New Ways of Working
Remote work, digital workspace, regulatory reporting, commuting, flexibility, salary tax, virtual collaboration, attractiveness, cross-borders, time tracking, compliance, wellbeing... Maybe one or several of the above topics resonate with your current challenges in your company?
We are pleased to announce our weekly cycle of open dialogues about the NEW WAYS OF WORKING. Our purpose is to share the insights of our HR, legal, health and tax experts about some hybrid working models. During our webcast sessions, participants will be able to ask questions which will be answered live.
Almost a century has passed since the adoption of the first international labour standard on working hours, which stipulates the principle of the eight-hour day and 48-hour week, and 70 years since the 40-hour week was adopted as the standard to which countries should aspire! Working time is at the edge of undergoing in-depth mutation and latest circumstances are a clear call for a different and more customised approach.
We then believe it is very relevant to review the prevailing conditions and options for employers to organise the working time within their companies in Luxembourg. This topic is quite vast indeed. So we will dedicate the next two sessions of our New Ways of Working series to the multiple obligations of employers around the working time of their employees.
Our 9th open dialogue on 11 June from 10 to 11 am will focus on the employer’s obligations around working time.
The second session of 11 June will deepen the exploration of working time specificities and prospective trends.
- What are my general obligations for tracking the working time of my employees?
- How to relate to the various stakeholders such as the Staff Delegation and the authorities (ITM)?
- What about alternative flexible regimes and non-working time?
- What are the implications in terms of HR systems and policies?
Watch the recording of the 8th session
The session of 28 May navigated around the general principles applicable to all and the special regimes proposed to employers.
- What are my general obligations for tracking the working time of my employees?
- How to relate to the various stakeholders such as the Staff Delegation and the authorities (ITM)?
- What about alternative flexible regimes and non-working time?
- What are the implications in terms of HR systems and policies?
Watch the recording of the 7th session
Our 7th open dialogue on 14 May from 10 to 11 am focused on the design of a virtual workplace. We engaged the reflection on collaborative and virtual project management tools, equipment and budget needed, the risk of permanent establishment as well as health considerations and controls.
The current crisis pushed many of us to experience home-based working at a large scale. The doubts in terms of efficiency, productivity and control of the work performed were gradually replaced by more trust and also less interruptions and time lost in commuting. Home-based working has gained in appreciation and popularity, and it is very likely that many organisations will review their ways of working and propose more systematically remote working possibilities after the crisis.
This transition will undoubtedly raise questions such as:
What should you take into consideration when adapting your IT environment to sustain a larger scale of remote workers?
Are there some new categories of risks that you should become aware of?
What are the digital solutions that you may contemplate for managing projects, for enabling remote brainstorming, for performing administrative duties such as electronic signing, for coaching and animating your teams?
What impact on your HR function?
What are your employer’s responsibilities towards these remote working places: do you need to check them, to issue some recommendations, to allocate special allowances or to provide specific IT equipment?
When it comes to remote working, does it mean that any location can be considered or should you be more restrictive (example of working in public transportation like trains and planes)?
- Can hub-based working be a valid alternative and why?
Watch the recording of the 6th session
The current Covid-19 crisis led to special measures that will cease once the crisis time is over. How do you face this transition? The period of deconfinement may trigger different consequences in terms of shifting the exceptions, and agility to phase back to work will be required.
Our 6th open dialogue "Managing workforce in recovery mode" on 30 April from 10 to 11 am focused on the ways to recover your normal activity level. We engaged the reflection to identify alternative solutions for a smooth transition.
- How do you manage your staff costs when your level of activity may substantially vary: under or above normal level?
- How do you address tax consequences for your non-resident workers if part of your workforce is still in home-based working?
- How can you amend your current HR policies/ employment contracts to adapt to the present circumstances?
- What is an employment retention plan and how to implement it?
Watch the recording of the 5th session
Our 5th open dialogue "changing reporting obligations" on 23 April from 10 to 11 am with HR, payroll and legal experts focused on the many regulatory deadlines that were postponed to give some relief to companies faced with multiple and other urgent challenges.
How to adapt your company organisation to these unusual conditions? The current Covid-19 crisis may trigger different consequences in terms of delaying your regulatory reporting or adding new reporting obligations. Let’s review together how to tackle the main changes, anticipate when affordable and prepare when needed:
- VAT
- Corporate Tax
- Personal Tax
- Social Contributions
- Filing of accounts
- Additional reportings:
- declaration of short-time worked hours
- special leave for family reasons
- illness during Covid-19
In case of illness during the Covid-19 crisis, GDD of April 3, 2020 specifies that the CNS (Caisse Nationale de Santé) will substitute the employer and will pay directly the employees for the days of incapacity for work. CNS will apply a maximum limit of 5 times the Social Minimum Salary.
The employer will have to compensate the difference (if any) between the CNS ceiling and the effective monthly salary of the employee as long as the principle of continued remuneration is applicable (till reaching the limit of 77 illness calendar days over a reference period of 18 months).
Watch the recording of the 4th session
Our 4th open dialogue "Coaching in times of uncertainties" took place on 14 April from 2 to 3 pm. Ray Marini, Director within our Human Capital team, led you through the following topics:
- Leveraging the current managerial support of team members to strengthen the effectiveness of the team
- Supporting team members to coach and assess the type of assistance needed by the team under these exceptional circumstances
- Helping the team to create awareness to be better equipped as an organisation in the face of change
Our 3rd open dialogue took place on 9 April from 10 to 11 am with HR, payroll and legal experts, focussing on the reorganisation of working time when business declines.
- What are the conditions to have in mind for benefiting from short-time work?
- What are the mandatory obligations for employers: when and towards which authority?
- Are there some risks when applying both short-time work and special leave for family reasons?
- Who is eligible for short-time work among your employees? What about your detached workers?
- What are the legal consequences for employees during the probation period?
- and many more...
Watch the recording of the 2nd session
Our second open dialogue on 6 April from 11 to 12:00 was organised with health expert Dr Patrizia Thiry-Curzietti, General Director of the ASTF. At this occasion, we reflected on:
- Home base Working: work organisation, routine and rituals
- Remote monitoring of employee morale
- Prevention of burnouts and measures against panic and loneliness
- Physical exercise and nutrition during home-based working
- Children at the home office: the best ways to deal with this situation
Due to technical reasons, we were unfortunately not able to live stream this session. Please accept our apologies for any resulting inconvenience we may have caused. We will answer your questions live during our upcoming webcast session on 9 April. Simply send an email with your questions to pwc-events@lu.pwc.com
Our first open dialogue on 31 March was about reimagining the office and the workplace. At this occasion, we have reflected on:
The advantages and challenges of home-based working, remote working and satellite offices,
The implementation of adequate HR policy to frame flexible working solutions,
The points to consider (logistic and behavioural),
The tax and social security limits and consequences,
- Legal consideration for the governance of remote working.
Since our recording, Germany lifted the 19-day limit.
