Sinn Féin spokesperson on Workers’ Rights, Louise O’Reilly TD, has said a recent judgement from the Workplace Relations Commission highlights the need for robust rights for workers to access remote working/working from home.

Teachta O’Reilly said:

“The recent judgement made by the Workplace Relations Commission against health services provider St John of God should be a wake-up call regarding the need for robust rights for workers to access remote working.

“In this case, the WRC ordered significant compensation to be paid to a worker who was denied access to remote working.

“The adjudicating officer for the WRC stated of the case that the worker in question ‘was fully committed to the mission and to the clients’ of St John of God, but her employer ‘in the midst of a pandemic, knowing of her pregnancy and childcare needs, denied her access to work and full pay for no lawful reason when the same facility was afforded to others’.

“Making a compensation order of €45,000 against St John of God, the WRC stated that the judgement and redress was intended to be ‘proportionate, dissuasive and effective’.

“The case and the stern judgement and fine it provoked highlights the need for robust rights for workers to access remote working.

“The Tánaiste must act now and strengthen his proposed legislation on remote working because in the absence of robust protections and rights for workers it is clear that some employers and managers will attempt to exploit their employees and deny them access to remote working.”