Workers will have the right to disconnect from today, after the Tánaiste signed off on a new code outlining best practice for employees and employers when it comes to working outside normal hours. The guidance applies to all types of employment, whether you are working remotely or not.

With regards to remote working, Fórsa wrote to Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform yesterday with a claim seeking the negotiation of agreed and comprehensive guidelines on the matter, for application across the civil and public service.

RTÉ leads with Fórsa's formal request to Government that Special Needs Assistants be included in a side category of the new vaccine roll-out programme that refers to people working in crowded settings. This is also included in the Indo's coverage. 

Many worker representatives have criticised the change in the priority list for vaccinations, with Gardaí calling it a "shocking disregard for frontline workers”. But the Táinaiste remains steadfast that the decision to change the vaccine allocation strategy is based “on the science” and the best medical advice. This however, hasn't prevented internal party criticism of the Taoiseach.

The Rehab Group has rejected claims by SIPTU that it was pressurising vulnerable workers in a Limerick subsidiary by threatening to withhold certain redundancy payments unless they sign away their right to a Labour Court hearing in pursuit of disputed entitlements.

Elsewhere, British Gas engineers are to stage a fresh strike in a continuing dispute over pay and conditions.

Meanwhile in the UK, Unite the union has opened a confidential hotline for Amazon staff as it launches a campaign for the retail giant to recognise workers' right to organise.

And finally, today's zen features a reindeer cyclone in Russia’s Kola Peninsula at the Arctic Circle. A swirling mass of threatened reindeer stampede in a circle making it impossible to target an individual, with the fawns protected in the middle. If this has piqued your interest, you can learn more about reindeer cyclones here.