What are the basic responsibilities of employers when it comes to remote work?

At European level, teleworking is regulated
the framework directive
and other directives relating to working conditions (such as
the Working Time Directive
) and occupational safety and health. Nevertheless, there is no single, concrete legislative act in the EU that directly relates to teleworking. Instead, it is governed at national level by legislative legislation, social dialogue and collective bargaining. healthy-workplaces.eu.

However, at the heart of the European approach to teleworking is
the EU Framework Agreement on Teleworking
, an autonomous agreement between the social partners concluded in 2002. The document provides a definition of teleworking as “a form of organization and/or performance of work, using information technology, in the context of contracts/employment relationships, where work, which could also be performed on the premises of the employer, is regularly carried out outside these premises”. In addition, it offers a clear, albeit general, overview of employers’ responsibilities before the pandemic to remote working staff.

Those responsibilities include ensuring that a remote worker has the same rights as on-site workers, while taking into account the specificities of teleworking. It also highlights the fact that the employer is responsible for the safety and health of remote workers at work, especially when it comes to working conditions and the use of tools such as VDUs.

The agreement makes it clear that remote workers have the right to request inspection visits to ensure that their workspace is purpose-appropriate and ergonomically. It also lays down basic rules on aspects such as work organisation, training, data privacy and equipment.

How have employer s legal responsibilities changed recently?

Although the conversation over the right to work from home has been accelerating for a number of years, with countries such as France, for example,
introducing a legal right to exclusion
in 2016, new circumstances following the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting wave of teleworking are leading to a revision and tightening of teleworking regulations. Until March 2021‎. Five countriesit implemented legislative amendments (Italy, Luxembourg, Latvia, Slovakia and Spain) and many others reviewed their national legislation on the subject, including Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Germany, Malta, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia. In the Netherlands
, the Flexible Work Act
was assessed by law and therefore this review also took into account the amendments to the teleworking regulation that led to the circumstances of the pandemic, explain the
healthy-workplaces.eu

These agreed or proposed amendments to national teleworking rules can be classified into four main categories:

• • legal definition of what teleworking encompasses
  • the right to remote work (including the duration and frequency of remote work)

• the right to exclusion during rest periods and the ability to ensure a healthy work-life balance while working remotely
• specific occupational safety and health provisions, including the employer’s responsibility to provide an ergonomic teleworking station and help prevent the development or exacerbation of musculoskeletal disorder (MSD)

In addition to these categories, changes to national legislation vary from country to country. In Spain ,
for example, the Royal Decree Act 28/202029
strengthened employees’ right to opt out and strengthened workers’ rights when it comes to ergonomic, psychosocial and organisational aspects of teleworking. Spanish employers are now obliged to carry out a risk assessment of remote workers’ workspace and ensure that there are no risks that could cause or worsen MSD.

Pixabay

Ireland isin January 2021. Published its National Strategy for Remote Work‎, ‎which, in addition to stipulating that home and telework should be the norm for 20 per cent of public sector employment and stressing the right to exclusion, has also committed to investing in teleworking infrastructure, such as remote work centres and providing high-speed broadband.

The Slovak government has developed an amendment to the Labour Code 31

to establish a new set of rights and obligations of employees and employers. This means that a teleworking arrangement requires mutual agreement and a proper pattern. Employers are also obliged to reimburse the employee for increased costs associated with, for example, the use of their own equipment during remote work.

Interestingly, the pandemic has not triggered regulatory change in any Nordic country. Before the pandemic, most of these countries implemented teleworking policies based on self-regulation and trust between employees and employers, which were effective during covid-19 and therefore do not require any changes.

While teleworking rules across Europe have a number of common features such as employees’ right to work remotely in a safe and healthy manner and their right to disconnect at the end of the working day, businesses shouldconsult regulations on remote work in your own countryfor more specific national guidelines.