Berlin – The corona virus has forced millions of employees in Germany to work from home. But that will theoretically end from July – even if the pandemic has not yet been overcome. The obligation for companies to offer mobile working wherever possible expired on Wednesday. The regulation has been in place since January and was a response from politicians to increasing numbers of infections. In mid-April, almost every second employee worked entirely or predominantly from home, as the Bonn Research Institute for the Future of Work (IZA) determined.
With the end of the obligation to work from home, working life should now return to normal. A development that Berlin’s economy welcomes. “In view of the continuing decline in incidences, it is right that the obligation to work from home falls and that employees can work more locally again,” says Henrik Vagt, Managing Director of Economics and Politics at the Berlin Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Home office: Corona health and safety regulations apply until September
It is unlikely, however, that the offices will soon fill up again. Just a week ago, the federal cabinet extended the Corona occupational health and safety ordinance to September 10th. Employers are still encouraged to let their employees work from home – if possible. It also remains that companies must have a hygiene concept, distance regulations continue to apply and the wearing of mouth and nose protection is mandatory.
The past few months have shown that mobile working is possible without any problems in many cases. Acceptance for this is also increasing among companies. In surveys, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry found that more than 40 percent of Berlin companies want to integrate mobile working into their corporate culture. “Where it worked well, we assume that home office will remain an integral part of the way we work,” Vagt told the Berliner Zeitung.
There is no guarantee for this, however. Because: Employees in Germany have no legal right to work from home. The SPD, the Greens and the Left want to change this. Pressure is also coming from the unions. DGB boss Reiner Hoffmann has called for a quick legal succession for the expiring home office obligation. “Beyond the pandemic, we must use the opportunities that lie in mobile work,” said Hoffmann on Wednesday in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”.
Johanna Wenckebach, head of the Hugo Sinzheimer Institute for Labor Law (HSI) of the union-related Hans Böckler Foundation, also told the Berliner Zeitung: “A legal right to work from home creates clear rules and can thus positively change the work culture – if the employees have more Autonomy is granted ”. Ecological aspects such as the elimination of the daily commute to work also played a role. A right to work from home, says Wenckebach, can also help in the fight against the shortage of skilled workers.
Home office: Economist promotes individual and company agreements
However, it is disputed among experts whether the desired change in the world of work can be legally prescribed. The home office can establish a new standard in many areas – but it doesn’t have to be that way. “This is a balancing process,” says Oliver Stettes, head of the labor market and working world competence field at the Institute for the German Economy (IW) in Cologne. So there has to be a balance between company interests and individual needs. Not every workplace is suitable for working from home. And not every activity can be carried out from everywhere. “It would be absurd if labor courts had to decide on it in case of doubt,” said Stettes of the Berliner Zeitung. The economist promotes operational and individual agreements. “Whether it works and how it works is decided at the team level,” says the researcher.
The issue of legal entitlement is also viewed critically in Berlin’s economy. “The cultural change has long since been initiated,” said IHK representative Henrik Vagt, referring to the increasing number of companies that offer mobile working. In the short term, however, there is no legal regulation for home office anyway. At the request of the Berliner Zeitung, the Federal Ministry of Labor announced that this was a project for the coming legislative period. Or in other words: with the Union, the SPD does not get the legal right to home office.
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