In the corona crisis, many employees switched to their home office. But should there soon be a right to work at home? The Minister of Economy has a clear position on this.
Berlin (AP) - Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier has spoken out against a legally enshrined right to work from home.
The CDU politician told the German press agency: "Above all, we need less bureaucracy, not always new state guarantees. I am convinced that many companies offer more home offices in their own right, but it just doesn't fit everywhere, especially if the direct contact with customers and employees is necessary. "
Altmaier said that he had complete confidence in employees, employers and works councils that the right solutions would be found on site. "State spanking would be fundamentally wrong."
Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) had announced that he wanted to enshrine the right to work from home by law and would submit a new law by autumn. "Anyone who wants to and who has the right to work should be able to work in the home office - even if the corona pandemic is over," said Heil the "Bild am Sonntag". "You can either switch to home office entirely or only for a day or two a week," Heil said.
There have been skeptical voices from the Union and the economy. "Warming up political shopkeepers from before the biggest economic downturn in many decades seems a bit out of time," said the managing director of the Federal Association of German Employers' Associations, Steffen Kampeter. "We need a moratorium on burdens instead of other requirements that limit growth and flexibility."
According to a survey, one in three employees in the corona crisis switched to their home office. In the first half of April, 35 percent stated that they worked partially or completely from home, as the German Institute for Economic Research determined on the basis of the socio-economic panel. Before the Corona crisis, only 12 percent used the desk at home occasionally or always, the institute announced in mid-May. In particular, employees with higher incomes and higher education were able to switch to their home office.
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg believes that the corona crisis has triggered a long-term shift towards working outside the office. He expects around one in two employees of the online network to work in this way in ten years, said Zuckerberg in an interview with the technology blog "The Verge" on Thursday. Twitter had previously announced, among other things, that all employees could continue their jobs from home even after the end of the crisis, if their tasks allow it.
