Home Office Guide: Everything you need to know about working from home!
Due to the Corona crisis, the home office became the new working environment for many employees. Rising infection rates suggest that this will not change in the coming months either. The change from the office workplace to the home office worked in most companies without major losses in productivity. Many employees therefore want the option of working from home if required in the long term.
All about home office
Meanwhile, a right to work from home is also being intensively discussed at the political level. We have compiled the most important information and answers to frequently asked questions below.
Definition - What is actually meant by Home Office?
Colloquially, the term home office usually refers to the workplace in one's own home, be it a separate study or just a desk in the guest room. By definition, however, the term is less about the place where work is done. Rather, home office is synonymous with teleworking and describes a flexible organizational approach to choosing where and when to work.
A distinction is usually made between 3 forms of teleworking.
Telecommuting
Telecommuting refers to the permanent workplace of employees in their private sphere. The work is carried out entirely outside the company's premises. There is no workplace at the company's premises.
Alternating telework
If employees regularly switch between the workplace at the company location and the workplace at home, this is referred to as alternating teleworking. There is no general indication of which part of the working time is performed at which workplace.
Mobile teleworking
Mobile working, or mobile office, applies when work takes place neither in the office nor at the home workplace. However, the employee has a connection to the company through information and communication technology. Thanks to modern devices such as laptop, smartphone or tablet, work can be done regardless of location and time.
Who is home office suitable for?
Whether working from home is a suitable or even possible form of work naturally depends on the area of activity of the employees, but also on the infrastructural conditions in the company.
For employees in the manufacturing industry, salespeople, or carpenters, being present at the production and sales location or at the customer's site is a necessary prerequisite, and working from home is logically not a real option. For office employees, on the other hand, working from home is usually a possible alternative. Even moving the office to a cafe or abroad is often possible without any problems. The only requirement is that employees have the opportunity to communicate with colleagues and access the necessary documents and records.
Regardless of whether the above-mentioned conditions for working from home are met, every employee should consider whether the conditions in their private space also allow them to work effectively and productively. A high level of noise pollution, for example from road traffic or schools, not only affects productivity, but also health. Aspects such as sufficient daylight should also be taken into account. Last but not least, employees should be able to work at set times without being disturbed by other family members, for example.
Home Office: Advantages and disadvantages
Working outside the office without annoying colleagues or regular inquiries from superiors sounds like a dream come true for many employees. At the same time, many employers still fear a noticeable drop in productivity if they allow their employees to work from home.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home for both employees and employers?
Advantages
- Cost reduction
- Productivity increase
- Employer Branding
- Positive social effects (work and family)
- Strengthening confidence
- Self-determined work
- Time saving
- Increased satisfaction
Disadvantages
- Increased effort for organization
- Increased demands on IT and data security
- Negative impact on team spirit and sense of unity
- Reduced working time control
- Additional requirements for contract design
- Social isolation
- Distraction risks
As the current debate shows, there are numerous arguments both for and against working from home. It is not possible to make a blanket statement about whether working from home is beneficial for everyone involved. Rather, employees and employers should discuss the issue openly and find a joint solution for working from home.
Is there a right to work from home?
Based on the findings from the Corona crisis, a right to work from home is currently being discussed at the political level (as of October 2020) and corresponding draft laws have been presented. However, there is still no right to work from home. Until there is a legal basis, it is up to employers to establish appropriate regulations in the company. Conversely, the current legal situation also means that a company cannot send its employees to work from home against their will.
If working from home is granted, the arrangements made should be set out in a contract. This can be in the form of a supplementary agreement to the actual employment contract or in a separate teleworking agreement. The following points, among others, can be recorded in the agreement:
- Working and availability hours in the home office
- Equipment for home office workplaces
- Assumption of costs incurred
- Data protection and data security
In addition to individual agreements with individual employees, the company can also define the framework conditions for working from home at a general level. This must be done in consultation with the works council. All topics - requirements for working from home, exclusion regulations, contact persons, etc. - should be set out in a works agreement.
Claudia Knuth, a lawyer specializing in labor law, provides an overview of the current legal situation regarding home office in our interview:
Applying for a home office – The best way to proceed
As long as there is no legal entitlement or company agreement for working from home, employees must obtain their own consent from their employer. This can be done in a personal meeting or in the form of a written application. Employees who wish to apply for a home office arrangement should prepare arguments in favor of working from home in advance. This increases the chance that the boss will approve the request.
Show your employer that working from home has no disadvantages in terms of your productivity. Convince your supervisor that you can be reached at any time, even when working from home, and that you have the appropriate space to work in a concentrated and effective manner. Also emphasize the advantages for both you as an employee and your company. For example, some tasks require full concentration, which is often easier to ensure in a home office than in an open-plan office.
As is so often the case in life, timing can also be important when applying for a home office arrangement. Also check your own work performance. The chance that your application will be approved increases if you have proven that you are fully committed to your work even when working from home.
Occupational safety and health in the home office
In order to introduce home office, occupational health and safety must also be observed in private rooms and the legal requirements for health and safety must be met.
To ensure this, the Workplace Ordinance requires employers to provide the necessary equipment for their employees. The same requirements apply here as for workstations on the employer's premises. These include, in particular, the ergonomic requirements for VDU workstations, e.g. size of the desk or screen size.
You can find out in detail how to optimally equip and set up your home office workstation in our guide:
Who bears the costs of the home office?
Working from home creates additional costs for the employee. When assessing who has to bear the costs, the basic principle is that the employer must bear all costs that are necessary to enable the employee to perform his or her work. It follows that the employer must bear the costs for the equipment of the workplace, the office material and the costs incurred for electricity, water and internet.
While the costs for the work computer or printer paper can be determined quite easily and clearly, this is much more difficult with the costs for electricity and water. In order to avoid having to check all individual items, the common and pragmatic approach is to also record the treatment of the costs incurred in the supplementary agreement.
Can the employer view the home office workplace?
In order to fulfill its duty to assess the workplace for occupational health and safety hazards, the employer has the right and duty to inspect the workplace in private areas. However, this does not mean that the employer has unannounced access to employees' private areas. Instead, the access authorization should be agreed in writing via the supplementary agreement. This defines when and how often the employer can check whether the health and safety requirements are being complied with.
Working hours and break times in the home office
Whether working from home or in the office, the Working Hours Act does not differentiate in this regard. For most employees, this means a basic working time of 8 hours a day. If the order situation requires it, overtime of up to 10 percent of the usual working time can also be worked at short notice.
Note: Employees are responsible for documenting their working hours in the home office. This must be presented to the employer upon request. The documentation can be in the form of a timesheet.
The right to break times also remains unaffected by working from home. Employees who work 6 hours or more are entitled to a 30-minute break. If you work more than 9 hours, a 45-minute break is mandatory.
One issue that is particularly important in the home office is break times between working days. If the computer is within reach, there is a tendency to check emails again in the evening or to complete a task for the boss. However, 11 hours of rest are required between working days.
Home office and data protection
Working from a home office creates additional challenges for data protection. Because the processing of personal data in the private sphere of employees increases the risk of unauthorized access by third parties. The risk also increases if employees use their own technology (laptops, smartphones or tablets) for work.
To ensure the protection of data, the employer must take organizational and technical precautions. Employees are obliged to comply with technical and organizational security measures via the supplementary agreement to the employment contract. Furthermore, access to data within the company network must be possible via secure communication channels.
In our expert interview with Alexander Ingelheim, co-founder and CEO of datenschutzexperte.de, you can find out more about data protection in the home office.
To the interview: Home office and data protection