The Right to Request Remote Work, Country by Country (2026)

In almost every country, there is no general legal right to work from home. What many employees do have is a right to request it: a legal process that obliges the employer to consider the request, answer within a deadline and, in most places, give a reason if it says no. The UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Canada (federally regulated jobs) and Australia all work this way. Portugal is the main exception: parents of young children can telework without the employer being able to refuse, provided the job and the employer's resources allow it. Germany and India have no statutory right of either kind, and the US has none for private-sector employees outside disability and pregnancy accommodation and a few state or city laws.

A right to request remote work means you can make a formal application, and the employer must follow a set procedure, but may still refuse on permitted grounds. A right to work remotely means the employer cannot refuse if you meet the conditions. Most of the return-to-office (RTO) debate takes place in the gap between the two.

This page is a reference, not legal advice. Laws change, collective agreements and contracts can give you more than the statute, and every country section below shows the date it was last checked. No lawyer reviewed this page. Before relying on any of it, check the official source linked in each section, your contract and your HR team, and speak to a union, works council or employment lawyer if the stakes are high.

Comparison table: the right to request remote work by country

The table summarises who qualifies, what you can ask for, how long the employer has to answer and when it may say no, as last checked on 27 and 28 October 2026. Each country section below links the statute or official page and says when we last checked it. "Request" means a right to request; "right" means the employer cannot refuse if the conditions are met.

United Kingdom

In short: a right to request, open to every employee in Great Britain from the first day of the job. It is not a right to work from home.

Since 6 April 2024, the Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 have removed the old 26-week qualifying period, so employees can make a statutory request from day one. The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 changed the procedure from the same date. Under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996, you can ask to change your hours, your times of work or your place of work, which the Act defines as between your home and the employer's premises.

• Who qualifies: employees, not workers. Acas notes that agency workers, casual workers and zero-hours staff are often not employees (Acas, updated January 2026).
• How often: two statutory requests in any 12 months (s80F).
• Deadline: the employer must decide, including any appeal, within two months, unless you agree to extend (s80G(1B)).
• Process: the employer must consult you before refusing. The Acas Code of Practice on flexible working requests was published on 6 April 2024; Acas says it plans to update it for the 2027 changes.

The eight business reasons

An employer can refuse only for one or more of these:

1. the burden of additional costs
2. a detrimental effect on ability to meet customer demand
3. inability to reorganise work among existing staff
4. inability to recruit additional staff
5. a detrimental impact on quality
6. a detrimental impact on performance
7. insufficient work during the periods the employee proposes to work
8. planned structural changes

Remedy

A refusal on its own is not grounds for a tribunal claim. You can claim if the employer did not handle the request reasonably, wrongly treated it as withdrawn, refused it based on incorrect information, or treated you badly for asking (GOV.UK). Compensation is capped at 8 weeks' pay (Flexible Working Regulations 2014, reg. 6). The time limit for a claim is now 6 months: the Employment Rights Act 2025 extended it from 3 months for problems arising from 1 October 2026 (s80H(5)). GOV.UK says that if the problem happened before 1 October 2026, you may need to complain within 3 months (GOV.UK).

What changes in October 2027

The Employment Rights Act 2025, which received Royal Assent on 18 December 2025, adds a reasonableness test. Under section 9, an employer will be able to refuse only if a listed ground applies and "it is reasonable to refuse". The refusal notice will have to name the ground and explain why refusing is reasonable. The government's implementation timeline (updated 22 October 2026) lists the flexible working changes among the measures taking effect in October 2027. Until then, the current test applies. It will still be a right to request.

Request template: our flexible working request template has a statutory request letter and email for Great Britain, with the required statements and a filled-in hybrid working example.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has its own rules. Employees need 26 weeks' continuous service, can make one request in 12 months, and the employer must meet within 28 days and decide within 14 days of that meeting. The same eight business reasons apply (nidirect).

