The business community has welcomed the expiry of the coronavirus-related obligation to work from home this Wednesday. This "bureaucratic actionism" was unnecessary political interference, said Steffen Kampeter, Managing Director of the Confederation of German Employers' Associations, to the German Press Agency. Over the past few months, companies have made home office possible in all sectors on their own responsibility, voluntarily and very reliably. "We employers have delivered when it comes to working from home and we will continue to do so wherever internal and external operating processes allow. We don't need a regulation for that."

The head of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Reiner Hoffmann, called for permanent regulation in this area. A legislative package is also expected from the next federal government, he told dpa. Many employees would like to see a healthy mix of on-site work and the option to work remotely in the future. "However, this healthy mix requires clear rules, as the pandemic has highlighted the serious problems of working from home: excessive working hours and unpaid overtime, permanent availability expectations, shaky equipment and digital surveillance."

Hoffmann called for a legal entitlement to working from home or mobile working, appropriate occupational health and safety, "proper equipment" and further steps towards more co-determination. "It must also be clear that working from home must not be imposed by the employer."

Employer representatives reject regulation

Employers reject this. "Home office regulation is neither necessary nor sensible," said Kampeter. "For the economy to get going again, it needs the right framework conditions: Flexibility and freedom for innovation instead of further regulation."

The obligation to work from home anchored in the federal emergency brake expires this Wednesday together with the emergency brake. Its validity was limited in the Infection Protection Act until June 30. Companies must nevertheless continue to maintain coronavirus measures, offer two tests per week and draw up hygiene plans. This is regulated in the new Corona Occupational Health and Safety Ordinance, which comes into force on July 1 and is to apply until September 10.

The DGB is also basing its demands for permanent regulation of home office and mobile working on an as yet unpublished evaluation of survey data from employees that was collected a year ago. The analysis is available to dpa. According to the analysis, employees working from home feel that they have more freedom to organize their working hours and work schedule than employees with a fixed workplace in the company. However, they also report longer working hours and pressure to perform more often.

46% of respondents who worked from home or on a mobile basis stated that they were "very often" or "often" unable to switch off properly during non-working hours. Only 34% of employees with a fixed workplace said the same. Significantly more employees working from home (39%) also stated that they were "very often" or "often" expected to be reachable by email or phone outside of working hours (other employees: 15%).