Researchers Adrián Todolí and Miguel Rodríguez-Piñero, within the framework of the Chair of Collaborative Economy and Digital Transformation of the University of Valencia (UV), warn that the Remote Working Bill ratified by Congress last week leaves numerous questions, especially in relation to occupational accidents and telework compensation. Distance work in emptied Spain, the reconciliation of personal, family and work life or the psychosocial risks of this new reality are also analysed.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused many of the workers to move their offices to their homes. A move that, in many cases, has come to stay. In order to regulate this new way of working, the Congress of Deputies has recently approved the Remote Working Law. Experts in Labour Law have been warning that the law deserves an exhaustive reading and, since it is open to amendments, it must be perfected to avoid future legal conflicts.
For this purpose, a detailed study has been published on the law, Remote working and teleworking: analysis of the current regulatory framework, led by professors Adrián Todolí (Department of Labour and Social Security UV) and Miguel Rodríguez-Piñero (University of Seville), which highlights the importance of knowing what are the obligations imposed by law on employers and what are the rights of the employee before teleworking. Up to 20 specialists analyse issues related to this form of work and propose solutions to avoid disputes.
From the basis that teleworking should always be voluntary, except for health, danger or family conciliation issues, among others, the expenses derived from work at home are analysed and who is responsible for them. These costs, economic and of many types, according to Todolí, “really the law does not finish defining them clearly, and this can lead to conflict, since it simply talks about” expenses related “to the activity, but without further details”.
In the analysis work, published by the Thomson Reuteur Aranzadi publishing house, aspects such as occupational accidents are also detailed, since, according to specialists, they do not disappear with teleworking. In addition, psychosocial issues related to the workplace are addressed in the face of being isolated (burnout, loneliness, depression).
Another issue analysed in detail is privacy and digital disconnection, and the possibility of being constantly monitored by the employer. Given this, the experts assure: “the constant monitoring of the computer, other devices and e-mail is illegal”. Furthermore, it is also illegal not to set a predetermined schedule, because only then can the right to rest be guaranteed. The book also deals with aspects such as the reconciliation of personal, family and work life; and the relationship of teleworking with public employment and industry.