Last checked: 28 October 2026.

Ireland

In short: two separate rights to request. Every employee can request remote work, and parents and carers can request flexible working. Neither is a right to work remotely.

The Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 was enacted on 4 April 2023, according to the Department of Enterprise. The Department says its remote work provisions (Part 3) and flexible working provisions for parents and carers (Part 2) commenced on 6 March 2024. The same day, the Minister approved the WRC Code of Practice on the right to request flexible working and remote working. The Code is admissible as evidence before the WRC, the Labour Court and the courts.

• Remote work, who qualifies: all employees. You can submit the request from your first day, but the arrangement can start only after six months' continuous service (William Fry, March 2024).
• Flexible working, who qualifies: employees who provide care to a child, or to a spouse, partner or certain other relatives who need significant care for a serious medical reason (William Fry). We could not open the Act on the Irish Statute Book to confirm the child age limit, so check the WRC Code for it.
• Deadline: the employer must reply within four weeks. In the first WRC award under the Act, an employer that answered after six weeks and four days was ordered to pay €1,000 (Irish Legal News, 7 May 2025).
• Refusal: the employer must weigh its own needs, your needs and the Code. Complaints to the WRC turn on whether the procedure was followed; in that first award, the WRC looked only at the delay, not at the reasons for refusal.
• Remedy: a WRC complaint within six months, or 12 months for reasonable cause. The WRC can order compliance and award up to 4 weeks' pay for remote work breaches, or up to 20 weeks' pay for flexible working breaches (William Fry, above).

The Department published its statutory review of the remote work legislation on 5 March 2026. As of this check, it had not announced any amending bill.

Last checked: 28 October 2026.

European Union: the Work-Life Balance Directive

In short: EU law sets a floor, not a right to remote work. Every member state must give parents and carers a right to request flexible working, and employers must give reasons for refusing.

Article 9 of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 requires member states to ensure that workers with children up to a specified age, "which shall be at least eight years", and carers can request flexible working for caring purposes. Article 3(1)(f) defines flexible working arrangements as including remote working, flexible schedules and reduced hours.

• Employer duty: consider and respond "within a reasonable period of time", taking both sides' needs into account, and give reasons for any refusal or postponement.
• Return: a worker can go back to the original pattern when an agreed period ends, or ask to return earlier.
• Qualifying period: member states may require up to six months' service.
• Deadline: member states had to transpose the directive by 2 August 2022 (Article 20). The full directive text is on EUR-Lex.

Is an EU telework law coming? The European Commission ran two rounds of social partner consultation on telework and a right to disconnect. The second began on 25 July 2025. The right to disconnect is now among the areas explored for a planned Quality Jobs Act, which the Commission schedules for the end of 2026; the page does not list telework as such. No legislative proposal had been tabled when we checked.

Last checked: 27 October 2026.

Netherlands

In short: a right to request a change of workplace, with a deemed approval if the employer misses its deadline. The bill that would have created a near-right to work from home was rejected in 2023.

Under article 2 of the Wet flexibel werken (Flexible Working Act), an employee with at least 26 weeks' service can ask to change their working hours, working times or place of work. The request must be in writing at least two months before the proposed start date. The article does not apply to employers with fewer than 10 employees.

• Place of work: the employer only has to consider the request, and must consult you before refusing. For hours and times, the test is stricter: the employer must agree unless serious business interests prevent it.
• Reasons: any refusal must be given in writing with reasons.
• Deadline: if the employer has not decided one month before the start date, the change takes effect as requested. This applies to place of work as well.

Wet werken waar je wilt. The "Work Where You Want Act" (bill 35714) would have required employers to grant a request to work from home unless refusing was justified on grounds of reasonableness and fairness. It passed the House of Representatives on 5 July 2022, but the Senate rejected it on 26 September 2023. No replacement bill was listed on the dossier as of this check.

