“The approved decree-law extends, until December 31 2021, the exceptional and transitional measure for reorganising work and minimising the risks of transmitting the infection of the Covid-19 disease within the scope of work relations, notwithstanding the possible additional extension after consultation with social partners”, reads the Council of Ministers’ communiqué.

According to an official source of the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, at issue is Decree-Law no. 79-A / 2020, which establishes mandatory teleworking and the delay in the hours of entry and exit of workers, a decree whose validity ended this month.

According to the decree, “it is mandatory to adopt the teleworking regime, regardless of the employment relationship, whenever the position in question permits it and the employee meets all the conditions to exercise them, without the need for a written agreement between the employer and the worker”.

"Exceptionally, when the employer considers that the conditions" referred to are not met, "he must inform the employee, in good reason and in writing, of his decision, and he must demonstrate that the tasks in question are not compatible with the teleworking regime or the lack of technical conditions for its implementation”, the decree-law further stipulates.

The worker can ask the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT) to verify the facts claimed by the employer.

“Teleworkers have the same rights and duties as other workers, with no cut in pay, under the terms set out in the Labour Code or in collective labor conventions, namely with regard to limits on normal working hours and other working conditions, occupational safety and health and repair of damages resulting from an accident at work or occupational disease, while still maintaining the right to receive the meal allowance that was already due to you”, reads in the decree.