What are the rights and obligations of employees and employers in terms of teleworking, a working condition that has become essential after the Covid crisis? As we have seen, due to the health crisis, telework has become essential in companies. However, there are certain rights and duties of both employees and employers.
The rights and obligations of the employee
Within the meaning of Article L. 1222-9 of the Labor Code, the employee who teleworks has the same rights as the employee who performs his mission within the company. In this way, the rights, whether individual or collective, are the same for employees working from home or not. They are also subject to the same agreements or collective agreements.
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The counterpart of this same protection between employees in telework and employees carrying out their mission within the company lies in the fact that they are also constrained by the same obligations as the latter. Consequently, ignorance of the obligations resulting from their employment contract entails the same sanctions as those that can be applied to face-to-face employees. As we can see, the rights and obligations of the employee at work are identical to those of their colleagues working in the company. An interesting question to ask is whether an accident that occurs during telework constitutes a work accident?
Duties of the employer in the context of teleworking
Whether the employee telecommutes or is present within the company, it is necessary to note that these two situations imply the same obligations, the same duties borne by the employer. As a result, the employer must, among other things, offer employees working from home the same benefits as those actually offered to employees present on the premises of the company; to respect the rules inherent in the right to disconnect but also the right to privacy of these employees; or, for example, to guarantee their safety.
In addition to these generic obligations, it is important to note that Article L. 1222-10 of the Labor Code provides for specific duties for the employer as a result of this situation. We can in particular note that an annual interview must be organized so that the employer discusses with the employee the organization of his missions but also the workload of the latter; he must discuss with the employee the possible restrictions that he has decided on with regard to the use of IT tools or equipment in order to protect the employee from any type of sanction that could apply in the event of disregard of the said restrictions.