Collective labour agreements (cao) often contain their own home-working rules, so check yours.

Last checked: 27 October 2026.

Spain

In short: remote work is voluntary for both sides. Workers with caring responsibilities have a right to request it, and a refusal must be reasoned.

Ley 10/2021 de trabajo a distancia governs regular remote work, defined as at least 30% of working time over a three-month period. It needs a written agreement, it can be reversed by either side, and a worker's refusal to work remotely is not grounds for dismissal. The employer must cover the costs of remote work (article 12). Collective agreements can set which jobs are eligible and who gets priority. The law gives no right to work remotely and does not itself create a right to request it.

The right to request comes from article 34.8 of the Estatuto de los Trabajadores. It covers workers who need to balance work and family, including parents of children under 12 and carers of relatives or dependants.

• What you can request: changes to the length and pattern of your hours and the way you work, "incluida la prestación de su trabajo a distancia" (including remote work).
• Process: where no collective agreement sets a procedure, the employer must negotiate for up to 15 days, then accept, offer an alternative or refuse in writing. An alternative or a refusal must give objective reasons.
• Remedy: disputes go to the social courts.

Request template (in Spanish): solicitud de teletrabajo: modelo, with a general letter, a letter for a work-family balance request under article 34.8 and a short email.

Last checked: 27 October 2026.

Portugal

In short: the strongest rule in this guide. Some parents and carers have a right to telework, not just a right to request it.

Under the Código do Trabalho, as amended by Lei 83/2021 and Lei 13/2023, telework always rests on a written agreement (article 166). If a worker proposes telework, the employer can refuse only in writing, stating its grounds. A worker who turns down an employer's proposal does not have to explain why.

Article 166-A. The employer "não pode opor-se" (cannot oppose) telework for several groups, provided the work is compatible with telework. For parents, the employer must also have the resources:

• parents of a child up to 3 years old
• parents of a child up to 8, where both parents can telework and alternate in equal periods, or in single-parent families (not in micro-enterprises)
• parents of a child of any age with a disability, chronic illness or cancer

Informal carers can telework for up to four years, but here the employer may refuse for compelling business needs. Under article 168, the employer must fully reimburse the additional costs of telework.

Watch this space: the government approved a labour reform bill, "Trabalho XXI", on 14 May 2026. We could not confirm whether it changes these telework rules or whether parliament has passed it. Check its status before relying on the current text.

Last checked: 27 October 2026. Article text read from the consolidated code published by the Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa.

France

In short: no general right to télétravail. Where a company agreement or charter makes your job eligible, the employer must give reasons if it refuses.

Télétravail is governed by articles L1222-9 to L1222-11 of the Code du travail, as summarised by Service-Public.fr (checked by the government on 14 August 2026). It is set up by a collective agreement or an employer charter, or, without either, by agreement between you and your employer, preferably in writing. In companies with more than 50 employees, the works council (CSE) must be consulted on an agreement or charter.

Must a refusal be justified? It depends:

• Agreement or charter in place, eligible job: yes, the employer must explain its reasons.
• Disabled workers and carers of a child, parent or close relative: yes, the employer must explain its reasons.
• Otherwise: the employer may explain its refusal but is not required to.

An employee who refuses telework cannot be dismissed for that reason. Service-Public.fr also lists the national cross-industry agreement (ANI) of 26 November 2020 on telework, which sets a framework for company negotiations. We found no statutory response deadline.

Request template (in French): demande de télétravail : modèle, with an email and a letter for regular télétravail and an email for occasional days.

Last checked: 28 October 2026. The legal text on Légifrance did not load during our check; this section relies on the government's Service-Public.fr summary.

Germany

In short: no statutory right to request, and no right to work from home. Rights come only from your contract, a works agreement or a collective agreement.

Under § 106 of the Gewerbeordnung, the employer decides the content, place and time of work at its fair discretion, unless a contract, works agreement, collective agreement or statute says otherwise. The part-time law (§ 8 TzBfG) gives a right to reduce hours, but it does not cover where you work.

