Background: The distant working mannequin entered Turkish legislation in 2016 with the modification of Article 14 of the Labor Legislation No. 4857 (“Labor Legislation“). Distant work is outlined as an employment relationship during which an worker performs work from home or exterior the office utilizing technological technique of communication, as a part of a piece group created by an employer The modification clarifies that the small print, procedures and ideas of the distant working mannequin can be regulated by regulation.

What modified? Following the consequences of the pandemic on the Turkish labor panorama, the long-awaited regulation was revealed within the Official Gazette on March 10, 2021 by the Ministry of Household, Labor and Social Providers. The principle points launched by the regulation are summarized under.

Key issues to contemplate when designing distant working relationships:

Settlement: An settlement have to be in writing. This can be a formal requirement. An settlement ought to embody:

• Definition of the work,
• Work procedures,
• Working hours, period and placement of distant work,
• Wage and technique of fee,
• The instruments and gear offered, and the obligations for his or her safety,
• Phrases of communication between the employer and the worker,
• Normal and particular situations.

Supplies and dealing instruments: Until in any other case laid out in an employment contract, the availability of supplies and work instruments vital for the manufacturing of products and companies by a distant worker shall be lined by an employer. An inventory of the work instruments offered, indicating their price on the date of supply, have to be given to the worker in writing, and a duplicate of this doc have to be added to his private file / settlement. The ideas of use and upkeep and the situations for repairing instruments should even be defined to the worker in a transparent and comprehensible method.

Knowledge safety: An employer is required to coach workers about enterprise guidelines and related laws referring to the safety and sharing of information within the office and at work, and to take the mandatory steps to guard that knowledge. Workers are required to adjust to their employer’s knowledge safety guidelines. Employers ought to decide the definition and scope of information to be protected within the employment contract.

Occupational well being and security: An employer is required to tell workers about well being and security at work, to supply the mandatory coaching, to hold out well being examinations and to take all the mandatory measures for the instruments offered for distant work in issues of well being. and occupational security.

Employment during which distant work is prohibited:

The rules don’t permit distant work when working with hazardous chemical compounds and radioactive substances, the processing of those substances, work with the waste of those substances or work processes which may be uncovered to hazards. organic elements. Work which is of strategic significance to nationwide safety as outlined by the related public establishments can also be prohibited.

Transition to distant work:

• Employment contracts can begin immediately as a distant employment relationship, or an present relationship might be transformed to distant employment by mutual settlement of the events. An exception to this precept is that the swap to distant work is on the sole discretion of the employer attributable to drive majeure occasions listed within the laws.
• Workers may request to modify to distant work. In that case:
  • The request have to be made in writing.
  • An employer ought to assess the job and worker’s {qualifications} and notify them inside 30 days. A written distant work settlement with obligatory components have to be signed if the request is accepted.

Conclusion: The regulation echoes the ideas of labor legislation from 5 years in the past, however goes past that by defining the small print, procedures and processes of distant working. The regulation additionally requires workers to take procedural, preventive and principled steps earlier than coming into right into a distance employment contract. Whether or not it is beginning a brand new employment relationship for distant work or changing an workplace relationship to distant work, workers and employers should adjust to the rules and search authorized recommendation if vital. You possibly can learn the rules within the Official Journal right here. (Out there in Turkish solely)

Because of Simay Yetimoglu for his assistance on this text.