Telework: HRDs want to “share the legal responsibility” with the employee

Human resources directors are calling for an evolution of the labor code on telework to “share responsibility” with the employee in the event of non-compliance with safety standards or hours of rest, according to their national association (ANDRH) on Monday. According to this survey carried out among 500 HR managers in February, 84% want the labor code to be changed to “simplify the monitoring of working time”, “clarify the employer’s responsibility for health and safety” and include the concept of “shared responsibility” with the employee, presented the ANDRH during a press conference.

“Grab the subject”

Currently, it is the employer who is responsible for the conditions of teleworking at the employee’s home, whether in terms of the safety of the workstation environment or respect for working hours. “We do not visit teleworkers, this is based on the good faith of the employee. If the employee undertakes to work in a compliant environment, and this is not the case, his responsibility must be able to be engaged” in the event of an accident at work, for example, explained Laurence Breton-Kueny, vice-president of ANDRH.

“We have not yet heard back from litigation on telework. But if we have litigation that develops on the payment of overtime or the non-respect of rest time, that will be a blocking factor on telework, companies will even want to go back”, warned Benoît Serre, also vice-president of ANDRH. “The social partners or the public authorities must take up the subject”, he suggests. Moreover, according to this study, only 3% of HRDs have implemented a 4-day week in their company and 78% are not considering it even if 29% of employees request it. “If you do the 4-day week with 2 days of teleworking, people will no longer see each other. The real subject is autonomy in the organization of one’s work”, estimated Mr. Serre.