For employees

List of topics

Remote work

Remote work is one of the forms of flexible work organization, applied when the physical presence of an employee is not required, therefore he or she can perform his or her job functions remotely, away from the workplace. Remote work can also be applied when part of the job functions can be performed remotely while working part-time.

In Lithuania, remote work is permitted at the request of the employee or by agreement of the parties.

If you have applied to work remotely and you are:

  • Pregnant;
  • Have recently given birth;
  • Breastfeeding;
  • Raising a child under the age of three;
  • Single parent of a child under the age of fourteen;
  • Single parent of a disabled child under the age of eighteen;
  • Or you have filed a request based on the conclusion of a healthcare institution regarding the child’s state of health.

The employer must satisfy your request to work remotely at least one-fifth of the total working time norm, unless the employer proves that this would lead to excessive costs due to production necessity or work organization specifics.

If an employee who is working remotely incurs additional costs related to his or her work, including the costs of acquisition, installation and use of work equipment, they must be reimbursed. The compensation amount and the terms of payment thereof shall be determined by agreement between the employee and the employer.

It is important to know that an employee’s refusal to work remotely when this is offered by the employer cannot be a legitimate reason to terminate the employment contract or change the working conditions. However, once a state of emergency or quarantine has been declared in the State, different regulations shall come into force in this regard.

After the Government of the Republic of Lithuania declares an emergency situation and/or quarantine, the employer must offer under a written letter the employee whose health condition poses a risk to the health of other employees to work remotely, in order to ensure the protection of the health of employees and third parties. The letter must state the reasons, deadline and legal basis of the offer to work remotely.

The employee must inform the employer in writing of his or her consent to work remotely within one working day. If the employee does not agree to work remotely or does not provide the employer with an answer, the employer shall, not later than within one working day after the deadline within which the employee had to respond to the employer’s offer, remove the employee from work under a written letter, prohibiting the said employee to work and not paying him or her any remuneration. When removing an employee from work, the employer must specify the period for which the employee is to be removed, the reasons for such removal, and the legal basis thereof.

A removed employee may be transferred to another job position if he or she agrees to this, provided that such transfer is not contrary to the purpose of the removal. At the end of the removal period, the employee shall be returned to his or her previous job position, if the removal did not result in termination of the employment contract.

If an employee has been unreasonably removed from work at the request of the employer or other bodies/officials authorized to do so, he or she shall receive a compensation in accordance with the procedure established by law.

Disputes regarding the validity of the removal and payment of compensation shall be examined in accordance with the established procedures for employment related disputes. The Labour Disputes Commission may be contacted for this purpose.

Source:
Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania, Articles 49 and 52.