Smart Working: all updates from January 2023

Smart Working: the new provisions

From 1 January 2023 the rules governing smart-working have changed. In practice The pre-pandemic rules are back in force. From today, in fact, companies will have to sign an individual agreement with employees to define the methods and times of smart working. The agreement, however, may be communicated in a facilitated manner. To activate agile working, the company and employees will have to sign the individual agreement, according to the guidelines of the «National Protocol on agile working» signed by the Ministry of Labor in 2022, which will be transmitted following the new rules established by the Simplification Decree.

In particular, must be specified:

• the duration of the agreement;
• the alternation between periods of work inside and outside the company premises;
• places where it is not possible to carry out work,
• the work tools used;
• the worker’s rest times and the measures necessary to guarantee disconnection;
• the forms and methods of monitoring work performance outside company premises, in compliance with privacy legislation;
• any training necessary to carry out the work in agile mode;
• the forms and methods of exercising trade union rights.

According to the instructions updated by the Ministry decree of 22 August 2022, the simplified communication must be sent within 5 days of the activation of smart working. This method, introduced during the emergency period, allows only the data relating to the names of the workers involved and the start and end dates of the service in agile mode to be sent to the Ministry.
However, signing the individual agreement remains mandatory and must be kept by the employer for 5 years. The form must be sent electronically via the online services of the Ministry of Labour, which can be reached on the “servizi.lavoro.gov.it” website which can be accessed with SPID or CIE. Alternatively, employers can broadcast the model in massive (REST) ​​mode. In case of failure or late communication, a fine of between 100 and 500 euros is applied for each worker involved.

Extension for fragile workers

Fragile workers will instead be able to continue to take advantage of agile working with a simplified regime even when carrying out different tasks that fall within the same category or area of ​​classification.
The 2023 Budget Law, in fact, has provided for a new extension for this category until March 31st which does not make it necessary to sign the individual agreement between the parties.

Goodbye to the simplified procedure for parents with children under 14

No extension, however, for workers with children aged up to 14 years. Therefore, the obligation of an individual agreement also returns for this category. However, employees with children can benefit from some advantages from Legislative Decree 105/2022, the provision on work-life balance measures. The decree, in fact, gives the employer the choice of whether or not to grant agile working but, at the same time, establishes some criteria. These include the obligation to give priority to smart working requests presented not only by disabled workers, but also by those with children up to twelve years old.

The risks of agile working: how to protect yourself

These measures aim to provide smart-working with a defined and correct legal form. During the pandemic, in fact, various responsibilities were moved to the home of workers, subjecting both workers and employers to multiple risks: accidents without INAIL coverage, IT risks, theft or loss of documents.
In order to fully implement this way of working, employers must adopt a series of strategies capable of exploiting the potential of agile working without incurring unpleasant inconveniences. Among these, they can opt for some solutions offered by the insurance market, which allow them to work from home in maximum safety.

Among the insurance coverages most suitable for protecting workers who benefit from smart working we find: the Cyber ​​Risk Policy and the Accident and Sickness Policy.
The first guarantee aims to cover all expenses and losses resulting from cyber attacks, as well as providing the intervention of an expert for the recovery of lost data and for decontamination from any malware.
While the second policy guarantees: capital in the event of death up to a maximum of €150 thousand; capital for permanent disability up to a maximum of €150 thousand; daily allowance in case of hospitalization and incapacity up to €150 per day; and coverage of medical expenses up to a maximum of €5,000. furthermore, it is possible to choose to be covered not only for accidents that occur during work, but also for those that could occur during free time.