On 11 October 2006, the social partners jointly presented their report on the implementation of the agreement across Europe four years after its conclusion. 21 countries - including the non-EU countries Iceland and Norway - have provided input to the report. 16 of those countries have implemented the agreement by way of national social partnership agreements; Ireland and the UK, which do not have a national system of collective bargaining, have introduced guides and codes of good practice; Hungary, Portugal and the Czech Republic have transposed the code in their labour law, setting an example which the Polish social partners wish to follow.
The report covers the following issues:
- Definition and Scope of the agreement in the different implementations;
- the voluntary character of telework for both the worker and the employer concerned;
- employment conditions. Teleworkers benefit from the same rights as comparable workers at the employer’s premises;
- measures to be taken by the employer to ensure that data processed by the teleworker is subject to appropriate data protection standards and that the teleworker's privacy is respected;
- questions concerning work equipment, liability and costs, which must be clearly defined before starting telework;
- protection of the teleworker's occupational health and safety, for which the employer is responsible of the teleworker in accordance applicable legislation at EU and national levels, and with collective agreements;
- the teleworker's working time, which he manages and organises himself, within company rules and applying the workload and performance standards applicable to comparable workers at the employer’s premises;
- access to training and career development opportunities, which must be the same as for comparable workers at the employer's premises;
- teleworkers' collective rights, which must be the same as for workers at the employer’s premises. In particular, no obstacles must be put to communicating with workers’ representatives, and;
- implementation and follow-up.
