In recent years, terms such as smart working, agile working or workation have become firmly established in the working lexicon. These new ways of working bring with them opportunities and competitiveness, but also new responsibilities and risks, especially in terms of health and safety.

The concept of a “workplace” is no longer only linked to a physical company space. It can be one’s own home, a second home, a library or a coworking space. However, the dematerialisation of work space raises questions: how should security be managed?

Agile work, regulated by Law No. 81/2017, requires the worker to cooperate in the implementation of preventive measures prepared by the employer. The legislator, in fact, has not provided for a transfer of the burden of prevention and self-protection onto the worker.

The phenomenon of workation – from the combination of “work” and “vacation” – is perhaps the most significant representation. More and more people are choosing to work from holiday locations and more and more companies are granting it. The objective? To combine productivity and well-being. But in these cases the risks can be even more complex: inadequate facilities, unstable connections, ergonomically incorrect workstations, social isolation, confusion between working time and leisure time.

The employer always remains at the centre as the main person responsible for the health and safety of company staff. Prevention and Protection Services and Workers’ Safety Representatives must adapt their activities to a (physically) distributed work population, using digital tools to monitor risks and involve workers.

Continue reading the full version published on Itali Oggi.

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.