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Inga Ruginienė, president of the Lithuanian Trade Union Confederation, stated that the employer must take care of all the employee’s work equipment.
“The legislation and the Labor Code also provide for this. The employer must provide all the work equipment necessary to carry out the work. After all, it does not matter that the employee has changed the address of the workplace. After all, it is It is the case that the offices also change their address, but the number of work tools does not decrease as a result ”, commented the employee representative.
According to her, employers must understand that employees use all necessary tools, not for personal purposes, but for work.
“How else will they get the job done if they don’t have the tools? And most of all, we have questions about paying electricity or internet bills. For these things, the employee must agree with the employer and calculate exactly how much electricity is used for personal purposes and how much for work ”, explained I. Ruginienė.
According to her, it often seems that the employees themselves have decided to stay home and work there.
“However, the employer has decided that the company’s employees will work remotely. Therefore, the company must have a document on the organization of teleworking. In it, the employer must describe how work will be done from home, what measures will be given to the employee ”, said the workers’ representative.
I. Ruginienė assures, having listened to the speeches, that employees should be happy only because employers generally allow them to work from home and regulate working hours themselves.
“It seems to them that the employee is sitting at home and doing nothing. Only those who have never worked from home can say and think about it.
Home-based workers often work longer than they would in an office. During telework, the limits of work and rest mode disappear. At home, workers work longer, which affects their health and productivity. Therefore, it should not be considered that working from home only has advantages. This is definitely not the case, ”the employee representative commented.
Work from home must be formalized
Šarūnas Orlavičius, Head of the Labor Law Division of the State Labor Inspectorate, stated that it is recommended that employers formalize telework separately.
“For example, teleworking can be formalized at the request of the employee and the employer, allowing the employee to work remotely by local legislation (internal procedure, order).
Those documents would cover all issues related to employee telecommuting: when an employee can submit a request, what the request should state, how long the request is considered, when is it granted or not. It should also be clearly defined what are the working hours of a home employee, how that work time is distributed: start and end of work, breaks for rest or lunch, “explained the specialist.
According to him, the use of the necessary means for work can also be discussed in the documents that establish the telework procedure in the company.
“When working remotely, the employer must provide all the necessary work equipment, such as providing a laptop or mobile phone to work. If an employee lacks a desk or chair, the employer can hand over the workplace table or chair so that the employee can work comfortably without compromising health, for example due to a poor ergonomic workplace.
Another important issue is the reimbursement of operating costs (personal computer, mobile phone, electricity, internet, water or others). An employee’s claim for the payment of operating costs would be legal if it is not used for personal purposes but for work, so the employer could contemplate a specific compensation mechanism or agree between them ”, Š commented. Orlavičius
Will employers have to pay double?
Danas Arlauskas, president of the Lithuanian Employers’ Confederation, stated that the issue of payment for work equipment is already causing many discussions among employers.
“However, without certain changes in legislation or the Labor Code, it will be difficult for employers to reach an agreement with employees.
For example, a business rents an office space and spends most of its employees working remotely from home. So it turns out that the employer will have to pay for office utilities, etc. Costs both for the employee who works from home.
Also, if the employer pays the employee’s bills for the Internet, electricity or water, it is important to know how the State Tax Inspection (STI) will evaluate it. Under current law, this can be considered income in kind. Therefore, it would be subject to the personal income tax and would double the costs for the company, ”explained the employer’s representative.
According to him, this whole situation is still up in the air.
“I do not deny that the work equipment must be paid to the employee, but it must be provided that the employers do not incur double costs,” said D. Arlauskas.
Donated work tools
Paulius Jakutavičius, representative of the Lithuanian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Association Infobalt, stated that all ICT companies are interested in employee motivation, and during the pandemic and restrictions, it is given even more Attention.
“Helping you get the right jobs at home is part of that. Some companies helped employees collect extra comfortable chairs, desks and monitors from offices. Others donated those necessary tools.
In each case, the problems are analyzed on a very individual basis and emerging challenges are solved together, as this determines productivity, job satisfaction and employee motivation, ”said P. Jakutavičius.
No fees will be paid once the contract is formalized
Rasa Virvilienė, Director of the Legal Department of the State Tax Inspectorate, stated that the Labor Code stipulates that the employer must create the conditions for the employee to perform job functions and provide the necessary work equipment or property.
“The parties to the employment contract agree that the employee will use his tools or assets during the job. In this case, compensation may also be agreed for the employee for the use of his tools or assets.
Compensation paid in accordance with the provisions of the Labor Code for the use of work equipment or employee property is not subject to income tax. However, only if the accounting policy of the company establishes the procedure for calculating the amount of compensation and the conditions of use of movable property and the payment of said compensation is regulated in the compensation payment rules approved by the employer. ”Commented the specialist.
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