Employers should shoulder extra expenses of workers amid work from home setup —DOLE official

Employers should shoulder or reimburse the additional expenses incurred by workers during work from home arrangements, an official of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Wednesday.

Interviewed on GMA Network’s Unang Hirit, DOLE Assistant Secretary Dominique Tutay said the department has received complaints especially from the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.

“May karapatan naman pong ma-reimburse ‘yung ganung expenses because under the Telecommuting Act din po, lahat ng provision na nasabi ko ay dapat iso-shoulder po ‘yan ng employer,” she said.

In the BPO industry, Tutay said companies usually shoulder the costs of electricity, internet connection, and laptops for workers in a work from home arrangement.

Tutay said when DOLE discussed the matter with the ‘e-industry,’ the latter expressed willingness to address the complaints.

“They are saying na talagang during the ECQ, nagdagdag po sila ng cost for this at dineliver po nila ito sa mga tahanan ng ating mga manggagawa,” she said.

“May mga ganyan pong isolated case lang or very specific po. Please do let us know. Willing po ang industry to call the attention noong company na ‘yun,” she added.

Under the Telecommuting Act, the “work arrangement must not be less than the minimum labor standards set by law.”

The employer and employees shall adhere to and be guided by the mutually agreed policy or telecommuting agreement in terms of specific provisions such as the use and cost of equipment.—AOL, GMA News