Remote work in Ukraine: problems and prospects of improving its legal regulation

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problems and prospects of legal regulation of remote work in Ukraine. Attention is paid to international and European standards dedicated to the features of remote work. Special attention is devoted to the study of the problems of limiting remote work for certain categories of workers under martial law. The conclusion is justified that the concept of “remote work” can be used to denote two phenomena that are different in their content. Firstly, remote work is a special mode of work that can be applied temporarily by the employer’s decision as a forced measure in the event of certain life-threatening circumstances or people’s health. Secondly, remote work as a special labour organization provides that teleworkers constantly perform work outside the employer’s location due to the specificity of their labour function. The use of an electronic digital signature in the interaction between the employer and the remote worker is a separate problem in the course of organizing remote work.The question arises about the financial costs of obtaining it (on whom they should rely)and the need to use such a signature when familiarizing the remote worker with the orders, job description, and local acts of the employer. Also, the possibility of bringing a teleworker to disciplinary responsibility remains an unsolved problem, in particular, in what way the disciplinary offenses of such a worker should be documented, and his guilt should be established if the improper performance of labor duties was due to technical reasons or other circumstances independent of the worker. The latter becomes especially relevant in the current conditions of a full-scale war with russia, given the difficult situation in the dilapidated energy system of Ukraine, constant power outages and lack of mobile or internet connection. Proposals regarding the need to improve the legal regulation of remote work in a separate section of the Labour Code are formulated. In particular with the regulation of the ways of interaction between the employer and the teleworker in the process of performing work (the order of protection and exchange of information, transfer of the employer’s tasks, control over their execution); access of teleworkers to opportunities for training and career growth; the mechanism for protecting the rights of teleworkers with the help of trade unions, their participation in collective negotiations and the resolution of collective labour disputes. Key words: remote work, special form of labour organization, labour contract on remote work, non-standard employment.