Teleworking and labor conditions in Germany
| Autor | Albert Martín Gaméz |
| Cargo | Law graduate, Pompeu Fabra University. Student of the Máster Universitario de Acceso a la Abogacía, ESADE-URL |
| Páginas | 21-27 |
IUSLabor 2/2017
TELEWORKING AND LABOR CONDITIONS IN GERMANY
Albert Martín Gámez
Law graduate, Pompeu Fabra University
Student of the Máster Universitario de Acceso a la Abogacía, ESADE-URL
Introduction
All the questions of this article are going to be answered relying on Manfred’s Weiss
article “Telework and labour law: The German case”.
1. Is there any regulation on teleworking in your legal system?
There is no special regulation on teleworking in Germany although during the last 30
years, the need for special legislation has been the subject of debate. So, even if several
drafts have been elaborated, it seems that currently this idea has been given up.15
Yet, we can find some references to telework in the German legislation such as the Works
Council Act, the Act for the Federal Administration and the Federal Courts, and the Act
for the public service of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg. All these laws pursue the
object of assuring teleworkers equality of opportunities.16
The lack of specific legislation on telework is due to the fact that the shape of telework is
considered to be set in a work agreement concluded between the employer and the works
council. Since the works council does have a powerful position in this context, there is
no danger that telework could be abused to deprive the teleworkers of protection.17
Then, the rules on telework are to be developed and adapted according to the needs of the
individual companies, which are well known by the work councils. For that reason, the
voluntary European framework agreements will be implemented through work
agreements too.18
2. What is the legal or judicial concept of teleworking often used in your country?
In Germany, we can find three different patterns of telework:19
15 Weiss M. “Telework and labour law: The German case”, en Mella Méndez, L. (Editora), Tra bajo a
distancia y teletr abajo, Thomson Reuters Aranzadi, Cizur Menor (Navarra), 2015, p.316
16 Ídem
17 Ídem, p. 325
18 Ídem
19 Ídem, p. 316
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