On Wednesday, 11 November, Catherine O’Flynn, Leo Moore, Nuala Clayton and Declan Lavelle presented on Mondaq’s webinar, “Remote Working – Here to Stay?” The topic was addressed from the perspectives of employment law, health & safety, tax and data protection. You can watch the full webinar above.

By November, Ireland will have been in the grips of a pandemic for over 9 months.  At first, when workers were sent home to work remotely in a bid to contain the virus, it was mainly dealt with as a temporary emergency situation. However, as the months go on, it is becoming more of a permanent arrangement with many employers not intending to undertake a full return to the office until some time in 2021.  Furthermore, many employees will be keen to retain an element of remote working into the future, even when things go back to ‘normal’.

Catherine reviewed employment law considerations relating to remote working, including the strict legal requirement for employers to keep records of working time and breaks taken and discussed how this requirement does not sit easily with modern work practices. She also considered the impact of remote working on employees’ mental health and recommended steps that employers should be taking in this regard.

Nuala spoke about the health and safety considerations arising for employers who have remote workers, including the extent of an employer’s obligations regarding the home office. Nuala also considered the potential risks and liabilities arising for employers as staff continue to work from home. 

Leo discussed the data protection risks arising from remote working, such as data security, organisational concerns and international data transfers. With Brexit on the horizon, the impact of these issues might be heightened for multinational enterprises.

Declan touched on some of the key tax strategy considerations for multinational enterprises who have experienced a surge in remote workers, particularly those workers who may have relocated to another jurisdiction during the global pandemic and reviewed what companies should be doing to address this trend.

Click here to register with Mondaq for future webinars.