Reader’s opinion|The employee’s legal protection is weak when it comes to an accident at home or at another remote workplace.
Helsingin Sanomat published an excellent article on the inadequate regulation of remote work (HS 13.10.). I consider it particularly urgent to clarify the obligation to compensate for accidents that occur during remote work.
The Work Accidents and Occupational Diseases Act limits the employer’s compensation obligation to accidents other than those directly arising from work duties. This is only to some extent justified from the point of view that the employer cannot be imposed security obligations regarding premises covered by private protection.
The employee’s legal protection is weak when it comes to an accident at home or at another remote workplace. If you trip while packing meeting supplies in your bag at the workplace, it is obviously a work accident. In remote work, packing work goods is considered a non-work-related activity, and an accident occurring in connection with it is not compensated as a work accident.
If an employee in the workplace moves from one room to another and injures himself on the way, it is an occupational accident. In telecommuting, the corresponding injury is an occupational accident if the movement is related to, for example, retrieving paper from the printer. But if an employee moves at home to change their workplace, for example for ergonomic reasons, it is not a work-related transfer and the accident is not compensated as a work accident.
If you drink coffee in a meeting at the workplace and the coffee cup hits your tooth so that the tooth breaks, it is a work accident. At home in a remote meeting, drinking coffee is not related to work tasks, and a similar accident will be covered by the employee himself.
The examples I mentioned are genuine 2020s cases from the accident appeal board and insurance law. The examples show that compensating an accident as a work accident in remote work is in no way predictable.
When employees work remotely to an ever-increasing extent, the employee’s legal protection and the regulations regarding work accidents must be brought up to date.
Jussi Junni
executive director, AKI unions
A joint labor market organization of the Cantor-Organist’s Association, the Priests’ Association and the Theologian’s Association belonging to Akava
The reader’s opinions are speeches written by HS readers, which are selected and delivered by the HS editors. You can leave an opinion piece or familiarize yourself with the principles of writing at the address www.hs.fi/kiryotamielipidekeisuis/.
#Readers #Opinion #Dont #beat #telecommuting