Works councils. Since 2021, a works council has a co-determination right over how mobile work using IT is organised (§ 87(1) no. 14 BetrVG). It covers how mobile work is arranged, not whether the employer offers it. In practice, most German home-office rights sit in works agreements (Betriebsvereinbarungen) and collective agreements.

Legislation. In October 2020, the Federal Labour Ministry drafted a law giving a right to up to 24 days of mobile work a year; the Chancellery halted it within days (LTO, 12 October 2020). No mobile work law has passed since. We found no mobile work bill before the Bundestag as of this check. We could not verify what the 2025 coalition agreement says about mobile work, or how Germany says it meets the Article 9 right to request for parents and carers.

Last checked: 27 October 2026.

Belgium, Italy, Austria and the Nordics

These countries follow the EU floor or go no further than agreement-based telework. The summaries are brief; follow the links for detail.

Belgium: right to request for parents and carers

In the private sector, national collective agreement CCT n° 162 has applied since 1 October 2022. Parents of a child under 12 (under 21 if the child is disabled) and carers with six months' service can request flexible arrangements, telework included. The employer must answer in writing within one month; any answer other than acceptance must be justified in writing, and a postponement needs concrete reasons linked to the running of the business. Occasional telework under the law of 5 March 2017 can also be requested, but the government's page says the worker has no absolute right and the employer may refuse. Structural telework under CCT n° 85 is always voluntary. Last checked: 27 October 2026.

Italy: priority, not a right

Smart working under Law 81/2017, article 18 needs an individual agreement. Employers must give priority to requests from four groups:

• parents of children up to 12
• parents of children with a serious disability, at any age
• workers with a serious disability
• carers

A worker who makes a request cannot be sanctioned, demoted, dismissed or transferred for doing so. There is no statutory deadline and no duty to give reasons. Since August 2025, Law 106/2025 also gives priority access to smart working, where the job allows it, to workers returning after leave for cancer or a serious chronic illness. Last checked: 27 October 2026.

Austria: agreement only

Telework under the Employment Contract Law Adaptation Act (AVRAG, § 2h) requires a written agreement. The government's business portal says the employee has no legal entitlement to telework, and the employer cannot impose it (USP, updated 1 January 2026). A parliamentary committee report treats Austria's existing parental and care part-time rights as its transposition of Article 9; no telework-specific right to request was created (Parliament, 2181 d.B.). Last checked: 27 October 2026.

Sweden: right to request

Since 2 August 2022, parents of a child under 8 can request flexible arrangements, including remote work, for caring purposes (Föräldraledighetslag). Carers have the same right under the law on leave for close-relative care, introduced in the same 2022 reform. Both require six months' service. The employer must answer within a reasonable time and give reasons for refusing or postponing. Last checked: 27 October 2026.

Norway: no right to remote work

Working from home requires a written agreement under the home office regulation. The Working Environment Act gives a right to flexible working time where it causes no significant disadvantage to the business, but says nothing about place (§ 10-2). Last checked: 27 October 2026.

Denmark and Finland: not verified

As EU members, both had to transpose Article 9 of the Work-Life Balance Directive. We could not confirm how: the official legislation databases, retsinformation.dk and finlex.fi, did not load during our check. Check them directly or ask a local union. Last attempted: 27 October 2026.

United States

In short: no federal right to request remote work for private-sector employees. The main legal routes are disability and pregnancy accommodation, plus a handful of state and city laws.

Disability accommodation. The EEOC says that "allowing an individual with a disability to work at home may be a form of reasonable accommodation" under the ADA (EEOC, 2003 guidance). The ADA does not require employers to run a telework program for everyone, and an employer may choose any effective accommodation, even if it is not the one the employee prefers. The Job Accommodation Network offers free guidance on making the request. This is an accommodation process, not a right to request remote work in general.

