What should you know of remote working?

Pursuant to § 6 (4) of the Employment Contracts Act (ECA), the employer and the employee may agree that the employee performs work outside the place of work. This usually means the employee’s home, but it is not excluded for the employee to work in a café, library or a cottage. What should the employer consider in such a case?

Remote working agreement

In order for an employee to work remotely, remote working must be agreed between the employer and the employee. This may be stipulated in the employment contract or in a separate remote working agreement. Before allowing an employee to work remotely, the employer must consider whether remote working can ensure the performance of work tasks and a safe working environment.

To avoid later disputes, the written form of remote working agreement should be preferred. When working remotely, the following should definitely be agreed upon:

1) Place of remote working - whether the employee can work remotely only at his / her place of residence or whether the place of remote working is not precisely defined

2) Work organization – how is working organized during remote working (what means of communication are used, at what times the employee must be available and work, etc.)

3) Notification – does the employee have to notify someone every time she/he wants to work remotely (if so, who has to be notified?)

4) Work equipment - how the work equipment is installed, how the work equipment is maintained and how it must be returned after working remotely

5) Termination of working remotely - when can an employee and employer stop working remotely?

Work environment and safety

It is important to note that even in the case of working remotely, the employer is responsible for the occupational health and safety of the employee. All agreements that exclude the employer’s liability in the case of remotely working are against the law and are void.

It is obvious that the employer is only able to mitigate occupational safety risks to a certain extent, but still doing everything reasonably possible. This means that the employer, together with the employee, should identify the risks in the work environment and then instruct the employee in mitigating the risks. The risks of remote working must be assessed before the employee is sent to remote working.

It is not possible for the employer to fully control the safety and working conditions of the worker in the case of remote working, so remote working should not be allowed if the work environment requires certain special requirements (forced ventilation, noise insulation, etc.).

In the case of easier work, the risks of the employer’s remote working environment can usually be identified by means of a questionnaire. In addition, the employer may ask the employee to send pictures of the working environment, but it must be taken into account that the employee may refuse to send photos of his/her home (everyone has the right to the inviolability of private and family life).