The definition of remote working introduced to the Labour Code does not exclude such option – provided that such places will be each time agreed with the employer.

The place of remote working is in each and any case agreed by the parties to the employment relationship, regardless of whether it is the place of residence of the employee or any other location chosen by the employee and approved by the employer. The parties may agree that remote working will be performed in different locations to be notified each time by the employee to the employer.

As a matter of principle, the employer will be obliged to accept the request for remote working submitted by:

• an employee – a parent of a child holding a disability certificate or a certificate of moderate or high degree of disability,
• a pregnant employee,
• an employee raising a child up to 4 years of age,
• an employee taking care of any other member of his/her closest family or any other person sharing the same household, holding a disability certificate or a certificate of high degree of disability

The employer is obliged to accept the request submitted by the employees, referred to above, unless it is impossible due to organisation or a type of work performed by the employee. In such case, the employer is obliged to inform the employee on the reason of refusal in writing or electronically within 7 working days from the date of submitting the request.

The employer may order – without consulting the employee – to perform work remotely:

• within the period of the state of emergency, state of epidemic emergency or a state of epidemic and within 3 months upon their revocation,
• within the period, in which the employer is temporarily unable to ensure occupational health and safety in the existing working environment due to force majeure (e.g. workplace demolition in effect of fire).

Such order is enforceable, if the employee submits a statement that it has the appropriate housing and technical conditions to perform remote working directly before issuing such order.

The arrangement with the employee may be made, if no corporate labour agreement was made (or regulations were issued). This means each and any case, in which no internal act governing the rules of remote working has been implemented in the establishment. Remote working order may be also covered by the subjective scope of corporate labour agreement (or regulations).

In the case of remote working performed under the order, the employee may at any time withdraw such order in at least two days in advance.

In the case of starting to work remotely in the employment period, each party may submit a binding request for discontinuation of remote working and reintroduction of the initial terms and conditions of working. The parties agree the date of reintroduction of the initial terms and conditions of working, no longer than 30 days from the date of receiving the request. In the event of no consensus, reintroduction of the initial terms and conditions of working takes place on the day following the expiry of 30 days from the date of receiving the request.  The employer’s rights in this area cannot however apply to the employees working remotely on their request – binding to the employer – (i.e. employees being for example the parents of children up to 4 years of age, etc.), unless further remote working is not possible due to organisation or a type of work performed by the employee.

If remote working is agreed when entering into the employment contract, withdrawal of consent for remote working and bringing back the employee to work at the initial workplace (e.g. in the office), as a matter of principle, impossible.

Detailed rules of coverage by the employer of the costs of remote working (and establishing the cash equivalent or lump sum) shall form a mandatory element of the intra-corporate labour agreement or regulations or an arrangement with the employee in the case of absence of the corporate labour agreement or regulations.

The Act states only that the process of establishing the amount of an equivalent or lump sum should consider in particular the consumption standards of materials and work tools, including technical devices, their documented market prices and volumes of material used for the purposes of the employer and market prices of such material, as well as the consumption standards of energy and costs of telecommunications services.

The technical issues related to establishment of the amount of the abovementioned benefits are to be decided by the parties and at the level of corporate regulations.

Obligatory coverage of costs of utilities consumption applies only to the costs of energy and telecommunications services necessary for remote working.

Thus, it covers no costs of water consumption or use of space at home, unless the regulations on the obligatory reimbursement are introduced to the intra-corporate legal acts (agreement or regulations).

Directly before issuing the remote working order – the employee will be obliged to make a statement in writing or electronically that it holds the appropriate housing and technical conditions to perform such work. One should note that it is the employee who assesses his/her housing and technical conditions, which means that the employer can neither verify, nor dispute them.

In addition, in accordance with the legislation, the employer is obliged to cover other than necessary costs related to installation, service, operation and maintenance of work tools, including technical devices necessary for remote working – provided that reimbursement of such costs is specified in the remote working order, regulations or agreement.

The employee’s request for occasional remote working is not binding to the employer, thus the employer may refuse to accept it.

The time of occasional remote working does not exceed 24 days in a calendar year and does not depend on the working time of the employee (working time arrangements) as well as on the number of hours resulting from the work time schedule on the day, in which the employee works remotely.

It seems unlikely that the employees working remotely meet the conditions for covering them with sobriety checks or checks for presence of agents of similar effect to alcohol. Such checks can be performed when they are necessary to protect health and life of the employees or other persons or property.

As a matter of principle, remote working is performed by the employees using the information and communications devices and poses no high risk to health, life or property.

However, if the employees working remotely meet the conditions provided in the newly-introduced provisions, they may be subject to appropriate checks, since it is the employer, who specifies the group or groups of employees to be checked and the appropriate methodology.