Fórsa has lodged a claim, seeking full access to blended work in the Department of Justice.

Until now, blended working has been available with the caveat that flexitime accrual would not be available to staff while they were working away from the office, an option that the Civil Service Arbitration Board made available to departments.

Fórsa official Seán Carabini said he was disappointed to see the Department of Justice initially opt to disallow their staff accrue flexi time when they were working from home.

“Now is the time to seek to persuade the Department to adopt a blended working policy that benefits everyone,” he said.

“The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform review of blended working flexi accrual has clearly shown that there is no downside to it whatsoever and gives staff more flexibility in maintaining their work life balance while also simultaneously maintaining productivity levels. It’s a win-win,” he added.

Seán stressed the importance of this issue for our members working in the Department of Justice.

“We need to see this one through. Our claim has been lodged and the Department is now considering it. We expect an answer back in Q3. In reality, however, there is only one answer that will be acceptable to our members, and we hope that this issue will be resolved successfully,” he said.

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