CORe Alert re Remote Workers and Announcement re Spring Meeting

Greetings, and Happy New Year! The convergence family hopes 2024 will be a great one for you and yours.

We’re thrilled to announce that the convergence Spring 2024 CORe meeting is taking place, and will focus on current multinational company challenges of meeting legal requirements related to the health and safety (H&S) of remote workers in home offices or spaces outside of the traditional “workplace” – these requirements have multiplied since the start of the COVID pandemic.

• The Spring meeting is open to all interested companies and at no charge for all Premier CORe member companies.  Please let us know if you are interested in learning more about the Spring meeting. info@cc-global.com

• Read more below on the challenge of remote worker requirements, and a list of many countries where new legislation has already taken effect.

GENERAL TRENDS: Remote worker legal requirements typically involve the employer entering into a contract with the remote worker; and the employer providing, at its expense, proper and safe working equipment, such as a desk chair, computer, lighting, first aid, etc. However, a number of countries – for example Poland, Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, Thailand, and others – are taking it a step further. They mandate the H&S protections for the traditional in-office workers and their workplaces are now required for the remote worker and their workspace, for instance risk assessment, ergonomic assessment, periodic H&S inspections, etc.

AN EXAMPLE – MEXICO: Below we have summarized the employer’s H&S obligations in Mexico’s new remote worker law (NOM).

Mexico’s new teleworker (remote worker) mandatory standard took effect December 7, 2023; NOM-037-STPS-2023, Telework – Occupational health and safety conditions. The full text, with the English translation*, of the NOM is enclosed for your review. Of particular interest is the “Employer Obligations” section 5.1 through 5.14 (see pages 8 – 14 of the enclosed document). Employer obligations include, but are not limited to:

• Maintaining a confidential list of all remote work employees,

• Establishing a telework policy that complies with union/collective bargaining as well as gender requirements (e.g., breastfeeding),

• Informing employees of H&S risks they might face,

• Maintaining a checklist of teleworking H&S conditions,

• Ensuring that remote workplaces comply with all H&S requirements that apply to traditional workplaces,

• Providing ergonomic equipment and maintaining communication equipment,

• Providing the remote employee training at least once a year on H&S conditions,

• Providing medical examinations as required under NOM-030, and

• Investigating remote workplace accidents and following procedures for reporting them.

The potential consequences to a company for not complying with this new NOM is a fine of US$ 1,536 to US$ 30,726.

*English translation provided by Mexicanlaws.

COUNTRIES WITH NEW REMOTE WORKER REGULATIONS: Other countries that, since 2021, promulgated regulations on the employer’s H&S obligations to their remote workforce:

Australia

India

Romania

Brazil

Italy

Russia

Chile

Luxembourg

Slovakia

Colombia

Norway

Sweden

Czech Republic

Peru

Taiwan

Denmark

Philippines

Turkey

Greece

Portugal

QUESTIONS? We are always here to help - with H&S compliance professionals available in over 50 countries, and with regulatory resources such as country Legal Registers or Compliance Checklists. Please contact us or if you have questions or wish more information about our Spring meeting.  

Visit our website to learn more about our suite of country EHS legal compliance resources developed exclusively for the office, retail store and service sectors.