The government decree passed in November intends to regulate home office on the basis of mutual consent between the parties. The employer may pay a tax-free lump-sum compensation for the employee working from home.
During the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic, the aim of regulating home office was to authorize employers to unilaterally order it with immediate effect. The new government decree provides extraordinary rules for home office again but this time the goal of the legislation is obviously that its framework should be agreed upon by the parties mutually.
This agreement in practice is included in the work contract or in its amendment but can be drafted in a separate document either. Details of such agreement can be specified or amended in the employer’s written policies or instructions.
The government decree prescribes that the binding provisions on safety at work shall not apply to home office during the state of danger. For instance, the employer is not obliged to perform a prior risk analysis of work devices. It is sufficient that the employer informs the employee before taking up home office on the relevant rules of work safety at home. Upon such notice, the employee will be liable for creating and maintaining proper conditions for the safe work environment as defined by the employer.
The most important points of an agreement on home office are establishing the fact that the employee works from home; the specification of work devices provided by the parties; the amount of compensation of costs; and the work schedule. Other background rules, such as the right to monitor performance; confidentiality and privacy obligations; or work safety rules, can be published by the employer in unilaterally determined policies and instructions.
The government decree makes it possible for the employer to provide a tax-free lump-sum compensation of costs for the employee in proportion to the days spent at home, up to a monthly amount equal to 10% of the minimum wage specified for the subject year and provided that the employee does not claim compensation based on itemized cost statements. It is thus a precondition of the tax-free compensation that the parties conclude an agreement on home office and, in case of partial home office, the employer shall indicate in the timesheet register the days on which the employee was in home office.
It is not necessary that working from home generates costs but if such incur at the employee, then those shall be compensated by the employer according to the Labour Code. Therefore, if the employee can evidence that additional costs incurred in connection with home office, then they have two options: the employer pays either the actual costs based on an itemized cost statement or he pays the lump-sum compensation without claiming evidence on the actual costs. However, this latter option is tax-free only to 10% of the minimum wage and shall be proportionally calculated only for the days actually spent working from home.