‘Homework alarm’ in case of bad weather: how does it work?

Wintry weather conditions can cause significant traffic misery.
To reduce disruption as much as possible, the RMI (Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium) will issue a 'homework alarm’ in the future. That should encourage employers and employees to make use of homework/teleworking.

Under which circumstances?

The ‘homework alarm’ will be triggered when the RMI issues code orange or red in case of wintry weather conditions.  

Since the RMI sometimes issues a code yellow that goes up to orange, it is advisable to wait for the warning issued at 6 a.m. the day itself.

Employers and employees will, in particular, be informed via the RMI website and the social media.

Major traffic disruptions due to poor weather conditions constitute a case of force majeure, allowing employees to make use of occasional teleworking.

Which procedure must be followed in the company?

To facilitate making use of teleworking in the event of a ‘homework alarm’, Kris Peeters invites the employers to explicitly foresee this within the company.

Concretely, it is advised to include the following in a collective labour agreement or in the employment regulations:

• the possibility of granting occasional teleworking to employees who hold a position/carry out an activity which is compatible with occasional teleworking in case the RMI issues code orange or red;
• the procedure for requesting and granting occasional teleworking in these circumstances;
• the practical aspects (province(s) concerned, methods of warning the employees, etc.) and the technical aspects (equipment, etc.) relating to teleworking in such a case.

Reminder! The framework within which employees can request occasional teleworking can be set by a collective labour agreement or by the employment regulations:

• positions/activities which are compatible with occasional teleworking;
• the procedure for requesting and granting occasional teleworking;
• any provision by the employer of the necessary equipment and technical support;
• any accessibility of the employee during the occasional teleworking;
• any payment by the employer of any expenses connected with occasional teleworking;
• etc.  

Source: SPF Emploi, Travail et Concertation sociale.

Author: Catherine Mairy

28/03/2018