On December 23rd 2022, by Ministerial Agreement No. MDT-2022-237 (hereafter the “Agreement”) the Labor Ministry established regulatory guidelines for remote work agreements and the exercise of the right to remain disconnected from work, in accordance with the following terms:
• Employees rendering their services under remote work have the same rights and obligations as employees working on a presence-based modality. • By mutual agreement, the scope of the labor relationship may be remote from the beginning or change to remote at any time thereafter. In any case, the duration must be specified.• The employer must provide the necessary inputs and equipment to perform the remote work agreement. Any payment in relation to equipment or supplies required to work remotely are not considered as part of the employee remuneration.• The employer must control that safety and occupation health regulations are complied with in the workspace. • The employer has 30 days to register the remote work agreement and 15 days to register the agreement that changes the labor relationship form a presence-based modality to a remote modality in the “Sistema Único de Trabajo” (SUT).• The employee has the right to remain disconnected for at least 12 consecutive hours in a period of 24 hours and the employer must control this period of disconnection is complied with. The latter does not imply that 12-hour workdays may be established.• Within 90 days from the issuance of the Agreement (until March 23rd, 2023) the employer must establish an internal policy that ensures disconnection time. The policy should include at least the following:
a) Training and education on the respect of working time and the right to disconnection.b) Guidelines for the formulation of requirements whilst the employee is not on working time.c) Guidelines so that the use of technology and information does not affect the right of disconnection. d) Internal complaints procedure regarding non-compliance of the right to disconnection.
• The Agreement overrides the Ministerial Agreement No. MDT-2020-181 of the 14th of September 2020, which regulated remote work.
Specialist in Labor Law
Edmundo Ramos, partner at CorralRosales
eramos@corralrosales.com
+593 2 2544144
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