As remote work continues to gain popularity, the governments in some countries are planning to offer it as a legal right. Currently, only Germany and Portugal have reworked their labor laws around remote work. But countries such as Ireland, Russia, UK, France, and France are currently working on changing their laws to protect remote workers as well.
Now that some companies are calling employees back to the office, it might seem that things are slowly getting back to normal. However, in most cases, employees are either quitting or demanding remote work, producing a big change in the company’s long-term structures.
In Europe, Finland, Luxembourg, and Ireland have the highest remote workers rate in the continent, with 20% of people working remotely.
Countries Currently Offering Remote Work as a Legal Right
- Portugal: The government’s publication ‘’Green Paper on the Future of Work’’ outlines remote and hybrid working measures to be offered automatically to employees. It was the first country in Europe to set a temporary legal regime to support virtual work.
- Germany: It is the only European country to have formally built long-term laws regarding remote work. In January, it became mandatory for companies to provide staff work-from-home opportunities.
Countries Planning to Offer Remote Work as a Legal Right
- Ireland: The government is planning to make hybrid working available to all people next year. They are companies building remote work alliances to provide solutions and encourage remote work within the country.
- Russia: Is currently focusing on supporting remote workers through materials and the necessary equipment to help them successfully fulfill their work duties.
- UK: It’s considering legislating remote work as a default option by giving employees the right to request it
- France: Although remote work is not offered by default, employers in France need to support why they are saying no.
Spain and Greece are also considering remote work legislations, although they don’t have anything yet defined.
