European countries are forcing companies to let employees work from home as Covid-19 cases rise again with the fourth wave of the pandemic.
A few months ago, thousands of Europeans started returning to the office and slowly getting back to a pre-pandemic working structure. Nowadays, many countries started experiencing an increase in COVID cases due to the fourth wave. Governments started encouraging and, in some cases forcing companies to allow employees to work from home.
Europe Returns to Work From Home
Europe has again become the epicenter of the pandemic. New measures are taking place in different countries, mostly encouraging people to vaccinate and work remotely.
Germany agreed on mandatory remote working as long as there are no operational reasons. The country established new legislation as a strategy to reduce the cases. The new law includes working from home rules.
In the UK, a significant number of people continue working from home. Belgium decreed this week that employees should work from home at least four days a week until mid-December. And Ireland and the Netherlands have also instructed companies to allow employees to work from home whenever possible.
On the other hand, countries in Eastern Europe are trying to avoid imposing mandatory remote work. But, authorities are focusing on encouraging vaccination rates. Countries like the Czech Republic are considering banning unvaccinated people from public events.
