In the event of a heat wave or high temperatures, can your employer require you to work from home?
“The Ministry of Labor indicates this very clearly: teleworking should be favored when possible, to allow for example the employee not to be exposed to heat during his journey time, if he takes public transport or his bike “, emphasizes Anne-Lise Castell, jurist at Éditions Tissot.
To impose teleworking, on the other hand, it is necessary to deal with exceptional circumstances or force majeure. So is a heat wave an exceptional circumstance?
“The question is not formally settled but can be considered in the event of a red or even orange alert. If a department goes into red vigilance, the list of employees benefiting from teleworking must be re-examined, paying particular attention to pregnant women, people suffering from chronic pathologies or with disabilities. In other cases, if teleworking has already been implemented in the company by means of a collective agreement or a charter, the methods of exceptional recourse are generally provided for in advance and it is sufficient to follow. The employer and the employee may also, at any time, agree to use teleworking by mutual agreement. “, she adds.
And you, in the event of a heat wave or high temperatures, can you require teleworking?
Nay! “The employee can nevertheless assert that he has a right of withdrawal if he has reasonable grounds to believe that he is in serious and imminent danger to his health and safety. What can happen if the employer has not put in place suitable means to fight against high heat »she says.
If it’s definitely too hot at home to telecommute, can you ask to come back to the office?
At the office or working remotely at home, in a third location, a coworking space… your employer must take the necessary measures to ensure your safety and health. So logically, you say to yourself, “Hey, I’m going to ask to come back to work in the air-conditioned offices”. Good idea, but your employer’s response will in fact depend on the conditions for setting up telework in the company and what has been stipulated in the agreement and the charter. “Faced with a subject that is not strictly legislated, the most important thing remains dialogue to find the best solution. Employer and employee may, by mutual agreement, agree to put an end to teleworking and organize the employee’s return to the company’s premises. But if returning to work is not the best solution, we can, for example, allow him to shift his hours.concludes Anne-Lise Castell.
