Negotiations on working from home collapse

Negotiations at European level between the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the main European employers’ organisations on new arrangements for working from home (telework) have ended without agreement.

The two sides have been involved in negotiations on a revision of an earlier (2002) agreement on telework, potentially leading to a new binding directive, since October 2022, but on 9 November both sides accepted there was no prospect of reaching a common position.

Unions are now calling on the European Commission to take the initiative and introduce a directive covering their key demands.

These include: the right to disconnect and not be contacted during non-working hours; greater choice for the employee on whether or not to work from home, such as an obligation on employers to explain their decisions where a request to work from home has been rejected; protection against employee surveillance by employers; coverage of costs like broadband charges by the employer; and better union representation for those working from home.

However, with European parliamentary elections taking place next year, there may be little time to get such a directive approved.