Overtime in the home office: How to deal with it as an employer?

Working in a home office allows for a lot of freedom. The disappearing boundaries between work and free time require special discipline on the part of the employee and additional control on the part of the employer.

If home office work is regulated in a supplementary agreement, the scope of the work and the time framework must be included in it. Block times and the prohibition of night and Sunday work must be explicitly mentioned. The employees are obligated to adhere to these specifications.

If the employer determines that employees are not adhering to the times, a written directive must be issued in response. This includes instructions that block times must be observed and that lunch breaks must be taken.

Overtime may only be worked if expressly ordered. For the protection of the employee and for the company itself, the employer must clearly communicate that it will not tolerate any deviations from the applicable working time regulations, even in the home office.

In connection with the home office, the employer may additionally require that the employee keeps a detailed record of working hours in which his or her performance is described in detail.

In this way, the employer has control over possible overtime. The employer is permitted to monitor work productivity.)