Germany’s Labor minister wants to enshrine into law the right to work from home if it is feasible to do so, even after the coronavirus pandemic subsides. Workers should have the right to work from home, German Labor and Social Affairs Minister Hubertus Heil had told the tabloid Bild am Sonntag. The newspaper report said he plans to present a bill this autumn in a bid to see this enshrined in law.
People in Germany, and across the world, have been ordered to work from home known as “home office” in German by governments in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus.
The pandemic offers the chance to understand the scale that working from home is possible, said the labour minister. An estimated 8 million people, or 25% of the country’s workforce, are working from home across Germany’s 16 states, a rise from 12% before the pandemic.
Wherever possible, all employees would be able to request working from home in the future, either switching completely to the home office or just for one or two days a week, explained Heil.
The new law would focus on increasing the possibility to work from home, but not force companies into doing so.
Katrin Goering-Eckardt, parliamentary leader of the opposition Greens, supported a right to homework but said it would only work if the government also guaranteed high-speed internet for all. A home office or mobile working must always be voluntary and needs binding rules. Nobody should be forced to do it, and a home office should not lead to work becoming limitless.- she said in a statement.
REFERENCE: Reuters News
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