Labour has introduced legislation that would give certain workers the right to take their employees to court if they are not given the right to work from home (WFH). 

The last Government passed the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, which gave some employees the right to “request flexible working arrangements for caring purposes”. 

This month, Labour TD Mark Wall has introduced the Work Life Balance (Right to Remote Work) Bill 2026, which would extend those rights to other workers. 

On Newstalk Breakfast, Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the legislation would not mean all workers gain an automatic right to WFH. 

 “What it would do is bring in a right to request that work be done remotely and that the employer should only refuse where it's not reasonably practicable for employees to work remotely,” she explained. 

“So clearly, we absolutely appreciate, as I think everyone does, that there are some jobs that cannot be done remotely.”

Leinster House. Picture by: Alamy.com.

The Dublin Bay South TD added that there has been a shift within society with regards to home working, adding that many bosses are “looking at the benefits” of WFH for members of staff. 

However, the bill will give legal recourse to employees who are denied the right to WFH, where they feel it has no impact on their ability to do their job. 

“There have been some instances and, indeed the unions have pointed to these, where people have been told to come back to the office five days a week, where it's not, in fact, entirely necessary for them to do so and where it's not in the interest of productivity,” Deputy Bacik said. 

Legal recourse

If enacted in its present form, those workers who believe their request has been unreasonably denied will have to right to lodge a case with the Workplace Relations Commission. 

“The Government have already brought in in 2023 legislation introducing a right of an employee to request remote working arrangements,” Deputy Bacik said. 

“So, there's already a framework there to enable the Workplace Relations Commission to investigate.

“The test we've proposed is an eminently sensible one; it recognises that there are some jobs that clearly cannot be done remotely.

“If I'm working on a shop floor, if I'm in manufacturing, if I'm on a in a retail premises, if I'm serving food in a cafe, clearly, these are jobs that cannot be done from home.” 

Main image: Ivana Bacik and a man WFH. Pictures by: Alamy.com.