Teleworking, as a work organization system, is widespread abroad and is in fact implemented in a wide range of professional activities such as managers, analysts, translators as well as newer forms of employment introduced by the so-called “gig economy”. However, in our country, due to the lack of appropriate infrastructure (mainly in telecommunications) and the cautiousness of companies, which is reinforced by the alleged inefficiency of working remotely and the fear for lack of immediate supervision and control, has resulted in the implementation of this system being not only fragmentary but also incomplete.

Along the same lines, the “voluntary” nature of teleworking in accordance to the terms stated in 16.7.2002 of the European Agreement – Framework for teleworking as well as the reluctance of the social partners to resolve practical issues rising because of its implementation, have discouraged the system’s actual integration. This has happened regardless of the strong advantages inherent in it, such as:

– on the part of the employers: reduction in operating costs, increase in the employees’ productivity due to the fact that they are not disrupted, and they do not lose time in order to commute to work, etc.

– on the part of the employees: they save time and money that would be otherwise spent on commuting, they manage time spent on professional as well as family affairs in a better way, etc.

The epidemic crisis, which our country as well as the rest of the planet has been facing during the last year, has changed the facts. The implemented health measures have given to the businesses the right to use a system of “remote” work, on their own accord and without the agreement of the employees (article 4 par. 2 of the 11.3.2020 Legislative Action).

In addition, they imposed the obligatory implementation of the said system on some activities in specific Regions so as to reduce the volume of transportation and to avoid having large crowds within the working facilities (article 235 Law 4727/2020: “Extraordinary temporary measures for the Region of Attica in regard to the organization of the place and time of work aiming at the decongestion of public means of transportation and of the workplaces”).

And so it has already begun. According to the figures provided by Eurostat, before the COVID-19 crisis the percentage of remotely working employees in the country was barely above 1% (1,14%) in a total of 4.5 million of actively working population; however, it seems that both the Greek businesses and the employees have adjusted to the new reality and they have overcome their initial reservations.

Hence, through the necessity that was created for the protection of our health, we have already moved on to the following day. The system of teleworking will certainly continue to be implemented since it has already been proven that it can contribute greatly to the increase of competitiveness as well as employment rates. If our country wants to take advantage of this opportunity and promote the modernization of workplace so as to reinforce businesses but also improve the quality of the work positions, now is the time to take the next step.

The existing framework (article 5 Law 3846/2010) was a very significant legislative initiative towards placing boundaries on both sides (employers and employees) in regard to their rights and obligations. However, the need for further specialization of the principles depicted in the 16.7.2002 European Agreement – Framework is more imperative now; both in the context of protecting the data that are used and processed by the teleworker as well as protecting the employee’s working rights and the areas of his/her private life.