We have two colleagues who have verbal agreements to work from home. They have been doing so for more than 5 years. What protection do they have as this is not included in their contract of employment? Can the employer change this work practice with one month’s notice?

Posted in : First Tuesday Q&A ROI on 1 August 2017
Julie Austin
McDowell Purcell
Issues covered:

Notwithstanding the fact that only a verbal agreement was reached with these employees, as the employees have enjoyed this arrangement for a significant period of time, the employees’ could reasonably argue that they have an implied right to work at home.  A term can be implied into a written employment contract by virtue of “custom and practice”. One of the factors taken into account when determining whether a custom and practice exists is whether the arrangement existed for a substantial period. The fact that the arrangement has persisted for 5 years may mean that the employees have a contractual right to work from home. Of course, the discussions which took place with the employees

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Back to Q&A's This article is correct at 01/08/2017
Disclaimer:

The information in this article is provided as part of Legal-Island's Employment Law Hub. We regret we are not able to respond to requests for specific legal or HR queries and recommend that professional advice is obtained before relying on information supplied anywhere within this article.

Julie Austin
McDowell Purcell

The main content of this article was provided by Julie Austin. Contact telephone number is +353 1 828 0600 or email jaustin@mcdowellpurcell.ie

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