By Gerard Naval
THE Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday pressed private establishments to continue adopting work-from-home schemes provided they are mutually agreed upon by employers and employees.
“DOLE calls on employers and workers to mutually adopt telecommuting programs to help sustain the country’s economic recovery,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said in Department Order (DO) No. 237.
“To optimize the benefits of technology, the State encourages employers and employees to jointly adopt and implement telecommuting programs that are based on voluntariness and mutual consent, taking into account competencies, available technologies and resources, the nature of the work to be done, and other practical circumstances,” the DOLE added.
Under the DOLE order, the terms and conditions of telecommuting shall not be less than the minimum labor standards, and shall not in any way diminish or impair the terms or conditions of employment contained in any applicable company policy or practice.
It also provides that the work performed in an alternative workplace shall be considered as work performed in the regular workplace of the employer.
DOLE said an employee is required to be on duty and the work performed in the alternative workplace shall be counted as hours worked.
It also stressed that telecommuting employees are not considered field personnel, except when their actual hours of work cannot be determined with reasonable certainty.
The DO also said the employers shall ensure that telecommuting employees are given the same treatment as those employees working at the employer’s regular workplace.
These include rules and policies on rate of pay, night differential pay, overtime pay, authorized hours of work, right to rest days, regular holidays, and special non-working days; and equivalent workload and performance standards of comparable workers at the employer’s premises.
Telecommuting workers should also have the same access to training and career development opportunities; receive appropriate training on the technical equipment at their disposal, and the characteristics and conditions of telecommuting; and possess the same collective rights as the workers at the employer’s premises.
“The employer shall also ensure that measures are taken, as much as reasonably possible, to prevent the telecommuting employee from being isolated from the rest of the working community in the company,” said DOLE.
Former presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion had earlier pushed for more employees to work on-site instead of their homes.
Concepcion said making more people go to workplaces will help stir the country’s economy.
In response, the Department of Health batted for the retention of the work-from-home arrangements, citing its benefits in terms of preventing COVID-19 transmission and helping gain mental and physical balance for workers.
