Two years of telework law: only 9% of workers are regulated

Has teleworking become permanent after the pandemic? Yes, but according to the sources referenced for this report, the extension is progressing more slowly than some might expect. in October 2020, Ministry of Labor Signs an agreement with employers and unions for a new teleworking law so that the costs of such practice do not fall into the pockets of employees and that companies must provide them with the necessary facilities. As of October 2021, 3% of employees are covered by a valid collective agreement governing their right to work remotely. According to data provided by the Ministry of Labor to EL PERIÓDICO from the Prensa Ibérica group, in October 2022, 9% of workers are teleworking regularly.

This percentage rises %12 If data from the last active population survey (EPA) of the INE are taken as reference. Teleworking levels have a long way to go, according to calculations by the Bank of Spain, and almost three times as many employees could work from home if all companies that can offer this method did so. The reluctance of companies to incur new costs is the main argument given by the sources cited to explain the slow progress of teleworking.

And in many companies, especially among SMEs, “working from home, not telecommunications”. This euphemism refers to a manager consulted in this way to explain the application of this organizational modality among SMEs. And the norm mandates that companies regulate remote work in writing only if it exceeds 30% of the worker’s workday per week. In other words, if you work five days a week and one of them is from home, you do not need to sign any paperwork that includes extra electricity, Wi-Fi, or bonuses to pay the worker the extra fee. screen, computer and ergonomic chair.

“Trying to introduce rigidity in collective bargaining means companies apply this criterion. precaution and teleworking possibilities are not maximized. is necessary self criticism responsible optimism to explain where we are but now design more and better solutions”, confirms the secretary general. Pimek, Joseph Ginesta.

And another burden of the spread of telework is explained by the resistance of the workers. “We come from a somewhat reactionary work culture, where existing labor still predominates. Before Covid this was a very little democratized practice and incarceration accelerated its spread. Although it left two very polarized oppositions. Some workers tried the honeys of teleworking and they worked too. EAE Business School Human Resources MA Director said, “I can’t imagine not doing this a few days a week anymore. And others are very tired and don’t want to know anything,” he says. Maite Moreno. And the practice of working remotely leaves paradoxes like those found in a recent survey by German listed company Nfon. Accordingly, 28% of employees complain that working from home means working overtime. At the same time, 36% of respondents say they spend more time with their families.

Distant inequality

employees Audi As of October 1, they will be able to work from home on any day they want. group’s signature volkswagen It has reached a pioneering agreement with the unions that gives 1,500 office workers maximum flexibility for teleworking. On the other hand, Tesla management has decided to strictly prohibit remote work for its employees after the end of covid restrictions. The most common model adopted by companies is neither one nor the other, falling somewhere in the middle, colloquially known as ‘3+2’. Three days at the office, two days from home.

Large companies were the first to formalize their agreements, which were adapted to them after the telework law. Telephoneikea BBVASeat… even the public administration preferred this ‘3+2’. “There are many companies that have offices in the upper district of Barcelona and are quickly choosing to telework because that way they can move to smaller facilities, lower rents and save a lot of money. The union policy secretary of the UGT of Catalonia explains, so that paying their employees compensation for telecommuting paid off”, explains. Nuria Gilgado.

However, among SMEs, unions resist teleworking agreements because of employers’ reluctance to accept terms that entail greater costs. For example, social partners are currently offices and offices Barcelona, ​​which covers about 200,000 workers and where they make a compensatory payment per day of remote exercise.

And this added resistance to the rise in material cost that all households are now realizing is providing unequal access to telework. Employees with better salaries – either because they negotiate with the company or bear the cost themselves – can afford it, while lower-paid employees cannot. “If prices continue to rise like this, many workers will return to the office to avoid having to pay more. electric or heating This winter,” Gilgado says. “This summer, given the high temperatures, climate shelter“Agrees with the director of the MA in human resources at EAE Business School.