I was recently in a meeting with Human Resources managers from different companies in El Salvador. One of the addressed topics was the new work trends which hadn't been contemplated in the Salvadoran Work Code established in 1972.
When we talk about teleworking and home office, we are talking about certain work alternatives companies offer in order to accomplish the yearned work-family balance of their employers, since it allows to incorporate various aspects of their personal, academic, labor as well as any another aspect that contributes to their well-being, with work.
Teleworking is “the activity of working at home, while communicating with your office by phone or email, or using the internet”[1]
Even though these modalities aren't new, since they were first originated in the 90s specifically in the United States, many companies in different countries have decided to implement them as alternatives to traditional work, since they have realized that they are flexible with the schedules of their employees, results in a better productivity, reduces operating costs and promotes a better work environment.
Many studies have been made by different international organizations, and, thanks to the technological advances that have established the “fourth industrial revolution” or the “Digitalization Era”, it is estimated the jobs of the future will be characterized by a flexible schedule, where people will be able to work from any place and at any time, they will be able to communicate and cooperate with each other by using different digital tools.
Even though teleworking and home office are taking force, due to the technological advances we are living, few countries have developed regulations for this type of work, some of them are: Brazil, Colombia, Chile (implicit regulation, included in the Work Code) , Peru, Argentina (only in the Neuquén province), Costa Rica (exclusively for public workers) and Mexico (referred to as “trabajo a domicilia” or “residential work”).
To this day, El Salvador still doesn't have a special regulation for teleworking. Although the work code mentions the special regimes for residential work, it does not include the type of job carried out with the help of Technologies, taking into consideration this law was established in 1972.
To this day, El Salvador still doesn't have a special regulation for teleworking. Although the work code mentions the special regimes for residential work, it does not include the type of job carried out with the help of Technologies, taking into consideration this law was established in 1972.
Despite this, in El Salvador, many companies have decided to implement this work arrangements seeking for employee-company benefits since there is no specified ban to prohibit this. It is important, however, to regulate these new work modalities in order to harmonize traditional labor, work schedule and others, regulated in the Work Code, which was created under a different social reality which was definitely not-friendly with the human resources tendencies that everyday keep growing and changing.
[1] Definition of Cambridge Dictionary