Amendments to the Labor Code: relevant to teleworkers



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Tomas Bičiūnas, a member of the opposition faction of the Seimas Social Democratic Party, registered the amendments to the Labor Code.

The Labor Code proposes that “employees have the right to disconnect from digital devices and be out of reach of employers outside of working hours, at night, on public holidays and bank holidays, unless the nature of the job so requires” .

According to the MP, modern technology allows you to work anytime, anywhere. “These practices are seen as having negative consequences, as they encourage longer working hours and blur the boundaries between work and private life. Therefore, after working hours, workers should be guaranteed the right to be inaccessible provides technology and unrestricted use of it, this does not mean that the employee is “tied” to them.

The constant reaction of the employee to work is important after working hours has become a kind of exploitation of the employees and pressure on the employee to be always available and accessible “, says T. Bičiūnas, member of Seimas.

According to him, the teleworking phenomenon favors the modernization of the regulation of ordinary labor relations.

New challenges arise for the implementation of the protective function of labor law, that is, providing adequate safeguards for work-life balance, management of stress at work, safety and health, occupational accidents, decent working conditions, legal protection of personal data, other individual and collective rights When working remotely, it is convenient to establish a time limit within which the teleworker must respond to emails and calls from clients or colleagues and define the hours during which the employee should be contacted.

It should be clear that work should not be performed after normal working hours or at night, unless the nature of the work so requires or is specifically directed by the employer. As you know, workers have to be paid for overtime and nights or rest days, so it is important to clearly regulate teleworking and its registration to avoid possible misunderstandings and demands from workers for a salary increase for jobs not specified by the employer. “is indicated in the explanatory note of the document.

According to Eurofound, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions, almost two-thirds of workers in Europe work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As noted by T. Bičiūnas, who drafted the supplement to the Labor Code, the European Parliament has already taken the initiative and passed by a large majority a legislative initiative aimed at guaranteeing the right of employees to switch off digital devices and remain inaccessible to your employer during unemployment. T. Bičiūnas, who proposes to transpose this provision into national legislation, notes that in many European countries (Belgium, France, Italy and Spain) laws have already been adopted on the right of teleworkers to retire from leisure work.

Together with the member of the Seimas T. Bičiūnas, the members of the Social Democratic Party faction Linas Jonauskas, Vilija Targamadzė, Vidmantas Kanopa, Eugenijus Sabutis, Orinta Leiputė, Gintautas Paluckas, Dovilė Šakalienė, Kęstutis Vilkauskas are presenting a draft amendment to the Code Work.

It is proposed that the supplement to the Labor Code enter into force on July 1 of this year.

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