Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers in Argentina have requested their employees to work remotely in order to maintain social distancing and reduce the spread of virus.<\/p>\n
In that context, the Argentine Congress passed a law \u2013 Law 27,555 \u2013 to clarify the legal framework for employees working from home. Accordingly, remote employees enjoy the\u00a0same rights and obligations<\/strong>\u00a0as the employees working on site and their remuneration may not be less than what they received or would receive under the in-person modality.<\/p>\n Any change of modality from on-site to remote work must be\u00a0voluntary and implemented in writing by the employee<\/strong>\u00a0who can request the reversibility of the transfer at any time.<\/p>\n The law also recognizes the employee\u2019s\u00a0right to disconnect from digital devices<\/strong>\u00a0outside their working hours and during leaves of absence, which prohibits workers to be contacted by the employer regarding work related matters. Employees who disconnect from working communications during off-hours or leave time cannot be subject to any sanction.<\/p>\n All technological equipment, such as software to be used by the employee and costs of\u00a0installation, maintenance and repair of the same shall be paid by the employer<\/strong>, although it is established that the employee will be responsible for the correct use and maintenance of the working elements and tools.<\/p>\n The employer must\u00a0guarantee the proper training<\/strong>\u00a0of their dependents for the use of new technologies, providing or facilitating access to courses and support tools.<\/p>\n Regarding\u00a0Data protection,<\/strong> the employee must ensure that the work elements provided by the employer are not used by other people and the employer may take the necessary measures to guarantee the protection of the data used and processed by the worker. However, the same law prohibits the employer from using surveillance software which violates the employee\u2019s privacy.<\/p>\n