Legal obligations in case of working from home

Just two years ago, the concept of lockdown or closure was foreign to the vast majority of people, and during the spring of 2020, almost all countries in the world could experience it. Economies closed, people were told to stay indoors, and a new kind of uncertainty and fear began to rise. The world economy was shaken by the rapidly spreading coronavirus, so the hospitality, service and numerous other industries were put "in the lock" for a while or completely. Companies that continued to operate found themselves in a new situation - they had to organize work from home and quickly.

Offices moved to houses and apartments because the virus was circulating, and in order to reduce the possibility of infection, employers in certain sectors sent their "people" home. Many living rooms, kitchens, dining rooms and children's rooms have been transformed into spaces for virtual business meetings and makeshift offices. Accustomed to working from home or not, everyone had to adapt to the new situation - both workers and employers. Some workers are still working from home today, but they haven't been in the office since spring.

Working from home, that is, working at a separate workplace, as the current Labor Law calls it, came to the fore due to the difficult business situation caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19). The Blue Office brings us information about legal obligations in the case of working from home:

What must the home work contract contain?

In the case of work from home by an employee, that is, a director of a company who, as an employee, performs tasks based on an employment contract, it is prescribed that such an employment contract must, in addition to the information that every employment contract must have, also contain additional information about:

- working hours,
- machines, tools and equipment for performing tasks that the employer is obliged to acquire, install and maintain,
- the use of the workers' own machines, tools and other equipment and the reimbursement of related costs,
- reimbursement of other costs to the worker related to the performance of work
- and the method of training and professional development of workers.
What does a work-from-home contract look like?

Thus, the provision that should be included in the employment contract in the case of work at a separate workplace could read:

The working hours of the Workers are from Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The worker will carry out the tasks of the workplace using his own personal computer, scanner and printer, and the worker expressly accepts that he will bear all the costs that arise when working at a separate workplace.
The Employer will train and professionally improve the Worker who performs tasks at a separate workplace in the same way as other workers, and in accordance with the Employer's internal training program.
The worker is obliged to keep a record of working hours and submit it to the Employer every day at the end of working hours.
Subsequent changes to the employment contract

If, due to all circumstances, you did not have time to make written changes to the employment contract and introduce the necessary clause, the above should be done later (especially if the worker will sometimes work from home in the future), because otherwise the labor inspectorate could impose an administrative measure on the employer (there is no prescribed fine ) and order changes to the employment contract.

What should be paid attention to?

It should be pointed out that the law prohibits the contract for working from home to be concluded for the performance of tasks for which special working conditions are prescribed (e.g. operating a table circular saw) and which are performed in reduced working hours (e.g. jobs where workers are exposed to chemicals) .

When working from home, one must not forget the need to keep records of working hours (prescribed by the Labor Law and the Ordinance on the Content and Method of Keeping Records on Employees), with the fact that an employee who works from home can be tasked with regularly keeping and submitting records, but it is always the employer's responsibility that the records are kept correctly and accurately, because otherwise he may be liable for a misdemeanor.