Emailing Outside Of Office Hours: How Do I Handle It?

Employers should take note of the recent decision in Kepak Convenience Foods Unlimited Company –v- Grainne O’Hara, WTC/18/18 ( 19^th July 2018)

Background
The Organisation of Working Time Act (“OWTA”) directs that an employer shall not permit its employees to work more than an average of 48 hours in any period of seven days. There are additional restrictions in terms of daily rest and night working hours, but for the purpose of this query, it is the 48 hour maximum working week that is relevant. 

The Facts
Ms O’Hara brought a claim to the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”). She joined Kepak Convenience Foods Unlimited (“the employer”) in July 2016 as a Business Development Executive. She had a written contract of employment (40 hours per week over five days). The contract contained a clause directing Ms O’Hara to cooperate with the employer’s procedures for monitoring the hours that she worked. This is because a large part of Ms O’Hara’s role was on the road,