The new home office regulation creates uncertainty among companies and employees.
What applies now, what employees must pay attention to.
In the fight against the Corona * pandemic, Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil * is now also making companies more responsible.
The new home office requirements of the Federal Ministry of Labor have been in effect for a few days.
But the regulation raises many questions:
Do I have to write down my working hours?
Am I entitled to my employer contributing to costs such as electricity or heating in the home office?
Can the employer oblige me to turn on the video camera during discussions?
Alexander Möller
(35), specialist lawyer for labor law and partner at
SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte
in
Frankfurt
, explains what the employer is allowed to do and what is not
.
Can the employer arrange home office?
If the relevant employment contract does not assign the employer a corresponding right, the employer cannot unilaterally order home office against the will of the employee.
The employer's right of direction is not sufficient as a basis for this.
Does the employer have to provide the equipment for the home office?
If the employee has a fully equipped workplace in the employer's office space, the employer is not obliged to provide the appropriate equipment in the home office.
If the employee should be able to work in the home office, he must of course be provided with the necessary technical equipment, such as a notebook and a telephone.
Does the employer also have to provide an office chair or desk?
Unless there is a separate obligation on the part of the employer, for example based on the employment contract or a works agreement, the employer only has to provide the basic technical equipment.
Only if the employee is to work fully and permanently in the home office will the employer also have to provide other equipment, such as a desk or a corresponding chair.
+
Alexander Möller (35): The lawyer is a specialist lawyer for labor law and a partner at SKW Schwarz Rechtsanwälte in Frankfurt.
© SKW Schwarz / Möller
What running home office costs does the boss have to pay?
If the employer continues to have a job available in the employer's office, the employer is generally not obliged to pay a proportionate compensation for electricity, telephone or rent, for example.
To be on the safe side, this should be excluded in order to have clarity for all parties.
However, it is also common to agree on a flat-rate compensation for use, which is paid monthly as part of the regular salary run.
Can the boss check compliance with working hours in the home office - and if so, how?
The employer is not only allowed to check compliance with working hours, he even has to.
Working in the home office does not release you from the usual labor law obligations.
This also means that the employer checks compliance with the legal requirements for working hours and ensures compliance.
If no electronic time recording system is implemented, which can also be maintained from the home office, the simple keeping of Excel lists is a suitable means.
In these lists, the employee must enter the start and end of work as well as the breaks and then send them to the supervisor at regular intervals for control.
Can the employer require the video camera to be switched on for meetings?
If this has been agreed in advance, which is urgently recommended for reasons of clarity, the employee is obliged to switch on the camera.
Unless otherwise agreed, the general rule is that the apartment must be accepted by the employer as part of the private sphere and he must therefore also accept that his employee does not allow him to see anything via camera.
Are employees responsible for handling sensitive data in the home office?
In this respect, nothing else applies than when working in an office.
Since the ultimate financial responsibility in external relationships usually always falls on the employer, he is well advised to inform the employees in detail of the obligations regarding confidentiality and data protection before starting work in the home office.
What do employees have to pay attention to when it comes to data security?
For example, it must be ensured that no third party has access to or knowledge of any data.
This requires that the home office be secured after completion or when the activity is interrupted, for example by locking the room or by locking freely lying documents in a desk.
It is just as important that business telephone calls in the context of which data are discussed are made confidentially, i.e. usually with the door locked.
Does working from home change working hours?
No.
The contractually owed working hours continue to apply.
Nevertheless, employers and employees are free to agree on working hours that deviate from normal office work, for example to ensure childcare.
*
Merkur.de
is part of the nationwide Ippen Digital editorial network.
