Teleworking 2026: HR Legal Rights and Obligations

Remote work is neither an employee's right nor a favor granted by the employer. It is a way of performing the employment contract that rests on mutual consent: neither party can impose it, except in exceptional circumstances. This simple principle has an important practical consequence — an employee's refusal does not constitute misconduct, and an employer's refusal must be justified when the position is eligible.

Setting it up: three possible avenues

Remote work can be introduced through a collective agreement, through a charter drawn up after consulting the works council (comité social et économique), or through a simple agreement between the employee and the employer, formalized by any means.

This last route is the most flexible but also the most fragile: in the absence of an agreement or charter, the terms rest on an exchange whose content must be provable in the event of a dispute. A confirmation email specifying the days, location and conditions is better than a verbal agreement, and a signed amendment is better than an email.

Where an agreement or charter exists, it must specify the conditions for moving into remote work and for returning to on-site work, the procedures for the employee's acceptance, the procedures for monitoring working time, the determination of availability hours, and the arrangements for access by employees with disabilities.

Mutual consent and its exceptions

An employee's refusal to accept a remote-work position is not grounds for termination of the contract. Conversely, an employee cannot demand to work remotely.

Where an agreement or charter provides for remote work, an employer who refuses the request of an employee holding an eligible position must justify its response. The justification need not be convincing, but its absence is in itself open to criticism.

Two situations depart from the principle of mutual consent. In the event of exceptional circumstances — threat of an epidemic, force majeure — the implementation of remote work may be regarded as a workplace adjustment made necessary to ensure business continuity and safeguard employees. And remote work may be requested as part of a workplace adjustment for an employee with a disability or a family caregiver, in which case the employer must justify any refusal.

The employer's obligations

Equal treatment. A remote worker has the same rights as an on-site employee: pay, training, appraisal interviews, career progression, access to union information, and meal vouchers where the conditions for granting them are met.

Covering costs. The employer no longer has a general legal obligation to cover all expenses, but the case-law obligation to bear the professional expenses incurred by the employee in the company's interest still stands. In practice, a flat-rate allowance is paid, within the contribution-exemption limits set by the social security authorities.

Health and safety. The safety obligation applies in full at the employee's home. The employer must inform the employee of risks, particularly those linked to prolonged screen use and isolation, and the single risk assessment document must incorporate remote work.

The right to disconnect. It must be organized, with defined availability hours. Its absence is the most commonly identified shortcoming, and it ties in with the question of tracking working time discussed in our article on overtime.

Workplace accidents at home

This is the most misunderstood point, and the one most favorable to the employee.

An accident occurring at the remote-work location and during the performance of professional duties is presumed to be a workplace accident. The presumption applies in the same way as it would on-site.

It is up to the employer or the insurance fund to rebut this presumption by showing that the accident fell within the employee's personal sphere. This burden of proof, difficult to meet, explains why acknowledgment is the rule and challenge the exception. Formalizing working hours is doubly useful here: they are what delimit the period covered.

Monitoring and surveillance

The employer retains its power of oversight, but it must be exercised within the same limits as in the office: proportionality, prior notice to employees, consultation of the works council.

Permanent surveillance mechanisms are prohibited — continuous screen capture, webcam activation, keystroke logging. These tools have led to sanctions from the data protection authority, on the grounds of disproportionate monitoring.

Permissible monitoring is based on results and progress check-ins, not on surveillance of the workstation. This requirement echoes the one applicable to trackers and data collection, developed in our article on consent to cookies and trackers.

Use-case scenarios

Setting it up without a collective agreement. Formalize it in writing covering the days worked remotely, the location, availability hours and reversibility conditions. This last point avoids most disputes when returning on-site.

Individual request refused. Check whether an agreement or charter exists. If the position is eligible under it, the refusal must be justified in writing.

Return to the workplace imposed. Reversibility must have been provided for. Failing that, a unilateral change to the agreed terms may amount to a modification of the contract, which requires the employee's consent — a matter tied to the very nature of the commitment, addressed in our article on types of employment contracts.

Frequently asked questions

Is remote work a right? No. It rests on mutual consent between both parties. However, where an agreement or charter exists, the employer must justify a refusal given to an employee holding an eligible position.

Can an employee refuse remote work? Yes, and such a refusal constitutes neither misconduct nor grounds for termination.

Must the employer pay the expenses? It must bear the professional expenses incurred in the company's interest. In practice, a flat-rate allowance is paid, within the exemption limits allowed by the social security authorities.

Is an accident at home a workplace accident? It is presumed to be one if it occurs at the location and during the hours of remote work. Rebutting this presumption falls to the employer or the insurance fund.

Can a remote worker be monitored? Monitoring remains possible but must be proportionate and preceded by notice. Permanent surveillance mechanisms are prohibited and have resulted in sanctions.

Is a contract amendment required? It is not mandatory when remote work results from an agreement or charter, but a written document is still strongly recommended: it is what establishes the agreed terms in the event of a dispute.

Key takeaways

Remote work hinges on three written documents, and their absence explains nearly all disputes. A written document on arrangements — days, location, availability hours — which also delimits the period covered by the workplace-accident presumption. A written document on reversibility, which prevents a return on-site from turning into a unilateral modification of the contract. And a written document on monitoring, informing employees of the tools used.

Everything else — equal treatment, expense coverage, the safety obligation — flows from the ordinary law of employment contracts, which applies at home exactly as it does in the office.