New agreement on teleworking

Following the opinion approved unanimously by its members, issued on 11 September 2020 by the Conseil économique et social (“CES”), the social partners LCGB, OGBL and UEL signed a new agreement on 20 October 2020 on teleworking (“Agreement”), which will come into force once it has been declared “d’obligation générale” by Grand-Ducal regulation, which is expected before the end of the year 2020.

This Agreement upholds the voluntary nature of teleworking for both employee and employer but innovates on various aspects, in particular:

• the definition of telework is revisited by being more specific and the scope of the Agreement is clarified by explicit exclusions;
• the terms of regular and occasional telework are clarified by setting a threshold for occasional telework;
• the involvement of employee representatives is accrued;
• the rule of non-discrimination/equal treatment between teleworkers and other workers is introduced; and
• the rights and obligations of the parties with regard to data protection, work equipment, health and safety, work organisation and training are provided for.

Once the Grand-Ducal regulation declaring this Agreement “d’obligation générale”, the agreement, entered into on 21 February 2006, on teleworking currently in force, will elapse.