'Reasonable & justified' | Firm's demand for WFH employee to attend office once a month was fair, says tribunal

An employer was within its rights to ask a fully-remote worker to attend the company office once a month, a tribunal has ruled.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in Ireland ruled against Rafael Jorge, a remote worker who challenged his employer's decision to require in-office attendance once a month, concluding that the company’s decision was “reasonable” and that the firm had acted within its legal rights. 

Jorge, an employee of Centric Mental Health, brought a complaint under Section 27 of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, arguing that his contract allowed him to work fully remotely and that requiring office attendance was a breach of that agreement.

The WRC’s Adjudication Officer, Brian Dalton, focused on whether Centric Mental Health had followed due process in amending Jorge’s contract. The crux of the dispute lay in whether the company’s requirement for Jorge to attend the Dublin office once a month was reasonable and lawful, given his remote working arrangement.