DANIEL ŠUŠNJAR President of the FIC Telecommunications Committee (Telenor d.o.o.) MORE DETAILED REGULATING OF WORK FROM HOME MILENA JAKŠIĆ PAPAC President of the FIC Human Resources Committee (Karanović & Partners o.a.d

More Detailed Regulating Of Work From Home

MILENA JAKŠIĆ PAPAC

President of the FIC Human Resources Committee (Karanović & Partners o.a.d.)

With the lifting of the state of emergency, employers remain with inflexible regulations for contracting work from home. This indicates the need for more detailed regulating of various forms of remote work undertaken beyond the employer's premises, particularly work from home. Alongside this, digitalisation in labour legislation should generally be applied more broadly

The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has had from the aforementioned decree eased the organisation of a lasting impact on many business processes. The work from home during one period, with the end of the state functioning of companies during this period accele of emergency employers were left with inflexible regulations rated the introduction of the flexible organisation or for contracting work from home. work and the use of modern technologies in daily operations. Also coming to the fore is the issue of the way employers Simultaneously, the pandemic highlighted the need for the fulfil their obligations in the area of health and safety at work more detailed regulating of various forms of remote work as it relates to employees who work partially or completely undertaken beyond the employer's premises, particularly from home. The lack of specific guidelines in this regard has work from home, which was organised by a large number led to numerous confusions among employers, especially of employers in Serbia in a short period of time. The lack of in terms of how they estimate risk and ensure the imple a practical approach in existing regulations was overcome mentation of health and safety at work measures when the to a certain extent through working environment beco the adoption of the Decree mes an employee's apartment on organising the work of employers during the state of emergency, with which It is necessary to enable the issuance of medical certificates or house. Additionally, employers have been confronted by a employers were allowed to in electronic form, instead of paper, series of legal shortcomings enable the conducting of work from home on the basis of a and to enable direct delivery or ambiguities when it comes to absences from work that general act, or on the basis to the employer via e-mail emerged as necessities during of a unilateral decision of the the state of emergency, such as employer. Despite being eased the absence of employees sent greatly, this approach further emphasised the impact of home to self isolate, without the issuance of confirmations administrative burdens, which are a consequence of strict and reports from doctors on temporary incapacity to work, legal rules on the personal delivery of such decisions, but or the absences of parents due to the closing of schools. As also other labour legislation documents to employees, at the a consequence, there have been increased instances of the premises of the employer, at the employee's place of residence abusing of the right to be absent from work on these grounds. or via posting on the bulletin board of the employer. This There has also been recognition of the need to enable the has become particularly prominent among employers who issuance of medical certificates in electronic form, instead have the ability to formally communicate with employees via of paper, and to enable direct delivery to the employer via e-mail, various electronic applications or similar channels of e-mail, as well as for digitalisation in labour legislation electronic communication. Finally, although such a solution regulations to be applied more broadly. ■