Centre announces fresh ‘work from home’ rules in India

Hyderabad: Shortly after the Netherlands passed a law to establish Work from home (WFH) as a legal right, the centre on Tuesday has announced a fresh set of rules in companies across the country.

According to the new rules, WFH is allowed for a maximum period of one year in a special economic zone (SEZ) unit and can be extended to 50 per cent of total employees.

For the unversed, several large- to medium-sizes companies, including tech giants Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys have their companies in SEZ.

The Department of Commerce has inserted a new rule— 43A (WFH) in SEZ rules, 2006. The sections of employees for which WFH rules have been issued are:

· Employees of IT/ITeS SEZ units

· Employees who are temporarily incapacitated

· Employees who are travelling and who are working offsite

A unit operating in the SEZ may permit its employees, including contractual staff, to work from home or from any place outside the SEZ. This proposal for working from home will cover a maximum of 50 per cent of the total employees, including contractual employees, of the unit, according to the notification issued by the commerce and industry ministry.

The development commissioner may approve a higher number of employees to work from home for any bona fide reason to be recorded in writing