The Italian employment landscape: Could remote working become a right? The english case (Italia Oggi 4 November – Vittorio De Luca, Martina De Angeli)

The Italian employment sector, which has recently brought this issue back into focus in its discussions, might view this question as somewhat provocative.

Under our legal system, remote working is defined as a mode of execution of the employment relationship, which is to be established through an agreement between the parties. This means that the employee could request it, but it is ultimately up to the employer to decide whether or not to introduce this mode of executing work duties within their organization. The employer has the discretion to make this decision without even needing to provide any justification—current Italian law does not require the company to offer explanations or reasons.

In contrast, the approach proposed by the UK Labour government seems to go in a different direction. On October 10th, the so-called “Employment Rights Bill” was introduced and explained to Parliament—a bill that, in twenty-eight points, aims to reform workers’ rights in the UK.

Among the numerous reforms that the proposal seeks to introduce, which have already sparked both anticipation and concerns from businesses, the “Employment Rights Bill” promotes flexible working to such an extent that “working from home” could become the default rule for all employees—provided that the tasks assigned are compatible with this mode of performing work duties. Specifically, the bill provides that employees can, from the very first day of employment, request to work flexibly, and, on the other hand, the employer has the possibility to refuse a request, but only if they can demonstrate a legitimate reason for doing so.

Continue reading the full version published in italia Oggi.