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What it regulates
Applies prevention requirements to remote work and specifies how to assess risks without extending the assessment to the rest of the home. It covers psychosocial factors, ergonomics, organisation, accessibility and disconnection.
Who it applies to
Employment relationships under Article 1(1) of the Workers’ Statute involving regular remote work: at least 30% of working time over three months, or an equivalent proportion for the contract’s duration, subject to lower collective-bargaining thresholds. This selection is limited to OSH and does not cover the full pay, expenses or unrelated reform regime.
Key provisions
Remote workers retain the right to safety and health protection under the OSH Prevention Act and its implementing rules.
Article 15Assessment and planning consider psychosocial, ergonomic and organisational risks and accessibility of the actual working environment, including working time, availability, breaks and disconnection.
Article 16Assessment covers only the area designated for work. A preventive visit requires a written justification and the worker’s permission if the location is their home or another individual’s home.
Article 16If permission is not granted, the employer may base preventive action on information supplied by the worker under the prevention service’s instructions. Refusal does not remove the employer’s duty to protect.
Article 16Disconnection limits work-related technological communications during rest periods. The employer must prepare an internal policy after hearing worker representatives, including training and awareness to prevent digital fatigue.
Article 18Measures addressing sexual, sex-based, discriminatory and workplace harassment must be adapted to this working arrangement.
Article 4Final provision one(2) updates Article 40 of the Social Order Offences and Penalties Act, including OSH penalty amounts. A specific penalty requires consulting the receiving legislation and its temporal rules.
Final provision firstHistory and versions
Initial publication: 10/07/2021 · Initial entry into force: 11/07/2021
BOE-A-2021-11472Published on 10 July 2021, it follows parliamentary processing of Royal Decree-Law 28/2020, whose implied repeal is recorded by the BOE. Article 16 expressly includes accessibility of the actual working environment. This Act’s record lists no subsequent instruments; its amending effects are read in the receiving texts.
Predecessor: Royal Decree-Law 28/2020 on remote work, replaced by this Act through an implied repeal recorded by the BOE.
BOE-A-2020-11043Receiving text: Article 40 of the Social Order Offences and Penalties Act, amended by final provision one(2) from 1 October 2021; selection limited to OSH penalties.
BOE-A-2000-15060Text versions of the selected OSH provisions
| Publication | Effective date | Official reference | Affected provisions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/07/2021 | 11/07/2021 | BOE-A-2021-11472 | Article 1, Article 4, Article 15, Article 16, Article 18, Additional provision first, Additional provision second, Transitional provision first, Transitional provision third, Final provision first, Final provision decimocuarta |
Transitional provisions and application notes
The Act excludes public-administration employees engaged under employment contracts, who follow their specific rules in this area; this regime must not automatically be transferred to public-sector telework.
Additional provision secondGeneral entry into force: 11 July 2021. The Article 40 penalty-amount amendment takes effect on 1 October 2021; these dates must be distinguished.
Final provision decimocuartaAdaptation periods for pre-existing arrangements are tied to the events and dates in the first transitional provision. They do not restart when this entry is consulted.
Transitional provision firstThe COVID-19 containment remote-work exception depended on those measures remaining in place. It is not a general current exemption from prevention or ordinary remote-work rules.
Transitional provision third
Official BOE legal relationships
This record covers the history of the selected occupational safety and health provisions. The official analysis also provides the relationships affecting other subjects in the legislation.
Official BOE legal relationships
