Legal protection for home working
Workers rights upheld in under 'new normality' in Spain
THE GOVERNMENT has drawn up draft legislation to protect the rights of people who work from home in the post-Covid world.
Remote working was widely adopted during the coronavirus health emergency and the ministry of labour hopes to protect the rights of both employees and employers in the ‘new normality’.
The draft bill is intended to clarify issues that have been raised during the weeks of lockdown, when people were encouraged to work from home during the quarantine period and to define work schedules, cover genuine expenses incurred, and preserve a ‘worklife’ balance.
The legislation will also seek to calm the fears of employers who worry that remote working is linked to falling levels of productivity .
Spanish daily newspaper El Pais has seen the proposed initiative and reported that Madrid will try to negotiate with both business representatives and unions; but will want to unify employment law passed over the last decade with the new bill.
Spain imposed one of the world’s toughest lockdowns on March 14 and recommended working from home where possible to help combat the spread of Covid-19.
And while ‘exceptional circumstances’ meant regulation gave way to the necessary speed of the change, Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz believes new laws would encompass the experience of the emergency, enable a study of working conditions and promote a debate on the ‘benefits and drawbacks of working from home’.
The Bank of Spain is also involved. It believes that if society wants more working from home then this should be encouraged, but there must be safeguards so as not to ‘undermine’ productivity.
It is understood the new legislation will insist home working is a voluntary choice by a worker and the agreement will be set out in writing with an employer; listing the equipment and materials needed, compensation for expenses, a physical workplace to report to, and a method of monitoring performance.
The bill also seeks to ensure remote working does not create ‘inequality’ between those at home and colleagues in the workplace, and protects aspects like pay, job security and promotion.
It will also encourage home working in exceptional circumstances - such as the pandemic where it should become a first solution rather than resorting to the government’s ERTE furlough scheme.