Two Dutch lawmakers proposed legislation to establish telecommuting as a legal right. Bloomberg reported that this legislation, introduced by lawmakers Steven van Weyenberg and Senna Maatoug, would make the Netherlands one of the first countries to establish telecommuting as a legal right.
The law establishes that so long as an employee can reasonably complete their responsibilities remotely, they have the legal right to work from home.
Fortune Magazine reported that since January 2022, the Dutch government has implemented a reimbursement program to repay employees who used funds to set up a home office.
The Dutch Parliament approved this new law, but the move still needs signoff from the Dutch Senate before it goes into effect, according to The Telegraph. Martin Luff, a lawyer at Vinson and Elkins, said this law could cause a ripple effect: “I have no doubt that lawmakers around the world will look closely at the proposed Dutch law and think about whether something similar would be worth considering in their own countries.”
The pandemic changed attitudes about working from home. Pew Research found that the majority of employed adults who say their responsibilities can be done from home would like to continue to telework. They also discovered that 6 in 10 employed adults reported higher job satisfaction as a result of telework.
In the United States, more workers are having to decide to either return to the office or work from home. Business Insider reported on a leaked email that Elon Musk sent to Tesla employees last month. Musk requires that his employees work in the office for at least 40 hours a week.
Musk is not the only U.S.-based employer to mandate this. Joe Camberato, CEO of National Business Capital, agreed with Musk’s statement and said, “I still believe that amazing culture is built by working together in an office.”