Teleworking and risk prevention

What is teleworking and how is it regulated?

Spain’s Law 10/2021 regulates regular remote work, defined as work performed remotely for a minimum of thirty percent of working time, or the equivalent proportional percentage based on the contract duration, over a three-month reference period. It is voluntary and reversible for both parties, requires a written agreement with minimum content (inventory of resources, expenses, working hours, percentage of in-person attendance, assigned center, chosen workplace, monitoring methods, procedures for technical difficulties, instructions on data protection and information security, and duration), and guarantees equal rights with in-person work.

For prevention, Articles 15 and 16 establish the right to adequate protection under Spain’s Law 31/1995 and its implementing rules. Assessment and planning must address the characteristic risks of remote work and accessibility of the actual working environment. Assessment is confined to the designated working area, not the rest of the home. The employer must obtain information through a methodology that provides confidence in its results and identify suitable measures. If obtaining that information requires a visit by a competent prevention professional, a written report justifying the visit must be provided to the worker and prevention representatives. Visiting the worker’s home or another individual’s home requires permission. If permission is withheld, preventive activity can be based on risks established from information supplied by the worker following the prevention service’s instructions.

Teleworking shares risks with office work with display screens, regulated by Royal Decree 488/1997, and adds particularities: isolation, difficulty in separating work and rest times, dependence on personal resources, environments not designed for work and less visibility of signs of fatigue or overload by managers.

Characteristic risks and measures

• Ergonomic issues. Inadequate furniture and equipment (desk, chair, monitor, keyboard), sustained postures, poor lighting, and glare. Measures: provision and maintenance of equipment and payment or reimbursement of expenses in accordance with the agreement, workstation configuration criteria according to Royal Decree 488/1997 and its technical guide, breaks, and changes of posture.
• Psychosocial factors: Isolation, overload and extended working hours, constant connectivity, difficulty balancing work and family life, role conflict, and reduced support. Measures: Organization of work based on realistic objectives, regular communication, team meetings, the right to disconnect, time tracking, and training for managers in remote management.
• Organizational and working time aspects. Distribution of the workday, availability times and breaks set in the agreement, with flexibility within the legal limits and collective bargaining agreements.
• Safety and environment. Electrical installation, wiring, space, temperature, ventilation and noise of the designated area, with information and checklist for the worker.
• Data and information protection. Company instructions on information security, respecting privacy and limiting the means of control.
• Work accident. The presumption of work-relatedness of an accident occurring at work time and place applies with the particularities of remote work; it is advisable to define the place and time in the agreement to facilitate the classification.

Obligations of the company and the employee

• Company. Assess the risks of the designated area, plan and implement measures, provide and maintain the necessary resources and equipment and pay or reimburse the corresponding expenses, inform and train on the risks and on the configuration of the workstation, ensure health monitoring and the right to disconnect, and consult with representatives.
• Employee. Cooperate with assessment by supplying accurate information in accordance with preventive instructions, report incidents and use equipment correctly. Access to the home is subject to permission and the safeguards in Article 16; cooperation does not automatically authorise a visit.
• Representatives. Right to information and consultation on the conditions of remote work and to participate in the evaluation and preventive planning.

Organizational application: how to manage prevention in teleworking

1. Include in the remote work agreement the workplace, schedule, availability times and breaks, and the equipment inventory and expense reimbursement.
2. Evaluate the risks of the designated area using a questionnaire supporting assessment, with images only where necessary and with applicable safeguards, interviews and, with permission, a visit, and document the information obtained and the conclusions.
3. Configure the workstation according to the display screen criteria (screen height, adjustable chair, work surface, lighting) and provide and maintain the necessary equipment and pay or reimburse the corresponding expenses.
4. Incorporate the psychosocial risks of teleworking into the general psychosocial assessment and adopt organizational measures: objectives, communication, meetings, disconnection and management training.
5. Inform and train on workstation setup, breaks, exercises, electrical safety, disconnection and data protection.
6. Ensure specific health monitoring and incident and support communication channels.
7. Review the evaluation in the event of changes in location, resources or organization, and monitor with indicators of workload, working hours and absenteeism.

Preventive management software allows you to manage self-assessment questionnaires for the teleworking area, conclusions per person, provision of resources, training and reviews, with traceability and confidentiality.

Limits and common mistakes

1. Not assessing the risks of teleworking or limiting oneself to a questionnaire without conclusions or measures.
2. Extending the assessment to areas of the dwelling outside the designated area or attempting to visit it without permission.
3. Ignoring psychosocial risks, extended working hours, and digital disconnection.
4. Failing to provide necessary equipment and cover the corresponding expenses, shifting the cost of a safe workstation onto the individual.
5. Treating occasional teleworking as if it had no risks or preventive obligations.
6. Confusing activity control with health surveillance or violating privacy with disproportionate means of control.

