Wage agreement for the pilot phase of alternating teleworking at Deutsche Telekom
The following agreement on alternating home-work has been negotiated in 1996 between the Deutsche Postgewerkschaft (DPG, German Post Union) and the Deutsche Telekom AG.
Preamble
The Deutsche Telekom AG - as a supplier for products of communication technologies and services - and the Deutsche Postgewerkschaft are pursuing the aim to create a spatial flexibilisation of organization of work within the framework of alternating teleworking due to the company's as well as to the employees' requirements.
By means of these regulations, defined in the wage agreement, a suitable basis for testing alternating telework at the Deutsche Telekom AG is given. How far the employees' requirements and value concepts are covered by this, and whether they will be a contribution to costumers' orientation, increasing productivity and conservation, will be proved by pilot projects.
The establishment of and the activity at alternating teleworking places generally bases on voluntary participation. In this regard, in principle tasks are considered to be suitbale that can be autonomously and independently fulfilled, that have concrete, measurable results and allow a regular business though limited contact to the office.
The daily commuting between home and office will be reduced by the transfer to alternating teleworking places. Thus, the employees' amount of time and costs can be reduced. In consequence the employees get various possibilities to coordinate their professional and individual life style and moreover to plan and archieve their tasks autonomously. In this respect the results of the pilot project will lead to some more detailled information, too.
Because of the independent performance of alternating
telework, the formulation of special requirements of the participants is
necessary.
I. Section
Regulations of the establishment of and the employment
at teleworking places
1. Area of validity
(1) This wage agreement implies all employees mentioned
in the "Gemeinsamen Vereinbarung" (common agreement), in case and the period
of their participation in the named pilot project.
(2) Provided that during the term of validity of
this wage agreement (§20 item 2) further pilot projects will be initiated,
these as well as the effected employees will be included in the common
agreement.
Furthermore an agreement between the head office
of the Deutschen Telekom AG and the main board of the Deutschen Postgewerkschaft
(German post union) will be inevitably necessary.
Protocol notice to §1:
The common agreement between the head office of the Deutsche Telekom AG and the main board of the Deutsche Postgewerkschaft, dated October 10th of 1995, in the at one time actual version, is the decisive document.
Wage agreement No.3 dated October 10th of 1995 between
the board of the Deutschen Telekom AG on the one hand and the Deutsche
Postgewerkschaft - main board - with seat at Frankfurt am Main on the other
hand accompanying tests of alternating teleworking at the Deutsche Telekom
AG the following wage agreement is concluded:
2. Establishment of an alternating teleworking place
(1) Employees which are included within the area
of validity, get in case of fulfilling the following preconditions an alternating
teleworking place.
(2) The regular working time
agreed by contract or individually is in the case of teleworking partly
performed at the employee's home (domestic working place), partly in the
office (working place within the company).
(3) The establishment of and the employment at alternating
working places is principally based on voluntary participation.
(4) Each effected employee has to be informed about
the planned project.
Besides the completion of the specific professional
assigned task, an active co-operation due to testing telework takes place.
The gained experiences during the project are to be documented by the participants.
The intervals of time, the evaluated complexes and the kind of documentation
are defined by each project manager.
4. Requirements at the off-company working place
(1) The domestic working place has to be located
in a room within the employee's home (no garage, no basement, which is
suitable and authorized for permanent residence as well as for the performance
of work according to the general demands.
(2) The mentioned conditions
for off-company working places (item 1) are inspected on-site by the responsible
project manager. The works committee is admitted to participate the inspection.
5. Division and distribution of working times
(1) The working times to complete the demanded tasks
(§3) is synonymous with the agreed by contract average regular working
times. It has to be divided onto the off-company working place and the
office.
In this connection the part of working time performed
in the office must guarantee the maintenance of social contacts with the
company.
(2) If the employer divides the working times between
domestic working place and office and the daily distribution, too, one
calls them company defined working times. The remaining difference to the
individual regular working times is distributed by the employee (self-
determinate working time). This share of self-determinate working time
should be -in account of the concrete task - extended as much as possible.
(3) The division as well as the distribution and
moment of working times has to be binding formulated in a document, arranged
with the employee; the employer is enabled to modify this agreement at
any time.
(4) The employer has to require and announce overtime
work ahead, belated licensing is not possible.
(5) Travelling times between
office and off-company working place are classified as not caused by business
und are therefore not added to the working times.
(6) Extra charge for performance at disadvantageous
times are only paid according to the regulations of the wage agreement,
if the referred times were defined by the company. Charges for free shift-work
are handled similarly.
