There is intense concern among employers about the cost that will be determined by decree for remote work, which will burden them.
The concerns prevailing in businesses, particularly in large organizations that have several remote workers, were confirmed by Lena Panayiotou, Assistant General Manager, who noted that the cost of remote work was one of several issues for which a large number of employers were seeking clarification on the new legal obligations that arose with the passage of the remote work law in late November 2023.
According to her, the issue of cost arising from remote work, as well as safety and health, greatly concerns employers because there are now specific conditions and obligations in legislation.
“The law stipulates that this cost must be agreed upon by both parties, but the law also grants the Minister the right to issue a decree determining this specific cost, something that is already applied in Greece, based on its own law,” she stressed.
“This raises concerns about what this cost will be when determined by the Minister, whether it will be a cost that employers have the flexibility to negotiate with employees, or whether it will be a cost that ultimately creates a disincentive for remote work as a work option, considering that the law specifies that remote work is voluntary for both parties,” the OEB assistant GM emphasized.
When there is a concern because today, without the issuance of the decree, there is the possibility to agree on the cost, she continued.
If this cost, she indicated, is set at levels that cannot be easily absorbed, especially by companies that have large numbers of employees who wish to work remotely, which until the law was passed had this flexibility and the system worked satisfactorily for all parties, remote work may not be offered as an option.
Recalling that there is already a cost arising from the legislation for revising risk assessments to address safety and health issues, there is already a cost for promoting policies and issuing guidelines for remote work, as well as costs for issues arising from personal data protection.
Therefore, she explained, there is some concern and anxiety, but also the need for decisions that do not create a disincentive for remote work to be chosen.
