We’ve discovered a love for hybrid and flexible working in Europe. Traditionally, like the US, much of the bloc wasn’t really known for its adoption of working from home (WFH) but the pandemic has shifted our attitudes.
According to Eurofound, “The return to the workplace has continued across the EU as public health restrictions were lifted and only 12% of respondents still worked exclusively from home in spring 2022. However, there is a clear preference for teleworking with over 60% of both women and men expressing their preference to work from home at least several times per month, implying that the return has not been entirely voluntary.”
Many EU member states have now adapted existing legislation or created new laws to cope with new and preferred ways of working. In July, the Dutch parliament approved legislation to establish WFH as a legal right, making the Netherlands one of the first countries to do so by law. Below, we take a look at four more countries also responding.
Ireland: Right to Request Remote Work draft Bill, Jan 2022
The Right to Request Remote Work Bill is part of the government’s vision to make remote working a permanent feature of Ireland’s workforce in a way that can benefit all – economically, socially and environmentally. In April 2021, public consultation was undertaken with significant engagement from both employer and employee representative groups, and also a review of international best practice. At the moment, the legislation is currently being revised.
Spain: Royal Decree-Law 28/2020 on remote working
Many useful elements around remote working are defined and clarified by this new Spanish law, which establishes that remote work is work carried out by an employee outside the workplace, provided that it represents at least 30% of the working day and is carried out over a period of at least three months. It also states that telework should be voluntary for both the employee and the employer, and fully reversible at any time by either party.
Hungary: “home office law package”
The Hungarian Parliament has adopted a bill which amends its Labor Code, Labor Protection Act, and Personal Income Tax Act to reflect new ways of working for Hungarians. Updated rules on teleworking in the Labor Code will cover both full-time and part-time work from home. A regular home office will still require the parties to conclude a so-called “telework contract” and in the case of teleworking, employees can work 30% of their working days in the office.
Italy: Italian National Protocol on remote working
As an update to its existing legislative framework on remote working, as defined by law no. 81/2017, in 2021 the Italian Government further defined remote or “smart working”. It is characterised by the absence of a set working time, but the parties may agree on specific availability slots. The right to disconnect must also be granted and employees are free to choose the place from which they will be working remotely, however, collective agreements may establish places that are deemed inadequate to work remotely.
Want to work remotely across the bloc? We have three jobs below worth a look, as well as many more on the Silicon Canals Job Board.
Customer Success Manager – Netherlands, PayPal
The Customer Success Manager role consists of three main focus areas: You will be consulting and collaborating with merchants to identify opportunities where PayPal can help them grow their business, and be competitive in their field. You’ll deliver a world class customer experience, both business-focused, and operationally and you will build solid relationships, proactively and consistently demonstrate value. Apply now.
Customer Centric Engineer – PostgreSQL/MySQL, Aiven
This position is fully remote and open to candidates in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Aiven is seeking a Software Engineer with Postgres/MySQL/Relational Database experience to join its Customer Centric Engineering Team. You’ll interact directly with customers, be hands-on fixing issues and providing software development and operations expertise, leveraging deep knowledge of best practices in the use of PostgreSQL, MySQL, cassandra and opensearch as part of the data storage domain of Aiven Platform. Apply now.
Financial Risk Manager (f/m/d), wefox
Paris-based, wefox offers flexible working hours including hybrid working. The Financial Risk Manager (f/m/d) role will suit someone who is interested in working in a dynamic insurtec company and helping it prevent risks. In this role you will be the company’s subject matter expert in financial risk topics – credit, liquidity and market risks – and will support the implementation and model review of capital management and asset and liability management (ALM). Plus, you’ll implement and oversee a robust governance framework for financial risk management. Apply now.
Discover open roles with hybrid, WFH or remote options on the Silicon Canals Job Board