According to the article of Randstad, a multinational HR company, “remote work will be one of the most significant elements of the future way of work” and this was triggered not only by the Covid-19 pandemic but also by the fact that both employers and employees are generally content with remote working.

Indeed, the benefits of telework are numerous: “no travel costs, usually 8 hours of work without having to spend time travelling, flexibility related to the possibility of doing some minor household activities during work, longer childcare or longer time with the family, casual dress code, lower levels of infection from seasonal flu, fewer sick leaves during the season or even the possibility of continuing work (or study) for people with mild colds, etc”.

Bearing this in mind, the recommended model of introducing remote work in the country presented by Randstad would be:

• “Very general principles of remote work on a national level, i.e. in the labour Code;
• Internal regulations on a company level to introduce a concrete model of remote work (for whom, how, on which terms & conditions).
• Details to be agreed individually between an employee and an employer”.

With regard to the topics to be treated when regulating telework, the paper suggests the following five:

• “The widest possible definition of remote work and a wide approach as to the place of remote work;
• Way of introducing remote work in the company, and options to be used;
• Costs covered by the employer vs. benefits from remote work for both parties;
• Health & safety at remote work environment;
• Attention to data protection and confidentiality of information”.

For each of them some key elements are underlined. For instance, the need to consider that the definition of “place of remote work” has implication on the employer’s responsibility for occupational health and safety conditions at work or the importance to liaise with trade unions when elaborating the internal regulations to organise remote working.

Regarding the costs of remote working for employers, the article highlights considerations that have been in the media after Covid-19, obliging all employees in non-essential services to perform their work from home. Questions like “how far this participation of the employer is supposed to go?Should the employer only cover basic work equipment (computers, telephones, paper, printer), or also pay for the work environment ergonomic arrangements (desk, chair) or even the operating cost of, for example, internet or electricity? Or should it be also considered a general compensation for working from home, based on the assumption that employers do not have to bear office costs? The other point to take into account is whether there are local regulations which may restrict using accommodation for business purposes or have tax implications for the employee?” The recommended solution is “to allow employers and employees to regulate these elements flexibly on a company level and also allow them to determine themselves what kind of benefits – tangible or intangible – are more important for the specific group in the certain company. The company-approach seems to be the only legitimate approach, because the labour Code would not be able to provide a single algorithm for determining the coverage of such costs.”