Employers must support remote workers
by Bernard Harbor
 
In a submission to the Oireachtas Special Committee on the Covid-19 response last week, the union also said employers must start planning and seeking agreement if they wanted to maintain some or all of their remote working arrangements.
In a submission to the Oireachtas Special Committee on the Covid-19 response last week, the union also said employers must start planning and seeking agreement if they wanted to maintain some or all of their remote working arrangements.

Fórsa has urged employers to ensure that line managers give proper support to staff who have to work remotely because of public health concerns.

 

Even as the Government accelerated its ‘back to work’ programme earlier this week, official advice still says people should be working from home whenever possible.

 

Three months into the lockdown, this has put immense strains on thousands of workers, with a recent Fórsa survey revealing that that 80% of Fórsa members had felt anxious or nervous as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

 

In a recent guidance note, Fórsa insisted that employers were obliged to maintain regular and meaningful contact with staff working away from the workplace.

 

“Remote working shouldn’t become too remote. It’s important to have good communications with your line manager in order to maintain clarity about what’s expected of you, get feedback about your work, and discuss any difficulties or queries that arise,” it said

 

It’s also important that staff get updates on work-related issues that they’d normally expect to get in the workplace.

 

The Fórsa advice, Working at home: Staying safe, connected, healthy and productive, says employers should:

 

· Arrange regular contacts with their staff (these should include phone or video calls – not just emails)

· Give clear instructions and feedback on work

· Give regular updates on what’s happening and planned in the organisation, including plans for ongoing remote working or returning to work

· Advise their staff to make immediate contact if they have an accident at work or if work equipment is faulty or needs maintenance, and

· Have emergency contacts and procedures in place.

 

In a submission to the Oireachtas Special Committee on the Covid-19 response, last week, the union also said employers must start planning – and seeking agreement – if they wanted to maintain some or all of their remote working arrangements.

 

“Employers now have a responsibility to engage with staff representatives to foster an agreed approach to the organisation of working time and location that can accommodate the various circumstances and concerns of their staff,” it said.

 

The union also said that a national public policy response could be needed. “There may emerge a need for stronger statutory and regulatory safeguards, as the expansion of remote working could otherwise be accompanied by an increase in the insecurity and exploitation associated with the ‘gig’ economy,” it argued.

 

More than a third of workers in Ireland were working remotely at the peak of the public health crisis. The Government’s ‘roadmap for reopening society and business’ is clear that many workers will continue to work remotely for some time.

 

Read the Fórsa guidance HERE

 

If you have questions or concerns about your own situation, you can contact Fórsa HERE

 

 

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

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