Find out what is the compensation of expenses as a result of the approval of the Royal Decree and the Law of distance work
The Coronavirus crisis caused many employees to change the way they work. Covid-19 not only brought masks, it also favored teleworking. During the first confinement, many companies had to opt for teleworking to continue, what many did not expect is that teleworking would come to stay.
Many prefer this modality to work, either because it is easier for them to reconcile taking their children to school or because it is cheaper, since you do not have to transport yourself to your place of work every day. Despite these options that are very positive for some employees, there are also disadvantages in this way of working.
One of the aspects that has raised the most doubts about teleworking is the compensation of expenses as a result of the approval of the Royal Decree and the Remote Work Law. From the General Treasury of Social Security (TGSS) they insist that the compensation of expenses be communicated in the files of Paid Remuneration Concepts (CRA), for this the concept ‘Teleworking expenses’ has been created. The TGSS reminds on its social networks that to report these expenses excluded from the Contribution Base in the CRA files, you must access the system with the code 0062.
The most common expenses of an employee who works remotely can be:
1. The expenses of supplies, such as internet, electricity or air conditioning during the time dedicated to professional activity at home.
2. The costs of acquiring material or work tools, including in this group an ergonomic chair, desk table, etc.
Current situation of telework expenses
The company is obliged to provide the people who work for it with all the tools and means they need to carry out their activity, which can also be applied in teleworking situations. The worker cannot be forced to bear any of these expenses. It should not be forgotten that a remote work situation cannot be initiated without the employee having at his disposal all the necessary means to carry out the activity.
In the teleworking agreement, which must be entered into in writing in the event that the services are provided remotely for more than 30% of the working day, one of the elements that must be regulated is related to these expenses. The enumeration of the employee’s expenses for the fact of providing services at a distance, as well as the form of quantification of the compensation that the company must pay, will correspond to the forecast included in the applicable collective agreement. For this reason, employees should know that any expense related to teleworking will be exempt from contribution as long as it attends to a real expense incurred and compensated and it is justified by means of the corresponding invoice or receipt.
There are still few published collective agreements that already regulate this aspect, so companies must negotiate it collectively or individually with employees, pending an agreement that facilitates the definition of remote working conditions. There are still many doubts about how to regulate this new work system that will be resolved as the limits of working remotely are established.
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