Teleworking: new provisions

Article 21 of ordinance No 2017-1387 of September 22nd, 2017 amended the legal framework for teleworking by specifying in particular the definition of the teleworking, the methods of implementation, the contents of the employment contract and the amendment to the employment contract, and the conditions under which accidents are deemed to be occupational.

These new provisions came into effect on September 24, 2017, the day after the publication of the order.

Article L 1222-9 of the French Labor Code defines telework as any form of work organization in which work which could also have been carried out on the premises of the employer, is performed outside its premises on a voluntary basis. using information and communication technologies.

Order No. 2017-1387 of 22 September 2017 removes from the definition of telework, the criterion of the regularity of teleworking. As of this date, teleworking, whether regular or occasional, is subject to teleworking regulation). The difference between the two situations is that occasional teleworking does not require a collective agreement or a preliminary charter for its implementation. An amendment to the employment contract is sufficient.

Several criteria must be met to characterize teleworking and be subject to the provisions of articles 1222-9 et seq. of the Labor Code:

·         Telework must use information and communication technologies

·         Telework takes place outside the premises of the company

·         In principle, setting up teleworking requires prior collective agreement or, failing that, a charter drawn up by the employer after consulting the Economic Social Committee (or the works council, the health and safety committee, or the single staff delegation). This is a new condition introduced by Ordinance No. 2017-1387 of 22 September 2017. However, if teleworking is done on an occasional basis, a simple agreement between the employee and the employer is sufficient.

It is therefore now the collective agreement or the charter, which in principle sets the criteria to be fulfilled to be eligible for teleworking, as well as the arrangements for work outside the employer’s premises.

Notwithstanding the legal framework for setting up teleworking (charter or collective agreement, consultation of staff representatives), teleworking is voluntary for the employee and for the employer, with no exceptions to this principle. Therefore, signature of a contract expressly stipulating this is essential, when hiring or in an amendment to the employment contract.

Also, the contract of employment or the amendment to the contract must provide for the procedure to be followed to terminate telework, either during the adaptation period or after this adaptation period (reversibility clause).