Germany backs creating legal right to work from home after pandemic is over
Coronavirus pandemic has forced millions of peoples to work remotely. The German authority wants this to continue, even after the threat from the virus has passed. It is proposed to enshrine into law the right to work from home if it is feasible to do so. Labor Minister Hubertus Heil told the tabloid Bild am Sonntag newspaper that he aims to put forward such legislation. He said initial estimates suggest the proportion of the work force working from home has risen from 12% to 25% during the virus crisis, to around 8 million people. Heil was quoted as saying: “We are learning in the pandemic how much work can be done from home these days.” Politician stressed, “We want to enable more home working, but not force it.” Heil had already called long before the virus epidemic brought public life in Germany to a near-standstill – for the establishment of a right to work from home. Germany’s main employer group rejected the idea. The chief executive of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, Steffen Kampeter, said mobile work is in everyone’s interest when it is possible and makes sense, but “operational issues and customers’ wishes must play a central role.”
