A survey of c.150 HR professionals from the public and private sectors found that nine out of ten employers have started bringing employees back on site and two out of three don't have a right to disconnect policy.

The survey was carried out by business law firm Mason Hayes & Curran.

The survey found that currently four out of ten large employers do not have a remote working policy in place.

The view from partner MH&C partner Ger Connolly (pictured) is that organisations should have a policy that sets out their position in relation to remote working ahead of promised legislation on the issue.

Unlike other policies, your remote working policy will have a bearing on your employees’ performance of their jobs on a weekly basis,” said Connolly.

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“Our strong advice is to spend time drafting a policy that suits your needs and be clear about how this impacts on the contract of employment. If bespoke arrangements are in place, these should be clearly communicated by email, and employers should reserve the right to review and revisit arrangements on a regular basis.”

MH&C associate Jessica Bielenberg noted that there is not much a disgruntled employee can do if their employer refuses a request for remote working.

“They can put in an appeal; employers should have an appeal process in place in their remote work policy and an employee has to wait two weeks to allow the employer to deal with that appeal,” she said.

“It is only at that point and, as currently drafted, only on procedural grounds that an employee can take a claim to the Workplace Relations Commission.”  

The law firm’s informal poll found that only 38% of organisations have conducted risk assessments of employees’ remote working spaces.

“Employers have the same health and safety obligations whether employees are working from the office or working from their kitchen table,” said Connolly. “There is a very clear onus on employers to carry out a risk assessment and to provide the right equipment for their employees.”  

Under the draft Right to Request Remote Working Bill, there is a requirement for employees to identify a dedicated remote workspace and to conduct a self-assessment of this space.

According to the law firm’s estimate, two out of three employers do not have a right to disconnect policy in place, despite the Code of Practice being introduced in April 2021.  

Melanie Crowley, head of the Employment and Benefits team, commented: “The fact that so many employers haven’t put in place policies around the right to disconnect makes me wonder whether it is all a bit of a non-event.

“Employers and employees also need to bear in mind that remote working is not the same as flexible working and that flexibility in this post-Covid reality we all now inhabit is what employees really want.”