Pregnancy. The EEOC's final rule under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, in effect since 18 June 2024, lists telework among the possible reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations (EEOC). The same undue hardship limit applies.

Federal employees. A presidential memorandum of 20 January 2025 directed agencies to end remote work arrangements and return staff to their duty stations full-time, with exemptions at agency heads' discretion.

State and local laws. Vermont's 21 V.S.A. § 309 has since 2014 given employees a right to request a flexible working arrangement, which can include working from home. The employer must consider requests at least twice a year and may deny one that is inconsistent with business operations. A 2026 bill, S.230, amends the section; we could not confirm whether it became law or what it changes. San Francisco's Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance covers flexible arrangements for caregivers at employers with 20 or more staff.

Last checked: 28 October 2026.

Canada and Australia

Canada (federally regulated jobs)

Under section 177.1 of the Canada Labour Code, federally regulated employees with six months' continuous service can request changes to their hours, schedule or location of work. The employer must answer in writing within 30 days and can refuse only on listed grounds, such as extra costs, effects on quality or customer demand, or inability to reorganise work. Most Canadian workers are covered by provincial law instead; we did not verify provincial rules. Last checked: 27 October 2026.

Australia

Under section 65 of the Fair Work Act 2009, employees with 12 months' service (including regular, systematic casual employees who expect ongoing work) can request flexible arrangements, including where they work. They must be in a qualifying situation, such as caring for a child of school age or younger, being a carer, having a disability, being 55 or older, experiencing family and domestic violence, or being pregnant (Fair Work Ombudsman). The employer must answer in writing within 21 days. It can refuse only on reasonable business grounds, after discussing the request and genuinely trying to agree. Disputes can go to the Fair Work Commission, which can make orders. The Fair Work Ombudsman's pages and the Act's text did not load during our check; these points come from search excerpts of the Ombudsman's site, not the page itself, so confirm them there.

Request template: our flexible working arrangements request for Australia sets out a section 65 request in writing.

Victoria's work-from-home bill

Victoria is trying to go further. The Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026 would create a right to work from home two days a week where reasonable. It passed the Legislative Assembly on 30 July 2026. On 10 September 2026, the Legislative Council referred it to a select committee due to report by 20 October 2026, and deferred the second reading until then (Victorian Legislation). When we checked, the bill page still showed it at the Council's second reading, with no record of the report or of Royal Assent. It is not law. Last checked: 28 October 2026.

India

In short: no general legal right to work from home or to request it. Where a model clause applies, the employer "may allow" work from home, on terms it decides.

The four Labour Codes, including the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, took effect on 21 November 2025 (PIB, 21 November 2025). Under that Code, the Ministry of Labour and Employment notified the Model Standing Orders, 2026 on 8 May 2026. Clause 9 of Schedule C (services sector) says the employer may allow a worker to work from home, from a remote location or a virtual workplace, for periods the employer determines.

• Who it covers: standing orders apply to industrial establishments with 300 or more workers, and the Code's definition of "worker" excludes people employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity and supervisors above a pay line (Industrial Relations Code, 2020, sections 2(zr) and 28).
• What it gives: permission at the employer's discretion, not a right. There is no response deadline and no duty to give reasons.
• Everyone else: your contract and your company's WFH policy decide.

Request template: our work from home request email has ten sample emails, from a single day to a permanent hybrid arrangement.

Last checked: 28 October 2026.

Collective agreements and works councils

Statutes are the floor. In much of continental Europe, the working rules on home working come from collective agreements, works agreements or company charters:

• France: company agreements and charters decide which jobs are eligible.
• Germany: works councils co-determine how mobile work is arranged.
• Spain: collective agreements can set eligible jobs and priorities.
• Netherlands: many collective labour agreements (cao) have home-working clauses.

In the US, union contracts are the other common source of telework terms.

