Home work and distance work: methodological aspect of defining the concepts of non-traditional forms of work organization

Abstract

The article aims to characterize home and distance work and establish the distinction between these concepts, considering the methodological aspect. The author notes that the pandemic of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which swept the world in 2020, as well as the full-scale armed aggression against Ukraine on February 24, 2022— acted as a catalyst for legislation on non-standard forms of employment because the usual form of employment with the performance of work at the employer’s location began to threaten the employee’s life and health. The genesis of the legal regulation of home and remote work is considered, emphasizing that, in essence, the legislator initially reduced two concepts to a synonymous understanding. The legal constructions of home and remote work are analyzed by establishing their features. It was concluded that homework and remote work are different legal phenomena and different forms of labor organization, the demand for which has increased many times over the last five years. The main conceptual difference between these forms of work organization is that home work is characterized by what is performed by the employee at his place of residence or in other premises defined by him, which are characterized by the presence of a fixed zone. Here, there is no possibility of performing work on the employer’s territory or premises. Remote work involves the performance of work by an employee outside the workplace or territory of the employer, in any place of the employee’s choice, without a fixed area for the performance of work by the employee. Attention is focused on the different legal nature and essential features of these forms of labor organization. It is substantiated that the clear distinction between the concepts of home and remote work, which is finally contained in the Labor Code of Ukraine, generally corresponds to the methodology of the science of labor law, considers the achievements of scientists in the field of labor law and the different nature of these concepts. That is, the current codified act on labor contains ordered definitions and does not differ in legal equilibrium. It is also summarized that the current definitions of home and remote work no longer allow for confusion in these categories and, therefore, reduce the risk of violation of the labor rights of employees, providing a legal basis for exercising their right to work in less dangerous conditions, which are typical for work at an employer’s company, when the entire workforce is gathering. Keywords: right to work, labor relations, legal regulation, employment contract, employee, employer, labor rights, employment, home work, remote work, remote worker.