Home-based teleworking may soon be regulated by law

Home-based telework in Norway may soon be regulated by the Working Environment Act according to a Green Paper published by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development in summer 1998. The implication is that employees working at home will be safeguarded in the same way as normal employees. The NHO employers' organisation is critical of such an addition to the legal framework.

Home-based teleworking may soon be regulated by law, according to a Green Paper published by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development in summer 1998. It is suggested that home-based work should be incorporated into the Working Environment Act (Arbeidsmiljøloven). At present, the Working Environment Act is applicable to any enterprise with employees, and also to any work activity that takes place outside the confines of that enterprise. However, home-based work falls outside the scope of the Act (NO9802149F).

If the Act is made applicable to home-based work, the employees concerned will be safeguarded in the same way as employees in normal office environments. According to the Ministry's proposal, the employer would be responsible for the provision of a working environment that meets the same requirements as in a normal office situation. An employee would have to spend a minimum of 10-15 hours per week working at home to fall within the scope of the Act. Freelancers and self-employed people would not not included. The Act's provisions concerning working time and overtime, as well as the general provisions concerning hygiene, noise, safety etc, would be made applicable to home based work. Home-based workers would receive the same employment protection and the same right to employment contracts as other employees, and would have access to an industrial safety officer and a working environment committee. The Ministry's proposal also suggests that the Directorate of Labour Inspection is given the authority to undertake inspections in private homes in which teleworking is taking place, which is very much in line with the proposal for new provisions concerning home based work drafted in 1996 by Henning Jakhelln, Professor of Labour Law at the University of Oslo (NO9802149F).

The increasing wish among employees to work at home has led the Ministry to suggest amending the legal framework. Surveys show that approximately 8% of employees spend at least five hours a week working at home. The Green Paper is an invitation to the social partners, and other related institutions, to air their opinions and comment on the issue. The Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (Næringslivets hovedorganisasjon, NHO) is sceptical about what it regards as a centralisation of control, and argues that due to the lack of telework experience in Norway, it is still too early to regulate this area of work organisation.