5.14. Staff members appreciate teleworking for two reasons. First of all, some employees feel that they are more productive from home, or simply have a strong preference for this solution because
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Page 41 of 50 they are more concentrated or less distracted when they work from home; teleworking also helps employees to avoid commuting time to the workplace, and this time can then be used to work. Another reason for the popularity of teleworking is that it allows parents to have more control on the organisation of their family life.
5.15. In most Organisations, except for ITER, some measures have been set in place to allow teleworking. The European Commission is the only Organisation in which teleworking is a right: all staff members are entitled to have either regular telework based on a yearly agreement, or occasional telework. In all of the other organisations ʹ including CERN ʹ teleworking is authorised only if the job allows for it, at the discretion of the ƐƚĂĨĨŵĞŵďĞƌ͛Ɛmanager. In particular, at the EPO, line managers do not formally have the right to telework and, for staff members who are not line managers, there are a limited number of teleworking authorisations to be distributed across the Organisation.
5.16. At EMBL, there is no legal framework for teleworking, but there are no guidelines against ĞŝƚŚĞƌ͕ƐŽƚŚĞĚĞĐŝƐŝŽŶŝƐĂƚƚŚĞŵĂŶĂŐĞƌ͛ƐĚŝscretion.
5.17. The Organisations which have teleworking allow a variable number of days. CERN authorises either 1 day or 2 half days of telework per week. It is the only one of the participating Organisations to have opted for a binary solution, as all other Organisations allow teleworking within a certain range: up to 2 days at UNOG, between 0.5 and 2.5 days per week at the European Commission, up to 3 days at the EPO, and no formal limit is set at ESO, where all cases are dealt with on an ad hoc basis. At ESA, teleworking may be possible for 2, 3 or 4 days per week, so it cannot be less than 2 days, and half days of teleworking are not possible.
Figure 24: Days of teleworking authorised per week
5.18. At CERN and ESO, no equipment is loaned to staff members who telework. This is different at ESA, at the EPO and at the European Commission, where IT equipment is usually loaned to the staff member. At the European Commission, the internal phone line of the official is transferred to his/her personal landline or mobile phone; such possibility does not exist at ESA, where it is the staff ŵĞŵďĞƌ͛ƐƌĞƐƉŽŶƐŝďŝůŝƚLJƚŽ buy communication equipment ʹ but a lump sum of EUR 50 is granted monthly to cover those expenses. Nowadays, most homes are sufficiently well-‐equipped to allow teleworking using ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂĨĨ ŵĞŵďĞƌ͛Ɛ ŽǁŶ /d ĞƋƵŝƉŵĞŶƚ, so it can be inferred that the loan of equipment is mostly related to security issues: it makes it easier for the Organisation to ensure that the equipment is properly protected. This is probably one of the reasons why, at the EPO, staff members who telework have the obligation to use the computer equipment supplied by the Organisation.
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5.19. At UNOG, programme managers are specifically encouraged to propose flexible arrangements where feasible. At the European Commission, managers who already have teleworkers in their teams must take a half-‐day course entitled "Manage people you do not see", which is designed to enlighten them about the specificities and peculiarities of managing a team which includes teleworkers. From time to time, general information sessions are used to introduce and reinforce the "business case" of telework for the benefit of organisation and staff alike. Information or training sessions for managers are particularly important, as uninformed managers may be more reluctant to grant teleworking authorisations than other managers, resulting in an unequal access to teleworking arrangements for staff members from different services of an Organisation.
5.20. At CERN, the decision to allow (or not) a staff member to telework is taken by the line manager and the senior manager, and then goes through the HR Department. At the European Commission and the EPO, the process is lighter, as the ĚĞĐŝƐŝŽŶŽŶůLJůŝĞƐŝŶƚŚĞůŝŶĞŵĂŶĂŐĞƌ͛s hands; similarly with CERN, the HR Department is involved in case of dispute. ESA has the heaviest approval process, as the teleworking request must be, in principle, first approved by the senior manager, and then by the HR Department of the duty station. The advantage of implicating the HR Department in the approval process is to guarantee a certain level of homogeneity across the different services. 5.21. /ŶƚĞƌĞƐƚŝŶŐůLJ ĞŶŽƵŐŚ͕ ƚŚĞ WK͛Ɛ teleworking ƐĐŚĞŵĞ ŝƐ ŶĂŵĞĚ ͞ƉĂƌƚ-‐ƚŝŵĞ ŚŽŵĞ ǁŽƌŬŝŶŐ͟, and is described in the EPO Staff Regulations as bringing benefits for both staff and the office, ŝŶĐůƵĚŝŶŐ͞a better conciliation of family/private and professional responsibilities ʹ in other words, a
better work/life balance͟.
5.22. Another measure that is developing across some employers is flexitime, i.e. flexible working