Minister O’Gorman announces Public Consultation on Flexible Working
- Foilsithe: 4 Bealtaine 2021
- An t-eolas is déanaí: 5 Bealtaine 2021
• Consultation seeks the views of employers, employees and wider public on flexible working arrangements.
• The findings of the consultation will inform the development of a policy framework that promotes better work-life balance.
• The consultation is open until 28 May 2021.
Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, T.D., today launched a public consultation on Flexible Working.
Flexible working allows employees to structure their work day in way that suits their needs. The consultation is being undertaken to seek views from employers, employees and the wider public on the types of flexible working arrangements currently in place and the changes that they wish to see.
Findings from the consultation will inform the development of a new flexible working policy, a key commitment in the Programme for Government, which aims to promote better work-life balance for those with caring responsibilities and to support the higher participation of women in the workplace.
Welcoming the announcement, Minister O’Gorman said:
“The pandemic has brought about huge changes in the way we work, and has highlighted the need for workplaces to be responsive to the needs of families and those with caring responsibilities. With many organisations moving towards flexible working arrangements, we are now presented with a unique opportunity to reinvent the way we work and create a flexible working model - one that supports a better work-life balance and a more inclusive labour market.
"My Department is eager to engage with employees, employers, and unions to develop policies that reflect to new ways of working.”
The consultation can be found here. The closing date for receipt of submissions is Friday 28 May 2021 at 5 pm.
ENDS
Notes to the Editor:
Purpose of the consultation
The Government is seeking to develop a flexible working policy and guidance that takes account of the needs of families (particularly those with young children); of individuals, including those with disabilities; of employers and of the broader economy.
This consultation is being undertaken to seek views from employers, employees and the wider public on:
- the issues that are most important for them in terms of flexible working, the types of flexible working arrangements currently in place and the changes that they wish to see;
- the potential impact of changes in technology, the workplace, the family and society on the types of flexible working arrangements available to, or sought by, employees;
- the changing nature of flexible working arrangements in light of the pandemic;
- the potential obstacles that may exist for small, medium and large employers when facilitating flexible working arrangements for employees as well as the potential administrative impact;
- the success factors that will help the Government and businesses to develop flexible working options that suit employees and employers.
The Government has made a commitment in the First Five Strategy to enhance access to family-friendly flexible working. This consultation follows a previous consultation that ran in December 2019 and it intends to capture information on the changes to work environments due to the pandemic.