Allianz Re: Conflict over home office comes to a head in court!

Allianz Re: Conflict over home office comes to a head in court!

Vienna – The Alliance for Sunday Free Austria has welcomed the European Commission’s new initiative to ensure fair teleworking and rest periods. According to the association, this measure, which is intended to strengthen the rights of employees, is a decisive step in meeting the challenges of advancing digitalization and teleworking. As the Allianz explains in a statement, it strongly supports a right to rest, which requires member states to establish a common rest day for employees. This initiative could not only reduce the health burden of constant accessibility, but also help strengthen social cohesion by creating time for shared activities. The alliance is calling on the EU to integrate such a day of rest into its legislative proposals, with exceptions only for critical sectors such as emergency services and healthcare, as stated kathpress.at was reported.

Meanwhile, a study by the Ifo Institute shows that working from home has become the norm for a significant proportion of employees and companies in Germany. Especially in large cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Munich, many companies rely on a combination of on-site days and teleworking. However, Allianz Re, a subsidiary of the Allianz Group, has been experiencing tensions between the works council and management regarding the return to the office for over a year. The Munich Labor Court recently dealt with this conflict. The works council criticizes the fact that employees are ordered back to the office without prior consultation, which contradicts the existing works agreement from 2016. This agreement stipulates that mobile working is to be handled without pressure and in consultation between employees and superiors. Dr. Markus Adams, the works council chairman, said that it was unacceptable for managers to continue to work from home while regular employees were called back to the office. A clear regulation is essential. Allianz Re is trying to establish a new company agreement that enables flexible working. The employees are currently still bound by the old agreement, which stipulates four attendance days per month for the approximately 20,000 employees in Germany. A new court date to clarify the regulations is scheduled for April 25th versicherungsbote.de reported.