Press release

From Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Last updated on 25 January 2022

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD, today published details of a new law which will give employees the right to request remote working, as part of his plans to make better terms and conditions for workers a legacy of the pandemic.

"Up until now, remote and home working has been imposed on a lot of people due to the public health restrictions. Now that they have been lifted, I want it to be a choice. I want workers to be able to work from home or remotely or hybrid if they want to. So long as the business get done and services are provided, employers should facilitate it.

"I know throughout the pandemic, many employers have gone to great lengths to give their employees as much flexibility around where they work as possible. We want this to continue. The world of work has changed and I know many would like to retain some amount of remote working once COVID is behind us.

"This new law will give every employee the right to request remote working from their employer. Employers will be required to provide reasonable grounds for refusing to facilitate an employees’ request. These grounds are set out in the legislation and we will develop Codes of Practice to provide guidance to help employers implement the new law.

"It will give employers and workers legal clarity on remote working, which became the default for many during the...

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