Work at Home and the Working Hours

This flexible work schedule shall be explainable in the work sociology by noticing that generally, the individuals benefiting from a flexible work schedule have better results in their work .

In organizing their own work schedule, the specialists (psychologists, astrologists etc.) recommend to work out a personal study in order to find the biorhythm. Besides the biorhythms which are known: day/night, rest/tiredness, sleep/wake, etc. there are also some other biorhythms ranging our physical and mental abilities, as well as the health of our entire body. Some individuals have greater labor productivity during the first half of the day and other individuals’ productivity is greater during the second half of the day. Not always, almost never the best work intervals can be included in the ordinary schedule „from 9.00 up to 18.00”.
Of course for on-line teleworkers , connected permanently to the employer’s network, this flexibility of the work schedule shall be reduced particularly if the services rendered to several customers involves the observance of their work schedule. Nevertheless, depending on the subjective and objective requirements of their work, there may be established flexible work schedules also for them – as carrying out the work quota and satisfying the customers are more important.

If the employee is more comfortable receiving the wage when working at the office almost in every situation, even if the submission of the balance sheet is postponed for another day, even if the agreement has been terminated etc., when working at home he is not aware that time means money and every private conversation on the phone which is too long or any visit that a friend pays to him shall represent a reason for blaming himself. At the same time, the fact that the employee is not directed and verified anymore, regularly, not when carrying out the work, but on its completion he shall render the detection of mistakes more difficult.
The employees working at home must establish a strict and efficient working schedule, so that they do not reduce their spare time to which they shall be entitled exactly as the workers within the ordinary system. The clear difference between work and private life is also one of the most difficult principles to be observed, by carrying out the selection between the remarkable teleworkers and the others.

Taking into account these matters related to the free organization of work and schedule, the experts shall recommend individuals having a psychological and sociological balance, proving to be self-disciplined and self-motivated, and also able to replace the ordinary communication at the workplace by other methods – personal or provided by the employer, his peers. This aspect shall be required as the complete long-term isolation from the work collective may represent an issue for some persons losing the training and the direction that his peers receive by informal learning from the ordinary collective.

The work schedule of the individual working at home shall be bound to the work quota which, as far as concerns us, due to the peculiarity of the situation, may be expressed as rates of production, staff quotas, scope of duties or as some other forms corresponding to the peculiarity of any activity and less as hour norms, as this type of norm may be expressed only for on-line teleworkers. As a consequence of the above mentioned aspects, the remuneration shall be regularly established by consent and by exception under State supervision, due to the fact that the work is essentially based upon the result.

For the purposes of the above mentioned aspects, we hereby point out that in Hungary , only those activities which can be rated and carried on independently shall be performed at home, as the employee working at home shall be paid proportional to the work result, materialized in a product, and not proportional to the hours worked. The employer shall be forbidden to establish to the employee working at home work quotas more disadvantageous than those established for the employees performing their job at the workplace. Similarly, in Italy, as the employer neither organizes the work nor establishes a work schedule, the wage shall be established proportional to the results achieved, according to the tariffs set forth in the collective employment agreements. The normal / full work schedule shall have also another meaning in this country – that is in case the employer grants to the employee working at home a continuous work corresponding to such a schedule, the latter shall not carry on competitive activities to the detriment of his employer.
Of course in compliance with item 15 of the Recommendation no. 184/1996 of the International Labor Organization [13], when establishing the work quota and the wage there shall be taken into account the employee comparable to that of the same employer – the worker employed full time at the registered office/residence of the employer, performing the same activity or a similar activity, taking into account other considerations such as his job seniority and the occupational qualification/abilities. After establishing this work, the time equation shall be determined for the employee working at home, including the aspect related to overtime work, by adjusting the common regulations.

To this end, there shall be pointed out that in Spain, the wage of the employee working at home, however its established form may be, shall be at least equal to that of a worker belonging to the occupational category equivalent to the economic sector which he is part of. We must take into account the obligation of the employer to keep the record of the working hours, which may be subject to the verification of the labor inspection as well, according to art.116 of the local Labor Code.

Concerning the overtime work, art. L 721–16 of the French Labor Code decides to increase the execution tariff when an assignor of works requires certain delivery deadlines of end products, so that the work may be performed on Sundays or during the legal holidays. The right of those affected by the increases shall be appreciated depending on the execution deadlines established for ordinary situations and taking into account that the employee working at home may resort to the support of his family members.

Similarly, the laws of Uzbekistan set forth that the employee working at home establishes himself his working hours, that is these hours and the work quota as well, shall result from the volume of production task and of other conditions specified in the employment agreement. That is why, when establishing the rate of production for the employee working at home the employer must take into consideration, the hour norms necessary for the execution of certain types of works, so that the total duration of the work time for executing all the works does not exceed the normal or reduced duration of the working hours established pursuant to law, both for the ordinary workers and for individuals who have not reached the age of 18 years yet or are classified according to disability ranks. Insofar as the employee working at home is supported by his family members, they shall participate in achieving the work quota and in observing the work schedule. But the employee specified in the agreement shall be the only liable to the employer concerning the quality of works executed together with his family members.