Although the Flexible Working Act already made it possible to perform (part of) one's work from a location other than the company site, with all the coronagraphs, this has gained momentum at many companies. How do we approach working from home, keeping in mind the privacy of employees and the employer's duty of care?
Employers have a duty of care to create a safe and healthy working environment for their staff. This means at least following the RIVM guidelines where possible, but it also means complying with other laws and regulations, such as the Working Conditions Act. With mass work being done from home, it is still necessary to be able to work ergonomically. The distance from the monitor is determined, there are requirements for the office chair, and there may also be a general requirement for sedentary work.
With the safe and healthy design of the workplace, however, the employer is not there yet. After all, the employer must also ensure that data is handled securely when working from home. After all, work takes place outside the secure walls of the office building and often more extensive server access must be facilitated. Furthermore, work is frequently done in close proximity to family members. It is a misconception that it would not be a problem for a partner to have access to work-related information. This should obviously be avoided, and in case a partner does unexpectedly hear snippets of (telephone) conversations, a proper confidentiality obligation should be stipulated.
Also, the employee should be careful to lock the screen when leaving the home office, a computer screen or file should not be visible from the street, and when transferring from the office to the home office and vice versa, avoid leaving files in the car during errands or otherwise. When transferring data from home, it should be done securely and not through free and/or unfamiliar programs.
An employee who works from home does not have to accept the employer's request to leave the webcam on all day to verify that work is actually being done. Nor does an employee have to cooperate with surprise visits by the employer. However, an employer may require that the employee be available for telephone or digital consultations, a to-do list or more general feedback on what work was done on a day. Indeed, working from home must still involve working and not the employee spending the entire day with the children.
Employers are advised to make arrangements around working from home. For example, record that this is a temporary measure and that after all coronagraphs have been completed, the regular workplace is again the desk in the company building. Also lay down what is expected of the employee during the period of working from home. In particular, the aforementioned privacy safeguards, but also the labor law conditions of working from home, such as expense reimbursement, use of business materials, etc.
Melanie Hermes will give the Privacy in the Workplace workshop on May 26. Employers like to be aware of the ups and downs of their employees, but how far can they go? What are the rules and adjustments since the AVG went into effect? The workshop explains what all players in the workplace are bound by when it comes to employee privacy. Using case histories, the topic will be made clear and you can actually work with it. Click here for more information.
This article can also be found in the files Privacy in the workplace and Coronavirus
