European teleworking receives a boost

Citation

(2003), "European teleworking receives a boost", Work Study, Vol. 52 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2003.07952caf.002

European teleworking receives a boost

A new agreement on teleworking should bring better employment conditions for millions of people, and marks a major step forward for autonomous social dialogue between employers and trade unions.

The groundbreaking new deal is designed to enhance business flexibility and modernise work organisation, while ensuring better protection and higher job quality for an estimated 4.5 million teleworkers in the European Union.

But what makes this agreement so innovative is that, for the first time ever, it will be implemented and monitored independently by the social partners – the employers' and workers' representatives. It was signed last year by UNICE representing bigger firms, UEAPME for small and medium sized companies, CEEP for public enterprises, and by the ETUC representing European trade unions.

Using information technology to work away from the employer's premises is becoming ever more frequent. The agreement covers employees teleworking on a regular basis, but the full range of telework, including the self employed with home-based offices, mobile workers and occasional teleworkers now takes in an estimated ten million jobholders, and some predict this number will rise to 17 million by 2010.

The social partners recognised that teleworking often meets the needs of both companies and workers. This is borne out by recent Europ-barometer data indicating that teleworkers overwhelmingly stress its positive effects on their productivity, job quality and personal life. The same survey highlights that about one in four EU workers would be interested in teleworking. However, it also indicates that most teleworkers have been missing a framework of rules so far.

The agreement affirms that teleworking should be voluntary, both for the worker and management, and that teleworkers should benefit from the same employment rights and conditions as staff doing comparable work on company premises. These include, for example, equal access to training and the same rights to collective representation.

In addition, the agreement sets out seven areas where specific safeguards for teleworkers are needed. They cover data protection; respect for the worker's privacy; the supply and maintenance of equipment and compensation for communication costs; health and safety provisions and controls; rules on the organisation of work, including time management and preventing isolation; specific training opportunities related to telework; and how to apply collective rights.

The agreement must be put into practice within three years, and the member organisations of the signatory social partners will report back on it with a view to implementation report four years from now. The agreement also allows for a review after five years.