Remote work charter for SMEs: the 2026 template

Quick answer. In an SME, remote work is set up through a collective agreement or, failing that, through a charter drafted by the employer after consulting the social and economic committee (CSE) where one exists (Labour Code art. L1222-9). The charter must set out access conditions, working-time control, contact hours and expense coverage. Otherwise, a simple employer-employee agreement is enough.

You rolled out remote work in your SME during a stressful period, through emails and verbal arrangements, and you now wonder what needs to be formalised. That is the right instinct: without a written framework, every request becomes a special case, expenses are handled inconsistently, and an accident at home can turn into a dispute. The remote work charter is the simplest tool for a company with no union delegate that wants to secure the practice.

This article details the legal framework, what the charter must contain, the 2026 expense-exemption scale and the pitfalls we see most often in SME files.

Article L1222-9 of the Labour Code provides three routes for setting up remote work. The choice depends on the presence of employee representatives and the desired level of formality.

Why the charter is often the right choice in SMEs#

The charter combines two advantages: it is drafted unilaterally by the employer, with no heavy collective bargaining, and it sets an identical framework for all affected employees. You thereby avoid case-by-case drift, where one employee gets three days a week and another only one, with no readable logic. If a CSE exists in the company, its opinion must be obtained before implementation, but that opinion is advisory: it does not block the charter.

The direct employer-employee agreement remains valid, in particular for occasional or exceptional remote work. But as soon as the practice becomes widespread, the absence of a reference document creates inconsistencies that the charter is precisely meant to correct.

Article L1222-9 lists the items expected in the agreement or charter. Here is the control checklist we use to verify that an SME charter is complete.

• Conditions for moving to remote work (eligible roles, seniority, equipment, managerial approval).
• Conditions for returning to performing the contract without remote work (reversibility, notice period).
• Procedures for the employee to accept the remote-work arrangements.
• Methods for monitoring working time or regulating workload.
• Definition of the time slots during which the employer may usually contact the employee.
• Arrangements for access of disabled workers to a remote-work organisation.
• Arrangements applicable to pregnant employees.

To this legal base we systematically add a few sections that prevent disputes: the equipment provided and its maintenance, the coverage of professional expenses, the right to disconnect, confidentiality and data-protection rules, and the place of remote work declared by the employee.

Three principles structure the charter and must appear clearly in it.

Voluntary basis: remote work rests on the employee's agreement, except in exceptional circumstances (for example a threat of epidemic or force majeure) where it may be imposed as a workplace adjustment. A refusal of remote work by an employee whose contract does not provide for it is not grounds for termination.

Reversibility: both the employee and the employer must be able to return to on-site performance. The charter sets the notice period and the procedure.

Right to disconnect: in practice it translates into the contact time slots the charter must provide. It also protects the employer, by showing that workload control has been organised.

Remote work generates expenses for the employee: electricity, heating, internet subscription, supplies. The employer may pay a flat-rate allowance to cover them. The URSSAF scale sets the limits for exemption from social contributions, without supporting documents, under the order of 4 September 2025.

Two logics therefore coexist: a flat rate based on the number of days actually worked remotely (EUR 2.60 per day, up to EUR 57.20 per month), or a flat rate set on the weekly rhythm (EUR 10.40 per month for one weekly day, adjusted in proportion to the number of days per week). Beyond these ceilings, the exemption remains possible but requires justifying the expenses actually incurred.

Our reading#

In SME files, the flat rate based on the weekly rhythm is the easiest to manage in payroll: it is stable from one month to the next and does not require counting days. The daily flat rate suits organisations where the number of remote-work days varies sharply. The key is to choose a single method, write it into the charter and apply it consistently. An allowance paid above the scale without supporting documents is reclassified as salary and reintegrated into the contributions base.

Two points concentrate most of the disputes we see.

First, the accident. An accident occurring at the remote-work location while the professional activity is being carried out is presumed to be a workplace accident (art. L1222-9). This presumption works in the employee's favour. For the employer, it means the declared remote-work location and working hours must be documented, failing which it will be hard to challenge an accident whose connection to the activity is doubtful.

Second, meal vouchers. The remote worker benefits from them under the same conditions as on-site employees, under the principle of equal treatment. Denying meal vouchers to remote workers alone is discrimination. Many SMEs are unaware of this and unintentionally create inequality between two employees holding the same position.

Here is the sequence we recommend to roll out a clean charter.

1. Identify eligible roles and define the access criteria for remote work.
2. Choose the expense-reimbursement method and estimate its annual cost.
3. Draft the charter covering the seven legal items and the additional sections.
4. Obtain the CSE opinion where one exists, and keep the minutes.
5. Circulate the charter to all employees and organise its individual acceptance.
6. Set up payroll for the flat-rate allowance and the tracking of remote-work days.
7. Provide a revision clause to adapt the charter to changes in the scale or the organisation.

A services SME of around thirty employees had generalised two remote-work days a week with no written document. Each manager applied their own rules, some paid an allowance on their own initiative, others paid nothing. During the social review, two anomalies appeared: allowances above the scale paid without supporting documents, hence to be reintegrated, and the absence of meal vouchers for remote-work days while on-site employees received them. Putting a single charter in place aligned the practices, secured the exemption and corrected the unequal treatment before it could be challenged.

• The expense-exemption scale (EUR 2.60 per day, EUR 57.20 per month, EUR 10.40 per month for one weekly day) comes from the order of 4 September 2025: check the version in force before each payroll setup.
• The CSE opinion is mandatory where one exists: its absence weakens the charter.
• Contact time slots are not a formality: they embody the right to disconnect and workload control.
• The remote-work location must be declared and known to the employer, both for workplace-accident purposes and for insurance coverage.

For payroll implementation, our social and payroll team in Paris sets up the flat-rate allowance and day tracking. If a CSE must be consulted, see our dedicated page on the social and economic committee. For employees working remotely from abroad, the stakes change: we cover them in our article on remote work from abroad.