Head of the Chancellery Braun End of the home office obligation from July
Status: 16.06.2021 5:22 p.m.
In all likelihood, employers will no longer have to offer a home office from July. The corresponding obligation expires. The existing hygiene concepts at the workplace should, however, continue to be adhered to. Chancellery chief Helge Braun has announced an end to the home office obligation. Employers would no longer have to offer a home office from July. “The statutory home office obligation is part of the Infection Protection Act – better known as the ’emergency brake’ – and will expire at the end of June,” said Braun of the “Wirtschaftswoche”.
“Federal Emergency Brake” What will change with tests and home office? The amendment to the Infection Protection Act will also make labor law rules more binding.
“Favorable situation”
The “Federal Emergency Brake”, which was only introduced in April provides that the federal government can enforce uniform corona protective measures in areas with incidence values above 100. The Infection Protection Act is limited to June 30th. There had recently been talks within the federal government, in particular about an extension of the home office requirement. Braun has now confirmed, however, that the emergency brake will not be extended at this point in time because the situation is currently “favorable”.
Test offer in companies should remain
According to the Ministry of Labor, rules at the workplace are currently being discussed according to the home office obligation. It is only about “basic requirements” at the workplace such as contact reduction, the obligation to test offers and the obligation to hygiene concepts, according to a spokeswoman. Companies must therefore continue to offer employees in companies a corona test twice a week. This emerges from the draft of the new occupational health and safety ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Labor. “We will extend the amended occupational health and safety ordinance so that the protection of employees is in the foreground even when the incidence is falling,” said Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD). In view of the low corona incidences, however, the obligation to work from home can no longer be justified with occupational safety and is therefore no longer applicable. The SPD politician emphasized that a mixture of presence culture and home office would be “the new normal”. “And for that we need a binding legal framework,” stressed Heil.
Change due to the corona crisis How the pandemic is changing the way we work A return to the office is foreseeable in many companies. What is left of the day-to-day work of the pandemic?
Braun: “New edition of the ’emergency brake’ possibly in autumn”
Chancellery chief Braun said of a possible new edition of the “Federal Emergency Brake” that this would depend on the vaccination rate, the effect of the vaccines and the possible spread of further virus mutations in the autumn. “If the numbers went up again, then you would have to decide quickly.” At the moment there is no reason to extend the “federal emergency brake”.
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