Work Life Balance Pack

The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 was signed into law on 4 April 2023.The Minister for Enterprise, Trade, and Employment tasked the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), under Section 20 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, with creating this Code of Practice that was enacted in March 2024.

Key Points

• The Code offers practical guidance to employers, employees, and others on compliance regarding the process of making and managing requests for flexible and remote working arrangements.
• Flexible working is a working arrangement where an employee’s working hours or working patterns are adjusted, including through the use of remote working arrangements, flexible working schedules or reduced working hours.
• As defined in the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2023, remote working refers to an arrangement where an employee conduct some or all of their work, as stipulated in their employment contract, at a location other than the employer's premises. This arrangement maintains the employee's regular working hours and duties without alteration.
• To be entitled to make a statutory request for flexible working an employee must be:
  • the parent or acting in loco parentis to a child under 12 years of age or under 16 years if the child has a disability or illness and who is or will be providing care to the child, or
  • providing or will provide personal care or support to a specified person namely the employee’s child, spouse or civil partner, cohabitant, parent or grandparent, sibling, or a person other than one in the categories already specified who lives in the same household as the employee. The person must also need significant care or support for a serious medical reason.
• All employees have a statutory right to request remote working, regardless of the type of request, employees must complete a minimum of six months of continuous employment before any arrangement can commence.