Remote Rights
Remote working was supposed to be a temporary measure for health reasons. Now public sector unions want the right to work from home as an employment entitlement,
The Covid-19 pandemic has shuttered offices worldwide for more than a year now, and in the process enacted the biggest ad-hoc experiment in remote working yet seen. Business surveys in the lead-up to 2020 in the main suggested that the majority of employees wanted more opportunity to work from home, so what’s the feeling about that arrangement now?
The picture is complex and conflicted. The appetite for remote working is still there, but in the private sector its practical challenges are an ever-increasing strain on employee wellbeing. Businesses meanwhile have had to fundamentally rethink how they keep their teams productively engaged.
Some recent surveys exploring remote working during the Covid pandemic illustrate the ambivalent picture. A PwC global survey of 32,500 people on future work trends found that only one in 10 of those who can work remotely want to go back to a traditional commute and work full-time. Separately, a recent Microsoft global survey with a similar sample size showed that three-quarters of employees want flexible working options to continue.
It also matters which sector you focus on. In the tech sector, for example, remote working has been a mainstream practice for many years. A 2020 survey by global recruitment agency Hays found that two-thirds of tech sector workers expect to continue working remotely, while around the same proportion anticipated having more opportunities to work with flexible arrangements in future. By contrast, the Hays survey showed that less than half of professionals in other sectors expected the same flexible/remote working arrangements in future.
In the legal, consultancy and public relations sectors, where in-person meetings are more fundamental to the work undertaken, senior executives expect that some form of hybrid working arrangements will continue post-Covid. The importance of in-person meetings with staff and clients is also more apparent in these sectors, with senior executives pointing out that junior staff training and client relations suffer without the office work component.
The gloss is also starting to come off the ideal of stress-free working from home. When Microsoft recently surveyed Irish employees earlier about their remote working priorities, four out of five respondents said they want a better work-life balance, while threequarters wished they could disconnect once their remote working day was over.
Attitudes to remote working are also influenced by the type of home accommodation. Among young professionals in Ireland, recruiters Robert Walters found that four out of ten live in shared housing, a higher proportion than in any other country in Europe. Fewer than one in 12 of these workers said they would like to move to remote working permanently.
Despite the mental health strain for some, employees are still for the most part reporting that they want to keep working from home in part or fully, although the proportion of those hankering for a return to office life is growing. In the UK, a recent survey by Atlas Cloud showed that those aged 55 and over enjoy working from home the most, while employees in the 18-24 age bracket had experienced the worst work-life balance.
The government published a new code of practice around remote working that came into effect on April 1. The code stipulates that employees have the right to switch off from work outside normal working hours, including the right
not to respond immediately to emails, telephone calls or other messages. Business minister Leo Varadkar said that the code of practice, developed by the Workplace Relations Commission, is nonbinding and creates no new legal rights for employees.
Karen Killalea, head of employment at law firm Maples and Calder, notes that the code reinforces existing employee rights under working time legislation, and can be relied upon in legal proceedings as evidence of the appropriate standard of behaviour in relation to employees’ rights to disconnect.
Currently, there is no legal framework governing how employee requests to work remotely can be made and how an employer should deal with it. However, ministers have pledged to make remote working the norm for 20% of publicsector staff, and later this year, after a public consultation process has concluded, Varadkar is planning to legislate for a right to request remote working.
Such a move would represent radical state interference in how employers organise their business. It seems that Varadkar is intent on making entitlement to work remotely a statutory right. This raises the appalling vista of employers being done for discrimination if they don’t hire someone because that individual doesn’t fancy working in an office.
Employers’ lobby group Ibec has been nuanced with its response. Maeve McElwee, director of employer relations, commented that the proposals will require careful development to meet a balance for businesses and employees in order to ensure competitiveness, equality and flexibility considerations are addressed. “Allowing time for a full regulatory impact assessment, including the costs of administration of new employment legislation, will be critical,” she added.
Fórsa, Ireland’s largest publicservice union has jumped right in. The union recently submitted a claim to government seeking the negotiation of agreed and comprehensive guidelines on remote working for application across the civil and public service. Fórsa wants the claim discussed under the auspices of the new public-service agreement, Building Momentum.
As Fórsa sees it, the dice will be loaded in favour of employees. The union is demanding “fair access and the right to request remote work”, while at the same time giving employees the right to decline remote work arrangements. In addition, Fórsa envisages full transparency and agreement over the use of any surveillance products or practices, “and a guarantee that employees’ rights to privacy and a reasonable work-life balance will be protected, along with full compliance with the provisions of data protection legislation”.
Since the pandemic struck, civil servants have never had it so good, and the state’s insider class is now intent on copper-fastening their easy-living gains. Their employer is unlikely to stand in their way.
When did you open Lemon Leaf Café?
I opened the Lemon Leaf over a decade ago in October 2010, and we have trebled in business since then. In 2016 we had to extend the kitchen to keep up with the growth of the business. Currently we are transforming the premises into a boutique hotel. We are amalgamating with the guesthouse upstairs which has 10 rooms, and it will now be known as the Lemon Leaf Townhouse.
We know that people want something different, and that’s why we are creating a new destination venue that will set the same high bar as our café. We will have our usual breakfast and lunch fare and will be open in the evening for wine and cocktails and scrumptious local produce. After the past few months, people will just want to meet and hang out, and we are excited to open our doors to them.
How have consumer preferences changed over the last decade?
The biggest change is the demand for more produce from local suppliers. We have always been ahead of the curve in this regard. For example, when Patsy from Patsy’s Corner here in Kinsale was retiring, I asked if she would supply us with her signature Lemon Meringue, and she is still doing it to this day.
How has the business coped with trading restrictions over the past 12 months?
The first lockdown was very challenging, as we had no idea what to expect or when we would be open
Tracy Keoghan, founder of The Lemon Leaf Café again, which was really worrying. However, last summer was great, as we had lots of people visiting Kinsale on their staycations. It will likely be the same again this summer. We also had the renovation and expansion project to keep us busy.
At Bord Gáis Energy, we’re more than just an energy supplier. We’re a partner to our SME customers helping them to run and grow their businesses all across Ireland. In this series, we will put a spotlight on some of our valued business customers, sharing details of their successes. This month, we feature Tracy Keoghan owner of ‘Lemon Leaf’ café in Kinsale. The café is widely known for its great fresh food with tasty desserts and is a popular spot for visitors and locals.
‘The first lockdown was very challenging as we had no idea what to expect’
Where do you see the business in the next decade?
I expect the hotel to thrive. Lemon Leaf is in the heart of the town and is a very pretty and important building, with the courtyard backing onto the old wall of Kinsale where they kept the barrels of beer and wine and would tether the horses back in the day.
What advice would you give to entrepreneurs or new business owners?
Don’t do it! Seriously though – it is very difficult now to be in business. We thought we had worries before but nothing prepared us for the past year. However, one has to just keep reinventing oneself, and keep focused on what your customers want. Do what you do best and stick to it.