Remote work refers to work regularly carried out at home, or at another agreed location outside the main workplace, with satisfactory insurance cover, one or more days per week, within Sweden’s borders. Remote work requires a written agreement. 

Content on this page:

• For whom?
• Based on the needs of the organisation
• Written agreement with the immediate manager
• Scope
• Definitions of workplace
• Duties
• Working hours and accessibility
• Equipment and costs
• Work environment
• Insurance
• Security and confidentiality

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Lund University is a campus university, which means that education and research are mainly conducted on campus.

Remote work can contribute to efficiency based on the needs of the organisation and employees.

It is a possibility for employees that may be applied if it benefits the organisation, when the nature of the duties and the needs of the organisation allow it. Remote working is neither a right nor an obligation.

For whom?

The Lund University guidelines för remote work se guidelines apply to employees at Lund University with the exception of those employees included in the current working hours agreement for teaching staff or the local manager agreement. 

Based on the needs of the organisation

Remote work must be organised on the basis of the needs of the business. The employee must be present at the main workplace to the extent required by the organisation and work tasks.

As an employer/manager, you manage and distribute the work in your organisation and assess and decide on the possibility of telework.

Written agreement with the immediate manager

Remote work requires a written agreement with the immediate manager for up to 40 per cent of the working hours.

Agreements on remote work involving more than 40 per cent of working hours are made by the immediate supervisor. 

The agreement can be terminated by both parties with a period of notice of one month. If the agreement is not complied with, it can be terminated with immediate effect.

As the amount of remote work is specified as a percentage, it is possible to organise the time individually. However, there may be a business need to know about the arrangement.

Even if there is a written agreement on remote work, there is no obligation to work from home. The employee is always welcome to the main place of work (which follows from the fact that there is no obligation to telework). 

It is not possible for the employee to save agreed remote work days for another occasion.

Follow-up of the agreement

A recommendation is to sign a written agreement for 12 months. Then the agreement can be followed up, and/or renewed, in connection with the annual staff appraisal. 

Keeping a record of the written agreement

Agreements on telework must be registered in series P, case type 2.2.2.3. Use the categorisation template "Telework (agreement)".

Remember to fill in the employee as the counterpart of the case. There should be one case per individual and agreement. The case can therefore be closed immediately when the agreement is registered in the case. Use the document type "Agreement". The document must be marked as confidential (state the statutory section OSL 39:3).

Any termination of an agreement on telework must be registered in a new case in the same series and case type. Use the categorisation template "Remote work  (termination of agreement)".

Scope

The employee is to be present at the main workplace to the extent required by the organisation and duties. Remote work is to be conducted based on the needs of the organisation. The main rule is that remote work is to account for no more than 40 per cent of working hours.

If there is a need for a greater scope, this is handled according to a specific delegation procedure.

Definitions of workplace

Main workplace

Main workplace refers to the physical workplace at a Lund University building.

Remote work

Remote work refers to work regularly carried out at home, or at another agreed location outside the main workplace, with satisfactory insurance cover, one or more days per week, within Sweden’s borders.

Remote work requires a written agreement. 

Temporary workplace

Work at a temporary workplace refers to the possibility for employees at Lund University to temporarily work at a location other than the main workplace, if the nature of the duties and the needs of the organisation allow it. Temporary workplace is taken to mean the home, or other agreed location, with satisfactory insurance cover. Oral consent from the line manager is a precondition for a temporary workplace.

Temporary work at another location (temporary workplace) and business trips are not covered by the Lund University guidelines for remote work.

Employees are always welcome to their main workplace

Even if employees have written agreements with their managers regarding remote work, they are always welcome at their main workplace at the University on those days they had had planned to work remotely.

Duties

The employer and the employee are to jointly define the duties that are appropriate for remote work and reach an agreement about how the work is to be reported and followed up. The employer ultimately decides which duties can be carried out remotely, based on the organisation’s needs. Duties that entail specific risks are not to be carried out remotely. 

Working hours and accessibility

Working hours are regulated according to the current flexitime agreement.

Regarding remote work, regardless of where the duties are carried out, the employee is to be accessible during working hours by answering the phone, communicating via email, participating in digital meetings and by otherwise contributing to the facilitation of contacts between colleagues and stakeholders. 

Equipment and costs

For remote work, only tools and communication channels provided by the employer (regular laptop and mobile phone) can be used. Private telephones should not be used, either for direct calls or to transfer calls.

The employer does not have to provide other equipment (such as a desk chair, computer screen and height-adjustable desk) at the remote workplace. The university offers a fully equipped workplace at the main workplace.

The employer is responsible for the technical support and insurance of work equipment, as well as damage or loss of equipment and other property belonging to the employer and the usual costs for the service telephone. The employer is not responsible for any other additional costs arising from telework (e.g. electricity, broadband or wear and tear).

When working remotely, VPN must be used, according to the University's instructions for working outside the internal network.

Work environment

The manager is responsible for the work environment regardless of whether the workplace is on the university's premises or at the remote workplace. Both the Work Environment Act and the Swedish Work Environment Authority's regulations apply.

The employee is responsible for the proper functioning of the remote workplace, and must participate in the work environment work by reporting risks that could lead to illness or accidents.

If a special reason has arisen, the manager and health and safety organisation are to be granted access to the remote workplace in order to check the design of the workplace in more detail. 

Insurance

The employer/manager is responsible for ensuring that the employee is insured against occupational injury directly related to the work. When working at the main workplace, all events occurring are considered to be at work.

If the employee is injured at the office, the employer's insurance applies, even if it is on a day when the employee would have worked remotely according to the written agreement. 

When working elsewhere than at the main workplace, the insurer will assess whether the injury has occurred in connection with the performance of the work, which means a stricter interpretation. It is the insurer who decides on the settlement of claims in the event of an injury, and the employer cannot influence this.

When an employee is going to work remotely from home, and signs a written agreement to this effect with their line manager, the employee is responsible for ensuring that they have home insurance. 

It is not necessary to be registered at the remote workplace, but it can be difficult to obtain adequate insurance cover without being registered. It is therefore a good idea for employees to contact their insurance company and ensure that any damage is covered by their own insurance.

In terms of insurance, the same rules apply whether it is temporary work from home (temporary workplace) or remote work. The only difference is that there is no need for a written agreement for a temporary workplace.

Security and confidentiality

In remote work, only the tools and communication channels provided by the employer (lap top computer and mobile phone) are to be used .

A VPN connection is always to be used. The computer is to be protected and it must be ensured that sensitive information is not accessible to outsiders. The University’s rules and recommendations also apply to remote work.