Telework, home office and mobile working
Also: Telearbeit, Homeoffice, mobiles Arbeiten, remote work, working from home
Definition
Telework stations are display screen workstations permanently set up by the employer in the employee's private area with an agreed duration and working hours (Section 2 (7) of the German Workplaces Ordinance). Mobile working is work from changing locations without a fixed workstation. “Home office” is not a legal term and means one or the other depending on the arrangement.
The Workplaces Ordinance applies to telework stations with restrictions: the employer equips the workstation, assesses the hazards when setting it up and provides safety instruction. The Workplaces Ordinance does not apply to mobile working, but the Occupational Safety and Health Act (risk assessment, safety instruction) and the Working Hours Act do.
Since 2021, statutory accident insurance has also covered routes within the home to work and routes to childcare from the home office (Section 8 SGB VII). The works council has a right of co-determination in the design of mobile working (Section 87 (1) No. 14 of the Works Constitution Act).
Legal basis
- Section 2 (7), Section 1 (3) of the Workplaces Ordinance
- Sections 5, 12 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act
- Section 8 SGB VII
- Section 87 (1) No. 14 of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG)
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Related terms
This glossary entry gives a general overview of German occupational safety law and does not replace legal advice. The regulations in force and the rules of the statutory accident insurance institutions are authoritative.
