Teleworking: favourable changes from 3 July 2021

Starting from 10 May 2021, the Government no longer expects business actors to operate primarily in a teleworking mode, but as of 3 July 2021, it significantly amended Government Decree No. 487/2020 (XI.11.) on the Application of the Rules on Teleworking in Emergency Situations, which enacted the amendments to the legislation that had become topical in connection with the use of home offices. The Government Decree is only in force during the period of the emergency, and the issue of teleworking has yet to be regulated by law. It is likely that the provisions at the law level will also follow the lines set out in the Government Decree.

The amended Government Decree regulates the following three aspects of teleworking: labour law (Labour Code), labour safety (Labour Safety Act) and taxation (Personal Income Tax Act).

From the point of view of labour law, under the provisions of the Labour Code otherwise in force, teleworking was to be understood as an activity carried out regularly at a place separate from the employer's establishment, carried out by means of a computer and the results transmitted electronically. By way of derogation, during an emergency, a home office may be considered teleworking if it meets the minimum requirements listed in the Government Regulation. The essential condition remains that the employer and the employee should sign off an agreement on teleworking. What is new is that, in principle, the employee may work at the employer's premises, but for no more than one third of the working days in the year in question; the employer exercises his right of control remotely by means of a computer tool (his possibilities for on-site control are being reduced); and, unlike in the case of "classic" teleworking, in the case of home offices, the flexible working hours are no longer set out by law (but are a matter of the agreement between the parties).

In terms of labour safety regulations, a new concept has appeared - teleworking with non-computing equipment. Such work may only be carried out in a teleworking workplace that has been previously certified by the employer as satisfactory from an occupational safety and health point of view. Еhe employer must regularly verify the adequacy of the requirements and compliance by the employee by means of on-site inspections.

Office workers may benefit from the possibility to telework using their own work equipment and to choose the place of work (café, holiday home, etc.), subject to working conditions that are deemed by the employer to be adequate from the point of view of occupational safety and health.

The change for tax purposes is that the amount that can be paid as a reimbursement of expenses in connection with teleworking is as follows:

• until 31 January 2021, 10 per cent of the monthly minimum wage (HUF 16,100) valid on 1 January 2021,
• from 1 February 2021 to 31 December 2021, 10 per cent of the monthly minimum wage applicable on 1 February 2021 (HUF 16,740),
• in subsequent years, 10 percent of the monthly minimum wage in force on the first day of the tax year

(The cost reimbursement can still be claimed as an expense without a certificate during the emergency).

In its recently published information, the Hungarian Tax Administration reiterated the rules on the settlement of expenses (prior agreement, prohibition of the settlement of expenses under similar headings as specified in the Personal Income Tax Act, pro rata in proportion to the number of days worked in teleworking).

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If you have any further questions on teleworking issues, please contact our tax and payroll experts.

This newsletter provides general information and does not constitute tax advice.