Telework and working remotely are used synonymously in everyday language for “working from home.” However, from a legal viewpoint, these terms describe two different forms of work and must therefore be differentiated and regulated separately from a labor law perspective.

Telework is highly formalized in legal terms and subject to certain conditions when used. For example, the teleworking place needs to be located in the employee’s own home environment in a separate study and must fulfill certain requirements (in terms of room size, equipment, ergonomics, and data protection). In addition, teleworking has to be regulated in a contract, and fixed working days and communication times have to be defined.

Working remotely has not yet been formalized in law. It does not require contractual regulation and is not tied to the employee’s home workplace. In contrast to teleworking, it can also be used at short notice – provided this does not conflict with work duties. Working remotely would thus be possible, for example, from a café, a co-working space, a playground or any location away from your home (e.g., at the home of a family member or persons who need to be looked after or cared for by employees of Freie Universität Berlin).

Please refer to the explanations above about the formal and legal differences between teleworking and working remotely. In principle, changes to the location and timing of teleworking are also possible at short notice by mutual agreement with supervisors (if this does not conflict with work duties). As a general rule, Freie Universität Berlin, as an employer, wants to avoid the dissolution of boundaries between working hours and place of work. It also does not want staff to become distanced from the workplace and colleagues. This will be achieved by ensuring that staff come into work on a regular basis. Therefore, the two working from home options cannot be combined.