Remote work: do you know your rights? | Business

“The possibility to work remotely in Lithuania is legalized by the Labor Code (DK), but many people do not know that this provision does not apply to everyone. According to DK, employers must ensure the possibility to work remotely for pregnant, recently given birth or breastfeeding employees. Remote work must also be provided to employees raising a child up to 8 years old, single parents raising a child up to 14 years old or a child with a disability up to 18 years old,” says Vilma Gajevskaja, head of the talent attraction and selection team at “Bitė Lietuva”.

Employees also have the right to work remotely due to their health condition, disability or the need to care for a family member or another person living together. In this case, it is necessary to submit a certificate from a health care institution together with the application to the employer.

Company photo/Vilma Gajevskaja

“When there is a need to work remotely, it is always recommended to start with a conversation. The employee must clearly state the reasons why he would like to change the nature of work. For example, if an employee feels bad during the first months of pregnancy and would like to work more often at home instead of in the office, until she informs her employer about her pregnancy, he may really have questions about the necessity of such a need,” says V. Gajevskaja.

However, the possibility to work remotely is also not absolute: if the remote work desired by the employee requires too high costs, the request may be rejected. As the interviewer notes, not all professions can work remotely, so the possibilities also depend on the specifics of the specific job.

The most important thing is to make a proper agreement

The labor code does not define how long it is possible to work remotely, so the length of time is a matter of agreement between the employer and the employee.

“Indeed, it is possible to negotiate both for the whole working time and for a part of it. For example, it can be agreed that the employee will work remotely only a couple of days a week, and the rest of the time in the office. In this case, both parties may need flexibility. The employee should ensure that he will achieve the goals and results set for him while working remotely, while the employer’s responsibility is to trust the employee and give him freedom of action and decisions,” says the head of the talent attraction and selection team at “Bitė Lietuva”, whose workplace has a 1-week layoff deadline. .

According to her, companies usually have procedures and rules for working remotely. They can set requirements for a remote workplace, its security, how work tools are used, ensure data security, compensate the costs incurred by the employee, etc.

“Although it may sometimes appear that the remote work procedure is redundant, after all, we continue our work as usual, only in a different location, nevertheless, it helps to protect the rights of both the employer and the employee and avoid possible disputes in the future. For example, there may be a dilemma as to whether the employer should compensate the costs incurred by the employee for internet or telephone connection while working at home,” says V. Gajevskaja.

When the corporate culture is extinguished by remote work

One of the more frequent criticisms of telecommuting is its influence on the company’s internal culture and effective cooperation. According to V. Gajevskaja, employers’ desire for employees to work more often in the office is not necessarily a sign of micromanagement.

“If teamwork is very important in the company, working remotely may not always ensure good results. Especially if the team members have not found an effective communication model, how to smoothly share information, to solve issues arising “here and now”, remote work can pose additional challenges. I myself notice from my own experience that sometimes some questions are solved faster when colleagues communicate live”, shares the HR specialist.

Meanwhile, V. Gajevskaja advises those who combine remote work with work in the office to find the right balance – to plan not only work principles, which tasks should be performed in the office, and which tasks should be performed at home or in another place, but also the rules of communication with colleagues.

“When working remotely, it is recommended to follow a similar work regime – start work at the usual time, plan a lunch break. If you have to leave the workplace for a longer time, for example, to take the children to a club during the day or end the working day early for other reasons, you should warn your colleagues who may miss you. If we don’t leave the office without telling anyone when we work in the office, we should do the same when working remotely,” she advises.