The Employer's Control and Oversight of Remote Workers: a First Look at the Italian Framework

The Italian regulatory framework on remote work (Law No. 81 of 2017) outlines the features of a new flexible work arrangement that does not include specific constraints as to working time or the place of work. Originally conceived as a way to promote work-life balance and enhance competitiveness, remote work is now raising concerns about the way it is organized and about the productivity of workers and their well-being. With the opportunities, then, come new challenges, inviting a debate on how to go about solving them. Given that background, this contribution focuses on the impact of remote work on the employers’ current roles and powers under the standard employment relationship. This also makes it necessary to explore the effects of flexible working-time arrangements in relation to employers’ powers, duties, and responsibilities: in exercising these powers, employers are required to allow rest breaks and comply with the technical and organizational measures necessary to ensure that workers can disconnect from the technological tools through which they work (Art. 19(1) of Law No. 81/2017). However, there has yet to be found a proper way to effectively guarantee the right of workers to disconnect, and this matter needs to be examined in greater depth. It therefore appears to be fundamental to discuss the role that collective bargaining and social partners can play in improving the quality of remote work.