Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the practical and legal complexities associated with tele-homeworking arrangements in light of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the study focusses on organisational practices and outcomes relating to the monitoring and surveillance of employees. Drawing on relevant UK legislation and illustrative case law examples, the study demonstrates the challenges and legal implications associated with tele-homeworking.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on a review of the literature and an examination of the EU and UK laws applicable to various employer and employee concerns that stem from tele-homeworking.

Findings

Tele-homeworking can be advantageous to both employers and employees, however, there are a number of growing concerns surrounding the monitoring of such workers. Developing technologies can act as a catalyst for legal disputes and the advances in workforce monitoring and surveillance reveal the complex challenges faced by both employers and employees. The indiscriminate monitoring of staff can result in claims of violations to the privacy rights of workers, breach of contract and discrimination claims. Several policy implications associated with monitoring tele-homeworkers surface from the analysis, including the need to ensure that any proposed surveillance is legitimate, proportionate and transparent.

Originality/value

The paper is beneficial in providing legal insights into the topical and continuing complexities associated with the monitoring of tele-homeworkers. The exogenous shock of COVID-19 has demanded the reorganisation of work. The extensive and developing capabilities that employers have at their disposal to engage in employee monitoring, give rise to a greater possibility of legal challenges by workers. The study serves to draw attention to various surveillance concerns and highlights the importance of employers undertaking an evaluation of their monitoring practices and complying with the legal framework.

中文翻译：

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英国对远程家庭工作者的监视：法律和管理意义

目的

本文的目的是根据最近的COVID-19大流行来研究与远程家庭作业安排相关的实际和法律复杂性。该研究特别关注与员工监控有关的组织实践和成果。该研究利用英国的相关立法和示例性判例法实例，论证了与远程家庭作业相关的挑战和法律含义。

设计/方法/方法

这项研究基于对文献的回顾以及对适用于因远程办公而引起的各种雇主和雇员关注的欧盟和英国法律的审查。

发现

远程家庭工作对雇主和雇员均有利，但是，围绕此类工人的监控，人们的担忧日益增加。开发技术可以促进法律纠纷，而劳动力监控的进步揭示了雇主和雇员都面临的复杂挑战。对员工的不加区别的监控可能导致对工人隐私权的侵犯，违反合同和歧视索赔。分析显示，与监视远程家庭工作者有关的一些政策含义包括需要确保任何提议的监视都是合法，相称和透明的。

创意/价值

该论文有助于提供法律见解，以了解与远程家庭工作者的监视相关的主题性和持续性的复杂性。COVID-19的外来冲击要求对工作进行重组。雇主可利用其广泛而不断发展的能力来进行员工监控，从而使工人面临更大的法律挑战。该研究旨在引起人们对各种监督问题的关注，并强调雇主对其监督实践进行评估并遵守法律框架的重要性。