For the first time, a judge recognizes the right to telecommuting

Telecommuting has become a right that employees can exercise, as long as certain conditions are followed, particularly when it comes to balancing work and family life. A judge in Palma has recognized this right to work from home for the first time, ruling that a well-known tourist firm must enable one of its employees to work from home. This first ruling settles a claim filed by a telemarketing specialist who had worked for this tourist company for eleven years. This woman became a mother in 2017 and took a leave of absence that lasted nearly three years. The woman requested her return to work, coinciding with the proclamation of a health pandemic and compulsory confinement, albeit she claimed her entitlement to a decrease in working hours due to the necessity to care for her youngest kid. She also insisted on having her working hours be in the morning and the ability to work from home. During her confinement, the woman worked from home, but in June, she received a note from the firm stating that she had to work at the office, despite the fact that her reduced working hours were accepted. The corporation claimed that the de-escalation period had begun and that all required safety precautions had been taken to prevent contagion among its employees. The employee disagreed with the order and invoked her entitlement to the application of the equality plan, which would allow her to reconcile her family, personal, and work lives. In response to the company’s rejection, the employee decided to defend her rights in court and filed a complaint. She claimed that her right to equality was being violated and that she was being penalized simply because she was a woman. While acknowledging that there are discriminatory commercial practices between men and women, the judge does not believe that the company has breached the right to equality. This is due to the fact that telework was imposed on all employees of the corporation without distinction throughout the confinement.