27 September 2022
Law No. 14.442 of 02 September 2022 defines the concept of telework, which can be undertaken both inside and outside the country. The law specifies that an employee working remotely is not obliged to respect working hours but instead must carry out a certain number of tasks and report on his/her/their productivity. Teleworking employees are also entitled to luncheon vouchers, regardless of the number of days spent working remotely, and can now use them in any establishment.
7 July 2022
On 05 July, the Dutch House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer) approved an initiative bill geared towards making home working a legal right. This text, supported by the social liberal Democrats 66 party and the green left GroenLinks party, require employers to consider employees’ requests to telework as soon as their professions allow it. With this new bill, which amends the 2016 Flexible Work Act (Wfw, Wet flexibel werken) and will allow employees to secure flexible working hours as well as workplace...
16 June 2022
On 07 June a bill amending the Labour Code was submitted to Poland’s lower house of Parliament (Sejm), which enables employers to utilise preventative means to curb employee alcoholism. Employers will be able to monitor employee sobriety by way of breathalyser testing. Employees detected with alcohol in his/her system will not be allowed to work. The goal is restrict the number of work situations occurring under a state of intoxication and to consequently ensure, “the safety of the employees and others, as...
4 May 2022
Italy’s government intends to facilitate highly skilled non-EU workers looking to pursue their careers on Italian soil. A measure, which on 28 March was published in the Official Journal was introduced as part of Law 25/2022, which essentially includes new measures to support the post-pandemic economy, means that hosted workers, whether self-employed or employees of a company that is not resident in Italy, will be eligible for a specific one-year visa. These workers will not be counted as part of the annual new...
23 March 2022
On 16 March, Luxembourg’s Chamber of Deputies voted in favour of a bill that regulates the implementation of telework in companies. Businesses employing more than 150 staff will need to secure a telework agreement between the employer and the staff delegation. For businesses employing fewer than 150 staff, management will now be required to inform and consult the staff delegation as regards teleworking and teleworking arrangements. In February 2021, a Grand Ducal regulation had given legal force to agreements...
26 January 2022
On 25 January, the Irish government unveiled draft legislation giving employees with at least six months’ employment history the opportunity to request permission for remote working from their employers. Employers will have 12 weeks to respond to the request and will only be able to oppose it on business grounds, 13 of which are laid down by the executive, while noting these do not comprise an exhaustive list. Among them are, the nature of the work not allowing for it to be done remotely, the employer having...
13 January 2022
As the resurgence of Covid-19 and its Omicron variant makes teleworking once again mandatory in Germany for all employees for whom this form of working is possible, Hubertus Heil, German Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, has announced his intention to establish this system within everyday working life on a long term basis, by introducing a ‘right to telework.’ For the Social Democrat Minister, it is a question of drawing lessons from the “large-scale teleworking experiment” that the coronavirus crisis...
15 November 2021
The CCOO de Industria and UGT FICA trade unions and the employer federation Confemetal have ratified the fourth national collective agreement for industry, new technologies and services in the metal sector, which creates a framework for collective bargaining for a period of three years (2021 to 2023). The document, signed on 3 November, will serve as a guide for all branch or company negotiations and all regional agreements at provincial level.
9 November 2021
On 05 November 2021 the text amending the 2003 law on telework was approved and included a number of significant changes, including employer coverage of telework expenses, and the right to respect rest periods and holidays. The notion of an agreement between both parties (employer and employee) has been maintained and must be the subject of a written contract.
20 September 2021
With France set to take over the rotating European Union Council Presidency in the coming months, Nicolas Schmit, the European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, made a trip to Paris to meet with meet ministers and social partners. Interviewed by members of the association of social news journalists (AJIS) on Friday 17 September, Schmit gave an update on the EU’s plans in the social sphere: minimum wages, vocational training, platforms and regulation of remote work. According to the Commissioner, these...
