Turkiye

Official Gazette: The procedures and principles of remote work have been determined

According to the regulation published in the Official Gazette, the time interval and duration of remote work will be specified in the employment contract. The method and time interval of communication in remote work will be determined by the remote employee and the employer.

With the Remote Work Regulation published in the Official Gazette, the procedures and principles of remote work were determined.

The Regulation was prepared by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services on the basis of Article 14 of the Labor Law No. 4857.

Accordingly, if necessary, arrangements for the location where remote work will be done will be completed before the work starts. The arrangement costs arising from these regulations will be determined jointly by the remote worker and the employer.

Materials and work tools required for the production of goods and services of the remote worker will be provided by the employer, unless otherwise agreed in the employment contract. The principles of use and maintenance and repair conditions of these materials and work tools will be clearly and understandably reported to the remote employee.

In this context, if the work tools are provided by the employer, the list of work tools indicating the cost on the date of delivery to the worker will be delivered to the worker in a written form by the employer. A copy of the submitted document signed by the employee will be kept by the employer in the employee’s personal file. If the list of work tools is arranged in addition to the employment contract within the contract or on the date of the contract, it will not be necessary to issue a written document.

Remote working time

With the regulation, it was stated that the issues related to determining and meeting the necessary expenses directly related to the production of goods or services arising from the performance of the work will also be specified in the employment contract.

Regarding the duration of remote work, the regulation states, “The time interval and duration of remote work are specified in the employment contract. Working hours may be changed by the parties, provided that the limitations stipulated in the legislation will be changed. Overtime work is done in accordance with the provisions of the legislation upon the written request of the employer, with the acceptance of the worker.”

In the regulation, about communication in remote work, “The method and time interval of communication in remote work are determined by the remote employee and the employer.”

Data protection when working remotely

The regulation also included details on data protection when working remotely. Accordingly, the employer will inform the employee about the business rules and relevant legislation regarding the protection and sharing of data regarding the workplace and the work he/she does. In addition, the necessary measures for the protection of data will be taken by the employer.

The definition and scope of the data to be protected will be determined in the contract and the employee will be obliged to comply with these rules.

Measures regarding occupational health and safety

In the regulation, it was stated that the employer is obliged to inform the employee about occupational health and safety, to provide the necessary training, to provide health surveillance and to take the necessary occupational safety measures.

According to the first paragraph of Article 13, titled “Jobs in which remote work cannot be done”, it was stated that remote work cannot be carried out in work areas related to hazardous chemicals and radioactive materials.

In the second paragraph of the same article, the following were recorded:

“Which of the units, projects, facilities or services that are strategically important in terms of national security can not work remotely and the works performed by the public institutions and organizations by purchasing services according to the relevant legislation are determined by the public institution and organization responsible for the unit, project, facility or service or receiving the service.”

Switching to remote work

In the regulation, the scope of transition to remote work was also determined.

Accordingly, the business relationship can be established directly with a remote employment contract or the employment contract of the employee working at the workplace can be turned into a remote work contract, if the both parties agree.

If the employee wants to make a remote work request, he will make the request in a written form. While evaluating the request, the employer will use the eligibility to work remotely and other criteria to be determined by the employer due to the nature of the job and the worker.

The employer will notify the worker in a written form within 30 days and the contract will be made according to the 5th article of the regulation. In addition, the employee will be able to request to work at the workplace again.

If remote work is to be applied in the whole or part of the workplace due to compelling reasons specified in the legislation, the request or approval of the worker will not be sought for the transition to remote work.

Source: AA / Translated by Irem Yildiz

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