(1) The registration of the complete working times
and tasks is managed by each employee, recorded in a working diary, which
is immediately shown to the project manager at the end of each month.
(2) In case of the employee's consent, the works
committee is allowed to get insight into the recorded performed working
times.
(3) The registration of the official working times
depends on the actual internal company used regulations.
(1) The required equipment for the off-company working
place is - during the time of existence of the domestic working place -
put at disposal for free by the company, the provided material for work
is listed in the common agreement.
(2) Within the framework of the projects "Alternierende
Teleheimarbeit" (alternating tele[home]work) the use of a multimedia connection
will be tested as well.
(3) The equipment might not be used for private
affairs, the use of an ISDN-link or business telephone line can be restricted
by suitable technical means due to the employer's interest and examined
by the monthly charges.
(4) The construction and dismantling of the provided
equipment as well as possible maintenance is achieved by the company.
(5) The supplied materials have to be protected
against access of third parties.
8. Refunding of costs
(1) The refunding of costs is regulated corresponding
the conditions of §15.
(2) Travelling costs between
the office and the off-company working place are not refunded.
9. Access to the off-company working place
In case of an existing agreement each project manager
as well as the works committee might get access to the domestic working
place. Exactly the same way inspections are handled - according to §
4 paragraph 2.
10. Security of data and information
Especially high care and attention at the off-company
working place is to direct towards the security of data and information
with regard to third parties. Confidential data or information have to
be protected, so that third parties are not able to look or/and get access.
11. Abandonment of the off-company working place
(1) The domestic working place can be terminated
by both parties without the need of mentioning any reasons. The period
of notice should cover one month until the end of the calendar month. In
case of notice to quit or abandoning the flat the period of notice might
possibly be reduced. The abandonment announcement has to be given in written
form.
(2) After the terminated the provided equipment
has to be returned immediately. Just as in case of the project's ending.
(3) A balancing of possible (dis-)advantages (e.g.
concerning travelling times and costs to the office) is generally not made.
12. Written agreement
The establishment of a home office needs to correspond
to a written agreement between employer and employee.
The employee must not be disadvantaged with regard
to his/her opportunities of career because of his participation at alternating
telework.
II. Section: legal aspects of contracts
14. Establishment of further teleworking places
The Deutsche Telekom AG and the Deutsche Postgewerkschaft
are agreeing that no further alternating telework will be implemented at
the Deutsche Telekom AG besides the projects, that are mentioned in the
common agreement of Oktober 10th, 1995, which is the relevant version at
the time.
15. Method to determinate refundations
Regarding the testing phase of alternating telework
und the lacking experiences during the period of validity of this wage
agreement a flat-rate reimbursement is not given. The costs that will arise
related to defined facts and that will be avoided during the this project
have to be documented by the participants. By means of the documentation,
a scheme of refundation of costs will be established between the head office
of the Deutsche Telekom AG and the main board of the Deutsche Postgewerkschaft.
On this occasion, a kind of regulation for the past will be determinated.
16. Automatical control of performance and behaviour
The Deutsche Telekom AG and the Deutsche Postgewerkschaft
agree to the fact, that within the framework of testing forms of alternating
telework an automatical control of performance or behaviour can be allowed
only in case of an existing corresponding and explicit arrangement between
employer and works committee.
17. Accompanying of the project
During the period of pilot phase of the several projects
regularly meetings at intervals of about 3 months between the Deutsche
Telekom AG and the Deutsche Postgewerkschaft will take place. There, general
problems referring the implementation of inherent tasks (e.g. technical
failures or protection measures, relevant questions concerning analysis
and documentation, the establishment of reimbursements as well as others
general problems using this wage agreement are discussed.
III. Section: final clauses
18. Relation to internal company regulations
The existing regulations agreed by contract have
a concluding character and can not be changed, extended or completed by
company arrangements. The remaining rights formulated in the "Betriebsverfassungsgesetz"
(constitutional law of companies) are not touched, especially regarding
the distribution of working time.
19. Coming into force
This wage agreement comes into force at December,
1st of 1995.
20. period of validity
(1) These regulations agreed by contract are in force
in terms of the mentioned projects - in the common agreement of October
10th, 1995, which is the relevant version at the time. Any after-effect
is excluded.
(2) The validity of this wage agreement is at the
latest until December, 31st of 1997. An extension of the period of validity
can be decided in conjunction of the Deutsche Telekom AG and the Deutsche
Postgewerkschaft. With the ending of its validity an after-effect is excluded.