Yes, employees have a right to request remote working from their employer under Article 112F of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996. However, they must satisfy certain criteria to be eligible to do so:

• the individual must be an employee – agency workers and office holder do not have this statutory right.
• the employee must have worked for the employer for a continuous period of 26 weeks.
• the employee must not have made a prior statutory request for flexible working during the previous 12 months from the date the most recent application was made.

It is important that employees are aware that this is just a right to request remote working as opposed a right to be granted remote working. Furthermore, employers should be aware that in granting an employee’s request to remote working, this will result in a permanent change to the employee’s contract of employment.

An employer can only decline a request for flexible working where there is a specified business ground as per Article 112G(1)(b) of the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 – this must be put in writing and explained to any employee whose request is being refused.

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the landscape of working remotely for the future and employers should expect that the demand for flexible working arrangements regarding working from home will remain for years to come. Therefore, it is important that employers have a tailored working from home policy in place.