Only one in five Irish firms have a ‘right to disconnect’ policy, despite Government’s code of practice

Just 50pc of Irish organisations have calculated the gender pay gap among leaders at their company

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Caoimhe Gordon

April 25 2021 02:30 AM

Only one in five Irish companies have developed a ‘right to disconnect’ policy, according to a survey of 192 human resources professionals, chief executives, and other c-suite employees.

The results of the 2021 Leaders Talent Report, compiled by Principal Connections, the Irish office of Agilium Worldwide Executive Search Group, come after the Government launched an official code of practice on the right to disconnect for remote employees.

Three-quarters of those surveyed for the report said that the switch to remote working was the main change made in response to the pandemic.

The report also found that half of the organisations surveyed had not calculated the gender pay gap currently existing within the leadership of their company.

In late March an amended version of the Gender Pay Gap Information Bill was approved by the Dáil. This will require Irish companies over a certain size to publish the difference in pay between female and male employees, including any relevant bonuses.

In 2017, the most recent year that such figures are available, the unadjusted gender pay gap in Ireland was 14.4pc.

The high cost of living also proved to be a contentious issue for employers recruiting internationally. Three in five of those surveyed said that the well-publicised expense of living in Ireland was the biggest inhibitor for leaders moving to the country.

This cost surpassed the Covid-19 pandemic as the primary inhibitor for those looking to relocate.

With regard to how work will change as a result of the pandemic, 65pc of those surveyed said a blended working model will be the arrangement of choice. Only 2pc said that leaders will be required to work from the office full-time once it is possible to do so, while one fifth said that they had not yet formed an opinion on post-pandemic working arrangements.

Pat O’Donnell, managing partner at Principal Connections, focused on the high percentage of companies that had not yet developed a response to the right to disconnect policy.

“It’s disappointing to note that the implementation of the right to disconnect policy is still so slow.

"From our experience, many senior executives are under tacit pressure to be ‘always on’ – and this situation has worsened during Covid, taking a toll on work-life balance and creating an unhealthy level of stress. Not surprisingly, work performance also suffers.”