The framework agreement on telework was negotiated in 2001/2002 and is the first agreement to be implemented by the social partners at national level (see procedure). The social partners see teleworking both as a means for companies and public service organisations to modernise work organisation and as a means for workers to reconcile work and social life, giving them greater autonomy in the performance of their tasks. The promotion of teleworking opportunities is one of the elements of the Commission`s proposals for an employment strategy in the information society. The Commission supports the work of the social partners to establish framework conditions and practical rules for the introduction of telework on a large scale. Home / Social dialogue in the EU / Inter-professional GNI / Results / Framework agreements / Framework agreement on telework (2002) A pilot project was launched in 1998 by the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities and the Directorate-General for the Information Society. These are three types of part-time telework: work at home and in the office, work on the road during official missions and occasional work in another Commission building. Teleworkers worked more overtime and (of course) often worked with a computer. With regard to their working conditions, teleworkers have experienced many degrees of freedom (autonomy) in their work and a wide variety of tasks. In addition, they found their managers favorable. However, teleworkers have also had to deal with a heavy workload. Teleworkers are defined in the agreement as follows: The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the Union of Industrial and Employers` Confederations of Europe / the European Union of Crafts and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UNICE/UEAPME) and the Centre for Enterprises with Public Participation (ECPE) have signed a framework agreement on telework to ensure greater security for teleworkers employed in the EU.

This agreement is of particular importance because it is the first European agreement concluded by the social partners themselves. Telework can generally be defined as a new way of working, where employees perform work activities that were previously typically performed in a central workplace (office), but are now performed remotely by the employer or contractor. In addition, work activities require the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) [1]. At EU level, the European social partners signed a framework agreement on telework in 2002 (detailed in Section 6). In this context, telework and its scope are defined as follows: ”a form of organisation and/or execution of work using information technology in the context of an employment contract/relationship in which work that could also be carried out on the employer`s premises is regularly carried out outside those premises. The agreement covers teleworkers. A teleworker is any person who carries out telework within the meaning of the above definition”. It is often assumed that employees who have the opportunity to telework have greater flexibility in the way they work with their colleagues, a better balance in their personal work situation, and greater flexibility in working hours [14]. However, work outside the office is voluntary for both parties, the employee and the employer. The shift to telework has no impact on employment status. If the employee refuses to switch to teleworking, this cannot be a reason for terminating the employment relationship or modifying the general conditions.

The decision to switch to telework may be overturned by individual and/or collective agreements if telework is not part of the original job description. Teleworkers enjoy the same rights as comparable workers on the employer`s premises, but it may be necessary to take into account the specificities of telework. Teleworkers have the same active and passive collective rights as employees on the employer`s premises. What all of these decentralized ways of working have in common is that they can give workers more flexibility and control over where they perform a task. During the Industrial Revolution, employees were tied to their workplace to perform a specific task. In recent decades, European countries and Western society in general have moved from an industry-based way of working to a more information-based way of working (especially in the service sector). This, combined with new technological possibilities, has allowed companies to solve the time and tasks of locations. Those who adopt or introduce telecommuting often have high expectations. On the one hand, they aim to increase workers` flexibility and control over aspects such as working hours and the workplace in order to create more productive employees with greater job satisfaction. On the other hand, these proponents of telework aim to reduce operating costs by reducing the required number of square meters of office buildings [9]. In addition, telecommuting is promoted as a way to reduce air pollution by reducing commuter traffic, while helping to solve mobility problems. In addition, teleworking can also be used as a means of ensuring business continuity.

When workers are affected by critical events such as extreme weather, social distancing and isolation measures to combat epidemics (e.B. Covid-19), natural disasters,. Telecommuting offers opportunities to continue working. However, this requires solid planning and good communication. It is also important to ensure OSH support for these casual teleworkers and to provide advice on how to organise their workplace. Member organisations shall report on the implementation of this Agreement to an ad hoc group set up by the signatory Parties under the responsibility of the Social Dialogue Committee. Within four years of the signature of this Agreement, that ad hoc group shall draw up a joint report on the implementing measures taken. As telework covers a wide range of rapidly changing circumstances, the social partners have chosen a definition of telework covering various forms of regular telework. The agreement aims to establish a general framework for the employment conditions of teleworkers at European level and to reconcile the needs of employers and workers in terms of flexibility and security. It offers teleworkers the same general level of protection as workers who operate on the employer`s premises.

This new agreement directly supports the strategy defined at the Lisbon European Council and the transition to a knowledge-based economy and society, in line with the Lisbon objectives. More detailed data on the prevalence of telework are available in the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS), carried out every five years by Eurofound. The 2017 and 2020 reports on telework and ICT-based mobile work present data based on the EWC 2015 [2][3]. Around 19% of workers in the EU have ICT-based teleworking and mobile phone devices at work. Of these, nearly half are employees who are occasionally mobile, while a quarter are highly mobile employees. Across the EU, ICT-based telework/mobile work is most prevalent in the Scandinavian countries and, to a lesser extent, in Southern and Eastern Europe (Figure 2). Differences between countries can be explained by various factors such as ICT prevalence, geography and work culture, including business models. The sectors with the highest proportion of workers equipped with telework/ICT-based mobile devices are information and communication, professional and scientific activities, financial services, real estate and public administration (based on EWC 2015 data). These are sectors where access to ICTs is high. Some differences can be observed with regard to the different types of mobile arrangements based on telework and ICT.

For example, working from home is mainly found in education, and highly mobile telework is spread across all sectors, but is more focused on wholesale and retail trade [3]. .