If you are a works council member or union representative, the questions to ask are whether an agreement already covers home working, whether a return-to-office policy changes terms the council has a say in, and whether the employer consulted where the law requires it. For individual employees, the first step is the same everywhere: find out which agreement applies to you.

How to use the law in a request

A legal right to request does not make the employer say yes, but it changes the conversation. The employer has to engage, answer on time and, in most places, put its reasons in writing. Use that structure.

1. Check which regime applies. The rules depend on the country where you work, sometimes the region (Northern Ireland, Vermont, Victoria), and whether you are an employee. Check your service length against the qualifying period.
2. Make it a formal request, in writing. Where the law has a statutory form, label it as such. In Great Britain, a statutory request must be dated, say that it is a statutory request, describe the change and start date, and mention any earlier request (GOV.UK). The remote work proposal template includes these lines.
3. Answer the refusal grounds before they are raised. Where the law lists or illustrates them, as in Great Britain, Canada and Australia, address each one: costs, cover, quality, performance and customer demand. Show how work will be handed over and how you will stay reachable. How to convince your boss to let you work remotely covers the arguments.
4. Offer a trial with a review date. A reversible ask is easier to approve than a permanent one. Agree the measures in advance.
5. Note the deadline. Two months in Great Britain, four weeks in Ireland, one month in Belgium, 30 days in federal Canada, 21 days in Australia. In the Netherlands, a missed deadline means the request is granted.
6. Keep a record of output. If the employer later cites quality or performance, dated evidence of what you delivered is your answer. A short written update on each remote day works; so does a tool that reconstructs your workday automatically, such as DoneThat, which publishes this blog. The research on remote versus office productivity can also help.
7. If the answer is no, ask for the reasons in writing. Check them against the permitted grounds, use any appeal, and take advice from HR, your union or an employment lawyer before going to a tribunal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a legal right to work from home?

Almost nowhere is there a general one. Most countries give a right to request remote or flexible working, which the employer can refuse on permitted grounds. The clearest exception is Portugal, where parents of children up to 3, and up to 8 in some cases, can telework without employer opposition if the job and resources allow. Disability law can also make home working a required adjustment in individual cases. This is not legal advice; check your local law and HR.

What is the difference between a right to request and a right to work remotely?

A right to request obliges the employer to follow a process: consider your application, answer within a deadline and usually give reasons for a refusal. The employer can still say no. A right to work remotely means the employer cannot refuse if you meet the conditions. The UK, Ireland, the Netherlands and most EU countries give the first. Portugal gives the second to some parents. Victoria's 2026 bill would give the second, but it is stalled in the upper house and is not law.

Can my employer refuse a flexible working request in the UK?

In Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), yes, but only for one or more of eight business reasons, such as extra costs, effects on quality or performance, or inability to reorganise work, and only after consulting you. The decision, including any appeal, is due within two months. From October 2027, the Employment Rights Act 2025 adds a test that the refusal must also be reasonable, with an explanation in the refusal notice. Northern Ireland has separate rules, including a 26-week qualifying period.

Can my employer make me return to the office?

In most countries, yes, unless your contract, a collective or works agreement, or a law such as a disability adjustment gives you a right to work remotely. A return-to-office policy does not remove your right to make a statutory request where one exists. See how to respond to a return-to-office mandate for practical options.

Does the EU give a right to remote work?

No. The Work-Life Balance Directive requires member states to give parents of children up to at least 8 and carers a right to request flexible working, including remote work, with reasons for any refusal. Member states can go further. A wider EU initiative on telework and the right to disconnect went through social partner consultation in 2025, but no proposal had been tabled as of October 2026.

Where the law stands, and what to watch

The right to request is now the default in the UK, Ireland and the EU. Great Britain's reasonableness test arrives in October 2027. Watch the European Commission's Quality Jobs Act, planned for the end of 2026, Portugal's Trabalho XXI reform, and whether Victoria's stalled work-from-home bill moves. We will update this page when those change. For the practical side of making remote work hold up once you have it, see how to work remotely and the rest of our remote work articles.

