What is the concern over the rising trend of work from home policy, describe the labour law reforms? | SBI PO Prelims & Mains Preparation - Bank Exams PDF Download

What is the concern over the rising trend of work from home policy, describe the labour law reforms?

W-F-H is new to none now. The pandemic has broken through cultural and technological barriers that presented remote work in the past, making remote work a significant part of the work life. Given that non-traditional work modes are the “future of work”, we should consider regulatory frameworks on this, across countries. Labour expert KR Shyam Sundar said, “Without proper regulations for WFH, employees will be left at the mercy of the employers. Employees’ bargaining power will be reduced.” In consideration of all of this, the government has proposed formalising work-from-home options for the services sector while leaving the manufacturing sector out of the scope of the same for the time being. The government also put up separate standing orders for the mining and manufacturing industries, asking for feedback and observations from the interested parties.
There are few questions that need to be addressed like; would the employers still be responsible for the health and safety of the workers at home? A short-term agreement between the parties is okay but with time, the disputes between the employer and the employee will rise so having set rules and standards in the job agreement will come to rescue. Another question is that the cost of the facilities required for remote work should be borne by the employers or the employees? It is still a debatable question but yes, it is an additional expense for the employees and the employers must understand the same. Many other questions like, is the work being completed on time or is the company data safe with the employees working in multiple locations? All of these queries will go unanswered until there is a set of uniform standards that apply to both employers and employees. Taking care of these problems could aid in creating a regulatory framework that is suitable for India and balances the demands of both companies and employees.