance on best practice to employers, employees and/or their representatives to ensure compliance with the legislation;

• assist in developing workplace policies and procedures for dealing with flexible working and remote working requests so as to provide clarity, transparency and consistency for both employees and employers;

• provide guidance for the resolution of disputes in relation to...