Main European legislation related to telework

Temática
Social Security

Even though there´s no specific legislation regulating telework at a European level, there are, however, regulations and directives covering telework—related issues. In addition, each State has developed it own legislation to regulate national telework in greater or lesser detail.

European legislation guarantees the freedom of movement of workers and the freedom for companies to provide services in another Member State, but these rights must also respect the specific rules of each Member State. In general, the provision of services by companies in another Member State covers the temporary posting of workers, but not the permanent posting of workers. In this case, we must return to each State's own regulations, which will determine the obligations to be assumed by the employer.

The following list of regulations may help you to learn more and understand the complexity of this issue.

List of the main European legislation related to teleworking

  • Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union..
  • Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the coordination of social security systems.
  • Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 September 2009 laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems.
  • Regulation (EU) 2019/1149 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 June 2019 establishing the European Labour Authority, amending Regulations (EC) No. 883/2004, (EU) No. 492/2011 and (EU) 2016/589 and repealing Decision (EU) 2016/344.
  • Regulation (EU) 492/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on freedom of movement for workers within the Union.
  • Directive 96/71/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 1996 concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and Directive 2014/67/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on ensuring compliance with Directive 96/71/EC concerning the posting of workers in the framework of the provision of services and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012 on administrative cooperation through the Internal Market Information System (IMI Regulation).
  • Directive 2014/54/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on measures to facilitate the exercise of rights conferred on workers in the context of freedom of movement for workers.
  • Regulation (EU) 2016/589 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 April 2016 on a European network of employment services (EURES), on access of workers to mobility services and further integration of labour markets and amending Regulations (EU) No 492/2011 and (EU) No 1296/2013.
  • Bilateral agreements between states.