The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has called on the Government to give all workers a legal right to request flexible working arrangements, including remote work.

A new European Union directive will give this right to carers and parents of young children by 2022. But ICTU fears this may result in home-working becoming “highly feminised,” with adverse effects on women’s career prospects.

Earlier this month, ICTU’s social policy officer, Laura Bambrick, told the Citizens’ Assembly on Work and Welfare that Irish-based workers’ rights to flexible work – including flexitime, part-time work, job-sharing and remote working – lags behind most EU countries. “Under current law, flexible and remote working is solely at the employer’s discretion,” she said.

She called on the Government to extend the right to request flexible working to every worker when it legislates to give effect to the new EU directive on work-life balance.

“Limiting the right to carers and parents of small children risks a highly feminised shift to working from home, which would have negative consequences for women’s career progression,” she said. Laura cited US research which shows that, compared to their office-based colleagues, remote workers are at greater risk of being overlooked for training and promotional opportunities.

Women are far more likely than men to take time out of paid work to cover caring responsibilities.

Earlier this year, Fórsa highlighted the issue of career prospects in evidence to a Government consultation on the future of remote work.

An earlier survey of the union’s members found that almost a fifth feared that remote working could reduce their access to training and inhibit their career development.

The Fórsa submission said: “There is a responsibility on managers to ensure that all staff have access to training, career development and promotional prospects regardless of whether they work remotely, in the workplace, or a blend of the two.”

The union also supported ICTU’s call for expanded legal rights for all employees to request flexible working arrangements in the light of experience in Europe and elsewhere.