Remote working has officially become a mainstay for many companies around the world. In fact, the number of remote workers has quadrupled over the past year-and-a-half in certain countries.
However, this has raised questions about the laws that businesses may need to consider in order to seamlessly transition to flexible or remote working.
Portugal has already addressed this issue with their “Green Paper on the Future of Work” that provides guidelines for companies moving to remote or hybrid working. While Portugal is the first country in Europe to introduce such guidelines for remote working, it will only last as long as it stays in a state of emergency.
Other countries have also revealed plans to pass legislation in order to regulate remote working, increase opportunities, and decrease any potential risks.
So far, Germany is the only country in Europe to have long-term, concrete intentions with their new remote working laws. In fact, the country passed a law last January that said workplaces must offer employees the ability to work from home unless there are operational reasons forbidding it.
Ireland has also become a hub for remote workers, with the country’s government revealing plans to make hybrid working available across relevant industries.
The UK has also announced plans to regulate remote work arrangements. So far, there has been legislation introduced that would make it easy for employees to apply for remote working positions.
