Spain Passes a New Law that Regulates Telecommuting

The Royal Decree-Law 28 of 2020 in Spain regulates telecommuting, defined as “providing services from home, or another place chosen by the employee for at least 30% of the working time over a three-month period”. Telecommuting had already been regulated in Spain for years. In 2015 a reform of the Workers’ Statute took place, which sought equality in the rights of teleworkers and those who work in person. However, circumstances have changed, and a more specific regulation was needed.

This made the government see the need to regulate remote working. Although it was the most appropriate instrument to avoid contagion and the spread of the virus, this generalization implied an imbalance of rights and obligations of all the participants that were necessary to regulate and specify. It refers to the costs of elements, materials, connectivity, digital disconnection, control of work, supervision, and registration of the day.

The Telework Law

The telework law in Spain was passed in September last year and came into force on October 13. It points out voluntariness as a fundamental character; this means there is an agreement between the worker and the employer. It also stipulates that an inventory must be made of all the means and objects needed by the worker to fulfill his mission and that the employer must pay for them or reward the employee somehow.

The law stops with the working hours, which must be established. It is essential to clarify the rules of availability and the worker’s right to digital disconnection. Article 18 states that the business duty to ensure disconnection entails a limitation on the use of technological means of business communication and work during rest periods and respect for the length of the working day.

Raising Questions

Although the Royal Decree-Law on teleworking does not develop digital security and privacy in too much depth, it establishes that this part must be taken into account and safeguarded. For both companies and employees, personal or sensitive data must be treated according to the parameters and policies that respond to current legislation and the parameters installed by all the parties involved.

One of the most interesting points raised by the new telework law is whether companies can install devices that track the fulfillment of workers’ tasks. Although the government has not stipulated the form and the mechanisms allowed for this, the telework law is clear in what refers to the personal aspects of each teleworker’s life.
It also brings questions about other details necessary for the success of the telecommuting relationship, like:

determining the distribution of face-to-face and telecommuting work,
establishing the work center assigned to an employee and the telecommuting location chosen by the employee to carry out his or her tasks,
setting up notice periods,
identifying the means of control of the activity by the employee,
propose ways of solving any technical difficulties that may arise,
following company instructions on data protection and information security,
settling the duration of the telecommuting agreement.

Although it is popularly said that the new telecommuting law prohibits dismissals, the truth is that the regulation establishes that labor stability must be guaranteed. This means the worker can refuse telecommuting without this becoming a cause for dismissal. Similarly, the lack of access to or knowledge of computer tools may result in reprimands that may be detrimental to the employee’s continuity.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Telecommuting

Just as abruptly as the pandemic arrived, companies had to impose improvised telework. Citizens have been forced to adapt to a circumstance that, a year later, shows advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, the community has faced the loss of face-to-face interaction of workers with third parties and the identification by the public administration of the deficit in providing computers and connectivity to those most in need, for which they will have to make budgetary provisions.

However, not everything is terrible. Employers, for their part, have saved on the costs of basic services, rents, office cleaning, and meals for workers. However, not everything has been good for companies. Some of the most significant disadvantages that came with the pandemic and telecommuting are:

Companies have had problems controlling working hours and due dates because they do not have much control over their employees’ schedules and at-home activities.
It has become more difficult for employers to measure the efficiency of results and performance accurately.
Due to isolation, companies have suffered the gradual loss of sense of belonging to the company, which translates to unmotivated workers.

Workers have learned to reconcile work and family life and have enjoyed less rigid working hours. However, they have suffered physical problems due to a sedentary lifestyle and the lack of adequate furniture. In addition, they have been overloaded with working hours due to the difficulty of disconnecting digitally.
_______________