While the new Work Life Balance Bill is positive in principle, it is littered with uncertainties and issues that could make it a "nightmare" for employers and employees, according to an employment law solicitor.
There are three key points in the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill; giving parents and carers of children under 12 the right to request flexible work, five days unpaid leave for medical care reasons and the extension of the period of calculable breastfeeding breaks for women who are back at work.
Employment law solicitor Richard Grogan told BreakingNews.ie there will be a range of contentious issues surrounding the flexible working and five days unpaid leave areas of the bill.
Small businesses and SMEs will be disproportionately affected by this, he said.
The five days unpaid leave is for a "significant medical issue", a term which is too vague according to Mr Grogan.
"Someone now gets an unpaid day off and the cert will cost 50. Then there's the point of is it a serious medical condition or not?
"Take a child who is four or five years of age, they wake up with a temperature of 102, is that a serious medical issue? If a parent has a child with a temperature of 102 they will regard it as a serious issue, but will a doctor?
"This will bring issues around getting medical certification, GDPR issues, a doctor will have to set out what is wrong with a child or family member, that will have to be sent to an employer. It won't just be the child is sick,...
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