Work From Home Latest Update: As per media reports, the Central government has started discussions to ascertain rules where the country can regulate work from home as this model is going to stay for long time.
New Delhi: Amid rising cases of Omicron and the ongoing pandemic, the work from home culture might continue in the next year and media reports on Thursday suggested that the Central government is working on a plan to bring a legal structure that is aimed at defining the liability of employers for employees who work from home.
For more than two years now, the work from home culture has seen a significant rise not just in in India, but globally due to the outbreak of coronavirus and Omicron variant.
As per a report in the Economic Times, the central government is working on an idea to chalk out a legal framework for the new models of work that have resulted out of the pandemic. The framework of the government would include the work from home model as well as the hybrid work model where employees have to go to the office for a certain number of days in a week.
It must be noted that various companies across the country and world are now following these models of work to protect their employees from the coronavirus.
Read More:- Omicron: Germany Announces Fourth Booster Dose, Britain May Follow
People closely associated with the matter told ET that the Central government is considering fixing work hours for employees and payment of additional expenses incurred by them for internet and electricity due to working from home.
A government official told ET that the central government has started discussions to ascertain rules where the country can regulate work from home as this model is going to stay for long time as long as the virus is there.
Giving details, the official said that a consultancy firm is being roped in to determine the future of ‘work from home’ culture in the backdrop of the COVID pandemic and the benefits it brings to stakeholders. He further added that in the new structure, companies of all sectors will be asked to follow the guidelines.
The move from the government carries significance as many other countries have started to impose such rules for work from home culture.
It must be noted that Portugal recently passed a law for protections employees working away from their offices.
The Central government also had in January formalised the work for home structure for the services sector. The rules allowed the employers and employees mutually decide the working hours.
