With the expiry of June 30.06.2021th, XNUMX, the employer's obligation to offer employees home office "wherever possible" will expire. With the expiry of the home office obligation, the legal basis that has been used in the home office in the past few months no longer applies for many employers and employees. Many employees will then return to the offices or work from home without adequate labor law regulation. But how should employees and employers design the regulations relating to the topic of home office in the future? A clause in the employment contract or a permissible company agreement is recommended!
Without a contractual agreement there is no legal basis!
If the employment contract, collective bargaining agreement or works agreement does not contain an agreement, there is also no legal basis that regulates work in the home office. Accordingly, there is neither the duty nor the right for the employee to work in the home office. The employer has no way of unilaterally ordering that the employee has to work in the home office. The employer's right to issue instructions in accordance with Section 106 (1) GewO does not constitute a sufficient regulation. This is all the more true since, in times of low incidence values, employees should not be regularly obliged to work from home for reasons of health protection. Various situations are conceivable in which the relationship between employee and employer is legally insecure and unsatisfactory:
Would you like to mandate your employees to work from home in order to reduce contacts in the company? Without regulation you have no right to do so.
Would you like to work from home occasionally in order to be able to organize childcare more flexibly on individual days? Without a regulation you have no right to this.
A binding regulation creates clarity and unity!
Therefore, a clear regulation between employee and employer is recommended! As an employer, it can make sense to reserve the right for certain situations to order the employee to work from home in a binding manner. Perhaps you would like to reduce your office space in the future, but keep the number of female employees? Such plans can be implemented if you can flexibly send your employees to work from home.
As an employee, you should also ensure that your employment contract legally safeguards your ideas. Would you like to work from home for 2-3 days in the future? Then you should insist on a corresponding regulation in the employment contract.
We will find a solution for your ideas. Please do not hesitate to contact us!