The specific conditions depend on the remote work agreement, the collective agreement and the risk assessment; this sheet is for informational purposes only.

Regulatory framework in Spain

• Law 10/2021, of July 9, on remote work, articles 15 to 18. Prevention of occupational risks, risk assessment, right to digital disconnection and privacy.
• Law 31/1995, articles 14 to 16 and 22. Duty of protection, risk assessment and health surveillance.
• Royal Decree 488/1997, of April 14. Minimum health and safety provisions relating to work with equipment including display screens.
• INSST technical guide on visual display units . Workstation configuration and evaluation criteria applicable to teleworking.
• Organic Law 3/2018, article 88. Right to digital disconnection in the workplace.

The 2002 European Framework Agreement on Telework and the ILO and EU-OSHA guidelines on remote work are complementary references; in Colombia, telework is regulated by Law 1221 of 2008 and working from home by Law 2088 of 2021.

Fully remote organisations and rural workstations

When the whole organisation works remotely, it helps to establish from the outset who resolves equipment faults, reviews workstations and responds to excessive workload. WHO and ILO explain that telework can bring benefits or risks depending on organisation and support. Having no central office does not remove these needs. As a practical proposal, onboarding can include checking available equipment, identifying an occupational safety contact and following up on difficulties encountered.

In a rural setting, additional checks can address connection reliability, available space and realistic access to assistance. An internet outage should not automatically result in night work to catch up. An incident procedure can establish safe alternatives and clear expectations. A company should not be described as having a low environmental impact simply because staff telework: such a claim requires a defined assessment of consumption, travel and time periods. Environmental performance and workstation quality are separate assessments.

Prolonged isolation, including in leadership roles

Continuous meetings do not prove that support is available. Identifying organisational isolation involves asking whether someone can discuss decisions, request help and receive a useful response. A manager may frequently interact with direct reports while lacking an appropriate setting to discuss difficulties in their own role. This is not a diagnosis in itself and does not affect everyone in the same way.

As an organisational proposal, a team can establish purposeful coordination meetings, peer support and a confidential way to report problems. Follow-up should check whether these measures resolve obstacles without adding unnecessary meetings. It can examine unanswered requests and recurring coordination problems, without treating message counts or an active camera as health indicators. Disconnection arrangements should also cover leadership roles within the framework applicable to them.

Mental workload in a shared family space

Sharing a home can introduce interruptions, noise or limited space, but prevention does not authorise inspection of family life. Requested information should focus on the conditions needed to assess the work. A technical difficulty, excessive task demands and a need for work–life arrangements may require different responses. Teleworking does not mean having unlimited time to perform work and caring responsibilities simultaneously.

As an improvement example, a team can reserve concentration periods, clarify which communications require an immediate response and adjust objectives where organisational changes justify it. Someone should be able to explain a limitation without submitting photographs of relatives or information unrelated to the workstation. If photographs support assessment, they should be limited to what is necessary, with applicable safeguards and an appropriate alternative where relevant. The information still needs professional assessment and action: a photograph alone does not prove that a workstation is safe.

Hybrid work and older workers’ needs

Partial telework may reduce some journeys while introducing coordination difficulties or the need to use different equipment. It cannot be assumed to improve or worsen mental health because of someone’s age. British HSE guidance recommends consulting workers and avoiding assumptions about their capabilities. Here it is used as preventive guidance, without replacing the obligations of the applicable country.

As a proposal, review how equivalent tasks are carried out at home and on site: access to information, lighting, legibility, technical support and participation in decisions. Training on a new tool should respond to actual needs rather than age stereotypes. A review of hybrid arrangements can agree adjustments, a follow-up date and an issue-reporting channel. Individual autonomy and preferences matter alongside task risks and actual working conditions.

Cross-border telework: clarify the framework before moving

Working from another country requires identifying the habitual place of work, intended duration, contractual relationship and applicable rules. Within the scope of Rome I, choosing a law cannot deprive a worker of certain mandatory protections; Article 8 sets out criteria and exceptions for identifying the law governing the contract. This does not automatically settle social security legislation, permission to work or insurance terms.

Before authorising a change, it is useful to record who checks coverage, how the new workstation will be assessed and what assistance is available after an incident. Coordination schedules should account for time differences and rest. A contractual amendment does not eliminate risks or make Spanish prevention law a worldwide rule. If the country, duration or conditions change, the competent teams should review the analysis. The answer depends on the facts and territorial framework, not solely on where the employer is based.