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Smart work: how can the employer check an employee? Smart work – for which the simplified procedure to request it will be in force until October 15 – was particularly useful during the most acute phase of the coronavirus emergency: it allowed, in fact, to limit the movement of employees, guaranteeing as far as possible the productivity of the company.
The worker was able to touch the benefits of smart work, such as greater flexibility of time and workspace. At the same time, however, a problem has arisen, namely with regard to how can you control your employees. In fact, to properly manage smart work, there must be a strong relationship of trust between employees and employer; Despite this, the latter still has the right to carry out controls to verify that its employees are fulfilling their functions to the maximum and with the same commitment guaranteed in presence.
Well, to control the worker during smart work, the employer can set some control rules specifications in the contract with the employee. It is important to know, however, that there are gods limits on the remote control that the employer can not in any case pass.
Smart work: what controls cannot be made by the employer
Before seeing what controls are allowed it is good to start with the forbidden ones. In this sense,Article 4 of the Workers’ Statute. which, in terms of agile work, establishes that the employer Can not install or in any case use technological equipment or other systems that allow remote control of the work performed by the employee.
These tools can only be used in some cases for remote control, that is, when it is provided for by the union agreement or when there is thecorresponding authorization from the Labor Inspectorate.
For example, non-corporate software is prohibited, as are webcams and any other technology that allows the employer to understand when the employee is connected to the computer. At the same time, those tools that constantly monitor the activity carried out on the PC are also unusable, such as in relation to Internet sites viewed during business hours.
Furthermore, even if the installation of these control tools has been done in a completely legal manner, the employee must still be informed about its use.
As established in article 23 of the Employment Law, in fact, the aforementioned norms do not apply to work tools but exclusively to “provided that the worker has been provided with adequate information on the methods of use of the tools and the performance of the controls“This means that the employee must be informed regarding the possibility that this work tool can also be used to carry out a Activity control carried out by him, as well as the ways in which this control is carried out.
Smart work: what are the controls that the employer can do
Each check must be managed me non-invasive and, as just explained, it must exclusively affect company assets and tools. For example, if the intelligent worker uses the company’s PC, he must be informed of the possibility that later, specific controls can be carried out on the use made of the device. The same applies to the company’s mailbox, about which the employee cannot have expectations of secrecy.
It is precisely for this reason that before the launch of the company’s tools it is necessary to explain to the employee that these should not be used for personal reasons precisely because they are subject to control.
In any case, the forms of exercise of the power of control must be regulated in the individual agreement signed with the employee; agreement in which the disciplinary sanctions in case the control reveals a violation of the agreement.
