AK survey shows considerable problems with technical equipment and with the delimitation of work. New home office law required by the end of the year.
The home office: Often more home than office
The Chamber of Labor (AK) is pushing for the implementation of its own home office law this year. Labor Minister Christine Aschbacher recently announced uniform regulations on all aspects of labor and tax law in coordination with the social partners for March 2021 at the earliest. AK President Renate Anderl is too late. “There are still a lot of unanswered questions, but it has to be done faster,” Anderl said at a press conference on Tuesday.
How urgent the need for action is is shown in a current IFES survey on the subject of home office, which the AK presented. According to this, between April and October around 40 percent of all employees worked in industries where it is possible from home. Before the pandemic, it was just 5 percent. Now in the second lockdown, the proportion should have increased further.
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According to the survey, however, there are a large number of unsolved problems in the home office, above all the inadequate technical equipment, the lack of cost reimbursement by the employer as well as the delimitation of working hours and discrimination against mothers.
AK President Renate Anderl
Technical Equipment
“There are huge shortcomings in many home offices,” says IFES managing director Eva Zeglovits, summarizing the survey. Many home offices are more home than offices, so they have insufficient technical equipment. Unlike in the company office, most employees at home have to fall back on private equipment such as a telephone Internet connection, monitor, printer, desk or office armchair.
Every fifth respondent stated that they did not have a suitable desk at home, but had to sit at the kitchen table, for example. 30 percent lack a comfortable office armchair for longer work. The poor equipment affects women even more than men: “If someone has a well-equipped office at home, it is usually the man,” says Zeglovits.
Especially mothers are stressed in the home office
What is being replaced
When it comes to reimbursement of costs, the survey shows that employers are rather stingy. Most often (74 percent) the software is made available for video conferences, usually with the necessary headphones. 63 percent use company laptops, around half company cell phones. There is almost no cost reimbursement for desks, office chairs or printers. The AK demands an “appropriate cost reimbursement” for technical equipment as well as proportionally for the Internet, electricity and heating costs.
Sick in the home office
According to the survey, more than half of the employees are willing to continue working from home despite being on sick leave or taking care of sick relatives. After all, 60 percent of those surveyed stated that they would rather work from home instead of taking care leave, and among young women it was even two-thirds. 56 percent would rather continue working at home sick than going on sick leave. Zeglovits explains this, among other things, with consideration for colleagues who would often have overtime if they were sick or were given leave. 40 percent state that they can also be reached outside of working hours.
“No legal vacancy”
In view of the results, AK President Anderl calls on employers to provide the necessary infrastructure on the one hand and a clear separation between home office and other stays in their own four walls, especially when sick or to look after relatives. “The home office is not a legal vacuum,” she refers to existing laws.
In many companies there are also company agreements that apply despite Corona. If in doubt, affected employees should contact their works council. The AK plans to publish its own guidelines for “working from home” soon. A corresponding guide from the Ministry of Labor is inadequate, said Anderl.
