Colombia: Congress transfers Work at Home Bill for Presidential Sanction

This bill seeks to regulate how employers will apply the measure of work at home, introducing the following guidelines:

• Temporary place: The regulation aims at regulating general work conditions to work temporarily from an unusual place, despite the name of the regulation, “Work at Home”.
• Exceptionality: It is an occasional, exceptional, or extraordinary measure that does not lead to working conditions’ variation agreed in the employment contract.
• Coordination: The employer’s subordination is maintained, establishing coordination in the execution of the worker’s activities, functions, and services.
• Disconnection from work: Workers have the right to enjoy rest periods during the workday, require permits and licenses during the day from the employer, recognition of vacations and holidays, to reconcile the personal, family and work-life of the employee.
• Term: The authorisation of work at home will be extended for up to three (3) months, extendable for an equal term only once; however, if the rare, exceptional, or extraordinary circumstances persist that prevented the worker from carrying out his duties at the employer’s workplace, this measure will be extended until such conditions disappear.
• Work elements: The worker may have their equipment and other tools to perform their functions if there is an agreement with the employer. In the absence of any agreement, the employer will provide the tools required to develop the contracted role.
• Connectivity aid: The workers who earn up to two (2) legal monthly minimum wages will have a digital connectivity aid while providing their services under the authorisation of work at home.

Finally, this bill is waiting to pass to the last phase; the President of the Republic’s sanction.