The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 (“the Act”) was signed into law on 4 April 2023. The Act introduces a range of measures which provide greater flexibility for employees seeking to balance their family life, work life and caring responsibilities.

The Act makes five important changes to employment legislation.

(1) Statutory right to request remote working arrangements for all employees

The Act introduces a statutory right for all employees to make a request for remote working arrangements and for such requests to be dealt with in a prompt and transparent manner. The Act encompasses the former Right to Request Remote Work Bill.

Summary of the right to request remote working arrangements:

• employees must have at least 6 month’s service completed before they are entitled to request a remote working arrangement
• employees must submit the proposed arrangement 8 weeks before the proposed commencement date
• an employer must respond to such a request within 4 weeks, this timeframe can be extended to 8 weeks
• employers are obliged to provide a notice in writing informing the employee of the reasons for refusal, if this is the case
• employers are obliged to consider the employees needs, the business’s needs and the requirements of the code of practice upon receipt of a request
• employers are entitled to terminate the remote working arrangement in certain circumstances if they are satisfied that the arrangement is having a substantial adverse effect on the operation of the business
• employees are afforded protection from penalisation for proposing to exercise their entitlement to make a request under the Act

Employees will have a right to bring a complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”) for an employer’s lack of compliance. However, the WRC is not entitled to assess the merits of the decision the employer reached following their consideration of the request nor the grounds for refusal of a request by the employer.

(2) A right for relevant parents and carers to request flexible working arrangements for caring purposes

The Act gives an employee a right to request a flexible working arrangement for the care of a child, spouse or civil partner, a cohabitant, a parent, a grandparent, a sibling and any person who lives in the same household.

For the purposes of the Act, a child must be less than 12 years of age or 16 years if the child is suffering from a disability or long-term illness.

The criteria for requesting a flexible arrangement will be the same as those for the right to request remote work.

(3) Enhanced breast feeding rights

The Act amends the Maternity Protection Act 1994 and extends the current breastfeeding facilitation period from 26 weeks to 104 weeks following childbirth. Employers must also provide appropriate facilities in the workplace to enable a breastfeeding employee to return to work.

The employee may reduce her working hours or receive paid time off for the purpose of breastfeeding.

(4) Domestic Violence Leave

The Act introduces a new form of leave for victims of domestic violence which allows for five days paid leave. The purpose of the leave is to allow the employee to:

• seek medical attention
• obtain psychological or other professional counselling and services from a victim services organisation
• relocate temporarily or permanently
• obtain an order under the Domestic Violence Act 2018
• seek legal advice
• seek assistance from the Garda Síochána
• seek or obtain any other relevant services

This will be paid by the employer at a rate which is yet to be determined by regulations which are to be enacted in due course.

(5) Unpaid leave for medical purposes

The Act provides that an employee is entitled to five days unpaid medical leave in a twelve-month period to provide “significant care or support for a serious medical reason” for a person that is in a specified relationship with an employee.

This will allow employees to take leave to provide personal care or support for

• person of whom the employee is the relevant parent
• spouse or civil partner
• cohabitant
• parent or grandparent
• brother or sister
• person from the same household

The Workplace Relations Commission Code of Practice

The WRC has yet to publish its Code of Practice which the employer will be required to have regard to when considering requests.

The above changes will be brought into effect on a staggered basis and employers will need to keep up to date as to when particular provisions of the Act will come into effect and as to the specifics of the Code of Practice when published.

What Actions Employers Need to Take

Employers will need to review and update their current contracts of employment and policies and procedures to reflect the new changes.

How we can help

If you have any queries or concerns, or would like to discuss the above in further detail, please feel free to contact Kate Walsh, solicitor, in the Employment & Benefits Department of BHSM on 01 440 8300 / [email protected]

This article is for general information purposes.  Legal advice must be obtained for individual circumstances.  Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this article, no liability is accepted by the author for any inaccuracies.