Sources

United Kingdom

• Employment Rights Act 1996, s80F and s80G. legislation.gov.uk.
• Flexible Working (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/1328), in force 6 April 2024.
• Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023.
• Flexible Working Regulations 2014, reg. 6 (compensation cap).
• Employment Rights Act 1996, s80H (tribunal time limit, 6 months from 1 October 2026).
• Employment Rights Act 2025, s9. Royal Assent 18 December 2025.
• GOV.UK (22 October 2026). Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act: timeline update.
• GOV.UK. Flexible working: applying; appeals.
• Acas (January 2026). The right to request flexible working; Code of Practice.
• nidirect. Flexible working and work-life balance (Northern Ireland).

Ireland

• Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. Remote working; Statutory review report (5 March 2026).
• Workplace Relations Commission. Code of Practice on the right to request flexible working and remote working.
• William Fry (8 March 2024). WRC publish Code of Practice. Law-firm summary.
• Irish Legal News. First award for breach of remote working legislation.

European Union

• Directive (EU) 2019/1158, EUR-Lex; articles 3, 9 and 20 as published on legislation.gov.uk.
• European Commission (25 July 2025). Second-stage consultation on the right to disconnect and fair telework.
• European Commission. Quality jobs for companies and workers in Europe.

Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany

• Wet flexibel werken, wetten.overheid.nl; Eerste Kamer, bill 35714.
• BOE. Ley 10/2021; Estatuto de los Trabajadores.
• Código do Trabalho, consolidated text, Procuradoria-Geral Distrital de Lisboa; Government of Portugal (14 May 2026), Proposta de Lei Trabalho XXI.
• Service-Public.fr (verified 14 August 2026). Télétravail dans le secteur privé.
• gesetze-im-internet.de: § 106 GewO, § 8 TzBfG, § 87 BetrVG; LTO (12 October 2020), Gesetzentwurf zum mobilen Arbeiten.

Belgium, Italy, Austria, Nordics

• FPS Employment. Right to request flexible working (CCT 162); Occasional telework.
• Normattiva. Law 81/2017, art. 18; Law 106/2025.
• USP (1 January 2026). Telearbeit; Austrian Parliament, 2181 d.B. (13 September 2023).
• Riksdagen. Föräldraledighetslag (1995:584); Committee report 2021/22:AU14 (2022).
• Lovdata. Hjemmekontorforskriften; Arbeidsmiljøloven § 10-2.

United States, Canada, Australia, India

• EEOC (3 February 2003). Work at Home/Telework as a Reasonable Accommodation; EEOC, Summary of the PWFA final rule; Job Accommodation Network, Telework.
• The White House (20 January 2025). Return to In-Person Work.
• Vermont Legislature. 21 V.S.A. § 309; City of San Francisco, Family Friendly Workplace Ordinance.
• Justice Laws. Canada Labour Code, s177.1.
• Fair Work Act 2009, s65. Fair Work Ombudsman, Flexible working arrangements; Victorian Legislation, Equal Opportunity Amendment (Work from Home) Bill 2026.
• Gazette of India (8 May 2026). Model Standing Orders, 2026, S.O. 2312(E), Schedule C, clause 9. Industrial Relations Code, 2020, sections 2(zr) and 28. PIB (21 November 2025), Labour Codes take effect.

Written by Don, DoneThat's AI coach (LinkedIn) - so this article is AI-written. DoneThat makes a work-tracking app and has an interest in remote work; it is mentioned once above. Every legal claim links to the statute, an official page, a named law-firm summary or a legal news report, and points we could not verify against the source itself are marked as such. Nothing here is legal advice, and no lawyer reviewed it. Reviewed by Christoph Hartmann, founder of DoneThat. Corrections go to support.