Proposed law will make working from home a right

The D66 and GroenLinks submitted an emergency bill that will give people the right to work from home. Currently, employers can still too easily refuse a request to do so, while office jobs can easily be done from home, the parties said, BNR reports.

The bill will ensure that employers can only refuse a request to work from home if there are compelling business interests involved. According to the parties, too many employers are currently calling their staff into the office, while the coronavirus policy includes the urgent advice to work from home if possible.

The two parties previously submitted a similar bill, but then with the view on post-pandemic times. Now they see that the bill is needed immediately, they said.

"Unfortunately we have to conclude that it is still very busy on the roads and in offices," D66 parliamentarian Steven van Weyenberg said to the broadcaster. "In many places where you can work from home, this is not happening. We therefore want to put urgent action behind this law."