Remote work: charter or agreement, allowance and employer duties

Quick answer. Remote work is set up through a collective agreement or, failing that, through a charter drawn up by the employer after the works council's opinion; absent an agreement or charter, the employer and the employee can formalise it by any means (article L1222-9). The employer covers the professional expenses incurred and may pay a flat-rate allowance exempt from contributions under the URSSAF scale. An accident on the remote-work site during work activity is presumed to be a work accident. The remote worker keeps the same rights as on-site employees.

Remote work is now a routine arrangement, but its set-up remains framed by articles L1222-9 to L1222-11 of the Labour Code, supplemented by the national interprofessional agreement of 26 November 2020. The legislator's logic is twofold: leave companies flexibility while guaranteeing the remote worker the same rights as on-site colleagues.

At Hayot Expertise, we see that disputes rarely arise from the principle of remote work, but from improvising it: no written framework, uncovered expenses, vague time control, a mishandled accident. Formalising the arrangement is not red tape: it is the best protection for both employer and employee.

Article L1222-9 opens three set-up routes, in a clear order of preference.

The collective agreement and the charter set a lasting, collective framework. The case-by-case agreement, formalised "by any means" (email, amendment), suits more occasional use. Where a works council exists, setting up by charter requires its prior opinion: its consultation is a step not to be skipped.

Article L1222-9 lists the points the collective agreement or, failing that, the charter must specify:

1. The conditions for switching to remote work and the conditions for returning to work without remote work.
2. The acceptance terms by which the employee agrees to the remote-work conditions.
3. The control terms for working time or workload regulation.
4. The time slots during which the employer may usually contact the remote worker.
5. The access terms to remote work for disabled workers and, where relevant, pregnant employees.

To these add, in practice, the right to disconnect, which falls under annual bargaining. A clear written framework avoids disputes over hours, reachability and workload. For drafting, our legal support secures each clause.

The employer covers the professional expenses the employee incurs for remote-work activity (equipment, connection, supplies). To simplify, URSSAF allows a flat-rate allowance presumed used for its purpose and exempt from contributions, under a scale revalued each year.

These amounts are revalued periodically by URSSAF: check the scale in force before setting up payroll. Beyond the flat-rate allowance, reimbursing actual expenses on receipts remains possible. Correct set-up falls under payroll and social management, which secures the exemption.

• Work-accident presumption. An accident on the site where remote work is carried out, during the professional activity, is presumed to be a work accident within the meaning of article L411-1 of the Social Security Code.
• Equal treatment. The remote worker has the same rights as an employee working on the premises: career, training, and benefits such as meal vouchers on the same terms.
• Health and safety. The employer remains bound by its safety obligation; the home workstation is part of the risk assessment.
• Reversibility. Switching to remote work is not permanent: the return conditions must be set, and an employer's refusal of an eligible role must be reasoned.

• Employee working remotely abroad. This raises distinct questions of applicable law, social security and taxation: see our pointers on remote work abroad.
• Mobility levy. Remote work affects liability to the mobility levy depending on where employees are based.
• Contract change. Introducing regular remote work may, depending on the case, be a mere organisational matter or a change to the employment contract requiring the employee's consent.
• Exceptional circumstances. In case of force majeure or an epidemic threat, remote work can be imposed as a workstation arrangement (article L1222-11).

• Improvising without writing. The absence of a charter, agreement or written record weakens the employer in a dispute.
• Forgetting the works council's opinion. A charter requires the works council's prior opinion where one exists.
• Neglecting expenses. The professional expenses incurred must be covered; the flat-rate allowance secures their social treatment.
• Misclassifying an accident. An accident during activity, at the remote-work site, benefits from a work-accident presumption.
• Breaking equal treatment. Denying the remote worker a benefit granted on site exposes you to litigation.

Recently, an SME came to us after a remote-working employee injured himself at home during working hours: the company did not know it was, by presumption, a work accident to be reported. We corrected the report and, in the process, formalised a missing charter: switching conditions, time control, reachability slots, expense coverage. What had been an informal arrangement became an enforceable, protective framework.

Our conviction is that successful remote work rests on three written points: a framework (charter or agreement), a clear line on expenses, and a known accident procedure. These three points cost little to set up and avoid most disputes. Conversely, improvising turns an arrangement employees value into a source of social and financial risk for the company.

Hayot Expertise tip. Choose your set-up route according to the scope: an agreement or charter for regular remote work, a case-by-case agreement for occasional use. Put time control, reachability slots and expense coverage in writing. And train your managers on the work-accident presumption: it is the costliest oversight.