The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift toward remote work globally, including in Kosovo. While this new way of working offers flexibility and convenience, it also exposes gaps in labor regulations. Kosovo’s Labor Law, like many others, was primarily designed for traditional in-office work environments and has yet to fully adapt to the nuances of remote work. Remote work context has brought to attention legal gaps in areas such as work hours, digital privacy, employer responsibilities, and employee rights.
Kosovo’s Labor Law defines standard working hours as 40 hours per week, with provisions for rest breaks and overtime compensation. In a remote work context, enforcing these regulations becomes more complex. Employees working from home may find it difficult to separate their personal time from their professional duties, leading to the risk of overwork. While Kosovo’s Labor Law requires employers to track work hours and ensure overtime pay, there is little guidance on how this should be done in a remote setting, where the boundaries between work and personal life blur. Moreover, monitoring overtime in a remote context is challenging, as it may be unclear whether an employee voluntarily chooses to work extra hours or is implicitly required to do so. This lack of clarity can lead to potential violations of the right to rest and can increase the risk of employee burnout, highlighting the need for a more specific legal framework to govern work hours in remote settings.
One of the major concerns for remote employees is the issue of digital privacy. Many employers, in an effort to ensure productivity and maintain security, use various tools to monitor their employees’ activities. However, Kosovo’s Labor Law does not currently have robust provisions addressing the privacy rights of employees working remotely. In an office setting, monitoring employee activities is typically subject to consent and legal limitations, ensuring that personal privacy is protected. In a remote work context, the line between professional and private life is thinner. Without clear legal protection, employees working from home may be subject to intrusive monitoring, such as the use of software that tracks their keyboard activity or even their webcam. A legal gap exists in the form of insufficient regulation over how much and what kind of surveillance is permissible in remote work environments, which could infringe upon the employee’s right to privacy.
In traditional work settings, Kosovo’s Labor Law mandates employers to ensure a safe and healthy work environment. However, when employees work remotely, particularly from home, the question of who is responsible for ensuring a safe work environment becomes less clear. Employers may not have the same level of control over home office setups as they do in a company workspace. There is no explicit legal obligation under Kosovo’s Labor Law regarding an employer’s responsibility for the remote work environment. For example, if an employee sustains an injury while working from home due to improper equipment or poor ergonomics, it remains unclear whether the employer is liable. A legal gap exists in defining the extent to which employers are required to provide or compensate for necessary equipment, such as ergonomic chairs or adequate internet connections, to ensure a safe and efficient home-working environment.
The so-called “right to disconnect,” which refers to an employee’s right to disengage from work outside agreed-upon hours, was pioneered by France’s El Khomri Law in 2017. This issue is particularly crucial in remote work contexts, where the boundaries between work time and personal time often become blurred. While Kosovo’s Labor Law provides general regulations on working hours and overtime, it does not specifically address the right to disconnect. In practice, remote employees may feel pressured to be available at all times, undermining their ability to maintain a healthy work-life balance. This highlights a legal gap respectively the need for specific legal requirements to protect employees from the burden of constant digital connectivity outside working hours.
Remote work is reshaping the traditional employment relationship, but Kosovo’s Labor Law has not yet fully adapted to this shift. Key areas such as work hours, digital privacy, employer responsibilities, and the right to disconnect require a more specific legal framework to protect remote employees effectively. As remote work continues to grow, Kosovo must address these gaps to ensure that employees’ rights are upheld in this new working environment.
By Ahmet Hasolli, Managing Partner, and Dardan Makolli, Legal Associate, Kalo & Associates Kosovo
This article was originally published in Issue 11.10 of the CEE Legal Matters Magazine. If you would like to receive a hard copy of the magazine, you can subscribe here.