The head of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy (MRPiPS) announced today via the Polish Press Agency PAP that the provisions on remote work to be included in the Labour Code will generally follow the existing legislation on teleworking. What exactly does MRPiPS have in mind with regard to remote work?
The Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy Marlena Maląg announced today that the provisions on remote work will replace the existing Labour Code provisions on teleworking and
“for the most part will be based on the existing provisions regulating telework.” When can we expect the new regulations? According to Deputy Minister Stanisław Szwed – “It appears that the first quarter of next year is the optimal time for these changes to come into effect.”
Details of Minister Maląg’ proposal on remote work
Below is the list of provisions included in the draft proposal of the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy:
- remote work can be provided entirely or partly away from the employer’s premises or another permanent work location, as specified in the employment contract or identified by the employer; this may be the employee’s home or another place of their choice;
- remote work can be provided using means of remote communication – for instance email, telephone and instant messaging technologies identified by the employer, but also without the use of such means – for instance, if the employee’s job involves analysis of documents;
- the detailed terms and conditions of remote work, just like in the case of teleworking, will in principle be agreed between the employer and the employee; such an agreement can be made already at the time of hiring the employee, or later in the course of employment – then the remote work arrangement can be made upon the employer’s initiative or the employee’s request;
- in specific circumstances the employer would be able to instruct the employee to work remotely; in such a case, the remote working arrangement would be possible only after obtaining the employee’s statement regarding the appropriate housing and technical conditions to work in such a way;
- the terms and conditions of remote work will be established in consultation with the trade unions or in staff regulations – if no agreement is reached with the trade unions or if there are no trade unions in the workplace; Labour Code provisions will specify only the minimum scope of the agreement and/or staff regulations;
- in the absence of any agreement with the trade unions or absence of staff regulations, remote work would also be a possibility upon an instruction from the employer, upon the employee’s request or by mutual agreement with the employee to accommodate their legitimate needs.
The costs of remote work – on the employer’s side
The draft prepared by MRPiPS stipulates that the cost of working from the home office should be covered by the employer.
- the employer will be obliged to provide the employee with company-owned supplies and tools necessary to perform remote work, and also to cover the cost of their use;
- the employee who uses their own privately-owned equipment while working from home will be entitled to relevant monetary compensation in the amount agreed with the employee and pursuant to the principles laid down in the agreement with the trade unions or staff regulations.
Employer’s OHS obligations related to remote work
According to the draft presented by MRPiPS, prior to allowing an employee to work remotely, the employer will be obliged to assess the occupational hazards related to such remote work and to communicate the outcomes of the assessment to the employee. The employer will also be obliged to put together information on safety in remote work, addressing for instance the threats related to working with display screen equipment (including musculoskeletal disorders). The employer will also be tasked with communicating this information to the employee.
It will be necessary to regularly train employees working from home on the rules of occupational health and safety (all staff members working remotely to be subject to periodic OHS training).
Ordering particularly hazardous work within the framework of remote working arrangements will be prohibited.
IMPORTANT
Bodies representing employers and trade unions will present their evaluation of the preliminary draft from MRPiPS and their own proposals regarding the introduction of provisions on remote work into the Labour Code in the next two weeks.
AUTHOR: Ewa Gulczyńska, Specialist, Payroll and HR outsourcing
