This current situation in which we find ourselves is an unprecedented situation in recent history, and has meant a change in many areas of our personal and work lives. Returning home, family plans, little or no social or work contact, teleworking...yes, what was considered a few months ago as something sporadic and to reconcile, has arrived as an optimal way to continue carrying out work activity in this situation of crisis.
Teleworking as a new way of working
This new way of working, which basically consists of carrying out work that was previously done in an office sharing space with colleagues, is now done at home, which makes doubts arise and new problems in its development, and that surely very soon we will find greater regulatory development in this sense. Economic questions have already been raised regarding how the company should contribute to the costs of supplies that the worker consumes at home, office supplies, etc. But there are many issues to delimit equally within this new figure that seems to have come to stay.
Work accident at home
This situation makes me consider many situations that could arise, one of them, and I think it is of great importance, is the situation of work accident during teleworking. It is a difficult task, even more so when flexible hours are offered while working at home, so both the company and the worker must clearly define the organization of that work time, the place of work, and it will be necessary to pay attention to the type of accident.
Depending on the type of accident, yes during working hoursOn my way to the kitchen to have breakfast I have a I fall and suffer a sprainWould it be considered a work accident? It seems that this is how it would be, but what if I suffer the fall in the bedroom because I entered to pick up the room in that rest period, or do I suffer a cut while taking advantage of the midday meal? In this case, it suggests that it would not be recognized as a work accident, due to the type of accident, resulting in a domestic type.
As for the moment when the accident occurs, by having greater flexibility and availability at home, in addition to reconciling work and family, the situation of working at unusual hours may arise. Thus, It is important to delimit or control that work time, as established by the registration regulations of the workdayWell, what if at night I take the opportunity to read and answer emails? But what if I do it on the couch without respecting the ergonomic postures established by the occupational risk prevention plan?
Temporary Disability Benefit
As we see, it is difficult to delimit all these issues, especially in a private sphere such as the private home. Determining whether this type of contingency is of professional origin or not has important effects on benefits, both in Temporary Disability and Permanent Disability. For example, the benefit for Temporary Disability derived from professional contingencyl is paid from the next day in which the accident occurs to 75% of an improved regulatory basis for overtime, while if the benefit derives from common contingencies It will be paid from day 4 and in the amount of 60% of the regulatory base until the 20th and the 75% from the 21st, without prejudice to improvements through the complements established by Collective Agreement.
What can we do?
To define what would or would not be a work accident, There is a presumption of employment in a work accident., which implies that it will be presumed, unless proven otherwise, that the injuries suffered by the worker during the time and at the place of work constitute a work accident. This presumption, within the scope of teleworking and providing it in the private home, is going to be difficult to break, as it is a practically impossible task to be able to not only delimit times and spaces, but to be able to prove that the events have occurred that way.
In short, we will have to begin to regulate this figure of remote work provision in a broader and deeper way, and its impact on such complex issues, such as a work accident. However, given the increase in this form of remote work, we will soon have more jurisprudence that can clarify and delimit these issues, until a new regulatory development.
