Teleworking and its models, understand!

Marília Silva de Mel
Lawyer at Marcos Martins Law Firm

The word “telework” comes from the Greek “tele” which means at a distance and “work” which is understood to mean paid professional activity, so the concept of telework is work carried out at a distance from the company, and we will highlight its models in this article.

Another definition of teleworking is that given by the ILO – World Labor Organization, which defines it as an activity carried out using information and communication technology resources, provided from a place far from the company or establishment, allowing a physical separation between the place where the services are provided and the place where the company operates.

It is clear, then, that what characterizes teleworking is distance, i.e. carrying out the activity away from the employer’s place of business, thus carried out through the use of technology and communication.

Teleworking is regulated by the CLT in article 75-A et seq, which were included with the entry into force of Law 13.467/2017, thus regulating the teleworking regime.

It so happens that when people talk about teleworking, they immediately think only of the home office, as if teleworking were synonymous with the home office, but it must be made clear that teleworking is a genre, i.e. it encompasses several modalities within itself, including the home office.

There are currently four teleworking models: home-based, telecenter-based, nomadic and transnational.

The best known is the home-based model, i.e. the home office This is when the employee provides services from home, with the help of technologies such as the internet.

Teleworking from home is when the employee performs the same activities as they would in the company, but does so from their home It is worth noting that there is no distinction between the work carried out inside the company and that carried out by the employee at home, by virtue of Article 6 of the CLT, which states that

However, it is necessary to point out that teleworking at home is not the same thing as working at home, the latter being characterized by manual functions, and the employee carrying out the tasks at home or in a family workshop, as provided for in article 73 of the CLT, while teleworking at home makes use of telematic and computerized means of command, control and supervision, which are not present in working at home

The second model of teleworking is that carried out in telecenters This type of work takes place in establishments outside the company’s headquarters, where teleworkers carry out their activities, in places where the company uses the space, and the space does not necessarily have to be owned by the company.

For example, the company can rent a commercial room in a certain location far from the company’s headquarters, and through technological and communication mechanisms, hire employees to carry out the company’s activities remotely.

In this same teleworking scheme, transnational teleworking can also occur, which is characterized when workers carry out their activities in other countries, at a distance from the company’s headquarters In this type of teleworking, it is important to always analyze the labor issues of the country where the teleworking activities will be carried out, since they could lead to problems with employment relations.

Finally, the last model of teleworking is considered to be nomadic, where the teleworker sometimes carries out their activities in a certain place and space, and at other times in another, not having a specific place (home, large centers…) to carry out their activities.

So it is certain that teleworking is not only, nor is it synonymous with the home office.

With regard to the types of teleworking, it is true that employees can be classified into online work, where the employee remains constantly connected to the company via electronic devices, or offline work, where the employee does not necessarily remain connected throughout the working day with the company, and the information related to work activities such as reports, spreadsheets, appointments, is sent to the company via traditional or electronic mail, e-mails and other technologies.

Therefore, in view of the regulation of teleworking in articles 75-A et seq. of the CLT, it is certain that companies must strictly follow the requirements laid down therein for hiring employees under this regime, especially with regard to formalizing an individual employment contract which specifically states the activities to be carried out.