Irish home-workers will be able to claim maternity leave, sick leave and holiday pay from April 22nd next year.
This is because Ireland has become only the second country to ratify the International Labour Organisation's Convention on Home working, which entitles home-workers to the same rights as other workers.
They will be entitled to minimum notice if they are let go and may take their employer to the Employment Appeals Tribunal if they feel they have been sacked unfairly.
Technically, many of these protections should already be in place and few changes in the law are expected by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment as a result of Ireland's ratification of ILO Convention 117.
Nevertheless, it should help to highlight our cottage industries, which form the last link in a chain of labour-intensive, low-paid work where there are few controls on those employers who take advantage of the weak and vulnerable.
It is not clear how many home-workers there are in the Republic. Ms Claire Cunningham of the Irish section of HomeNet, an international network campaigning for the rights of home-workers, estimates there are at least 2,000 women operating in the knitwear sector alone.
Once two countries sign an ILO convention it must come into force in both states within 12 months. The first was Finland. It also becomes mandatory on any new state ratifying it to do likewise.
On losing their job, home workers will be entitled to sign on the dole and, with enough social credits to qualify, they will get a contributory old age pension on retirement.
There are drawbacks. At present they are, of course, supposed to be paying tax on any income from home-working, but now they will be liable for PRSI as well. If their activities pose safety problems to neighbours, their children, or themselves, a safety inspector could come knocking.
The convention also obliges governments ratifying it to "promote equality of treatment between home-workers and other wage-earners" in areas such as the right to organise, training and fringe benefits, as well as pay.
In other words, if a company recognises a trade union for factory-based employees, or provides a group healthcare scheme, their home-workers can claim access these also - and call on the state's assistance if they are not forthcoming.
Equality is a central part of the agenda, as 90 per cent of home-workers are women. Ms Josephine Kelly of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, said the convention would help raise home-workers' awareness of their rights.
She anticipates that the imminent agreement of the EU social partners on a new fixed term working directive will also strengthen the rights of atypical workers generally.
She says an information campaign will be held nearer the April deadline.
She has welcomed Ireland's ratification. Once next April comes "the Convention becomes more than a piece of paper", she says.