Remote and Hybrid Work in Serbia: How to Regulate It Properly

The employee works from home two days a week, and comes to the office the other three. He agrees on specific days with the immediate manager. The employer provided him with a laptop, but this way of working is not regulated by the contract, annex or internal act.

Such a model can function for a long time without problems. Questions are usually raised only when the employee refuses to return to the office, requests reimbursement of expenses, reports an injury while working at home, or disputes the way the employer monitors his work.

Is it enough, then, for the employer and the employee to verbally agree on working from home?

The answer depends on the content of the existing contract, the frequency of work outside the employer’s premises and whether it is an occasional benefit or an established model of work organization.

When working from home becomes a regular part of the employment relationship, it should not be based only on electronic correspondence, verbal approval of the manager or unwritten practice. The rights and obligations of the employer and the employee should be arranged in advance and harmonized with the actual way of working.

How the Labour Law regulates work outside the employer’s premises

The Labour Law uses the term work outside the employer’s premises and states that it includes remote work and work from home.

For such work, the law provides a special content of the employment contract. In addition to general elements, the contract should regulate the duration of working hours according to work norms, the method of monitoring the employee’s work, the means for work provided by the employer, the use of the employee’s own funds, compensation for the costs of their use and compensation for other work costs.

Hybrid work is not specifically defined as an independent legal institute. In business practice, this term usually refers to a model in which the employee works part of the time at the employer’s premises, and part of the time from his home or from another approved location.

The fact that the law does not use the term “hybrid work” does not mean that such a model is impermissible. Its legal viability depends on whether the place and method of work, layout, equipment, costs, control and other relevant issues are properly regulated.

The problem, therefore, is not in the name of the model, but in the attempt to base a permanent way of organizing work on an informal agreement.

Part-time working from home and a full-time hybrid model are not the same

Not every occasional work from home is automatically a permanent change to the contracted working conditions.

For example, an employee may exceptionally be allowed to work from home on a certain day due to family circumstances, weather conditions or other justifiable reason. Such a situation is not the same as a predetermined regime according to which the employee works outside the employer’s premises for two or three days every week.

When assessing whether a particular model should be more formally arranged, the following are particularly important:

• frequency and duration of working from home
• content of the existing contract
• the way the workplace is defined
• the existence of a permanent or predetermined schedule
• the use of special equipment and the occurrence of additional costs
• method of recording and control of work

whether working from home is presented as an employee’s right or as a possibility for the employer to decide.

The more regular, long-term and organizationally significant the work from home is, the less justified it is to rely on individual approvals from the manager.

The contracted place of work is not the same as the authorized location of work

One of the most important questions is whether the employee’s home becomes the contracted place of work or whether he is only allowed to work from a certain location occasionally.

In the first case, working from home is part of the contractual terms of employment. In the second, the employer’s business premises can remain the contracted place of work, while the employee, under certain conditions, is allowed to perform part of the work outside them.

That difference affects:

• the need to conclude the annex
• the possibility of changing the schedule
• the employer’s right to demand attendance at the office
• conditions for termination of working from home
• determination of permitted locations
• reimbursement of expenses

implementation of safety and health rules at work.

Therefore, it is not enough to simply state that the employee “can work from home”. It is necessary to explain who decides on this, to what extent such work is applied and under what conditions it can be changed.

Is an annex to the contract required for hybrid work?

When an employee already engages in work from home or remote work during the establishment of the employment relationship, such regime should be regulated by the employment contract.

If hybrid work is introduced subsequently, the need for an annex depends on whether the contracted working conditions are changed.

As a rule, the annex will be required when the contracted place of work or another element of the contract is changed. This may be the case when the employee’s home is determined as one of the regular places of work or when a permanent work regime is introduced outside the employer’s premises.

When the existing contract already enables such an organization, it should be assessed separately whether a general act and a corresponding decision of the employer are sufficient for its implementation.

Therefore, it cannot be claimed in advance either that the annex is needed in every case or that it is never needed because the employee agrees to work from home. The answer depends on the content of the specific contract and the actual nature of the change.

What should be regulated by contract, and what by an internal act

The contract or annex should primarily regulate issues that directly determine the position of a specific employee, such as:

• contracted place or places of work
• the relationship between work from the office and work outside the employer’s premises
• basic work schedule
• means of work
• use of private equipment
• reimbursement of costs
• way of supervising the work
• obligation to come to the employer’s premises

conditions of change or termination of hybrid mode.

The general act of the employer can regulate common organizational, technical and safety rules in more detail, for example:

• approval procedure for working from home
• way of determining specific days
• mandatory availability periods
• records of the start and end of work
• using official devices and applications
• information security
• reporting technical problems
• keeping business documents
• work control
• reporting injuries and safety incidents

returning equipment.

Companies often use the name “hybrid work policy”. The name of the document itself, however, does not determine its legal force.

The internal policy is not automatically the same as the work regulations or other general act adopted in accordance with the law. It also cannot unilaterally change the rights already granted to the employee by contract.

Therefore, it is necessary to check what the document regulates, who adopts it and whether it is in accordance with the law, general acts and employee contracts.

Who bears the costs of working from home

One of the most frequently overlooked questions is who pays for the equipment, internet, electricity and other costs associated with working from home.

The contract for work outside the employer’s premises should determine the means of work that the employer procures, installs and maintains. If the employee uses his own equipment or other means, it is necessary to arrange their use and compensation of the corresponding costs.

Not all household expenses are labor expenses at the same time.

It is necessary to distinguish:

• means without which the employee cannot perform the job
• costs of using own equipment
• additional internet, electricity and communication costs incurred due to work

general household expenses that would exist even without working from home.

Compensation can be arranged through a monthly flat rate, calculation according to the number of days of work from home, reimbursement of documented expenses or a combination of several models.

The chosen method of calculation should be sufficiently specific, objective and harmonized with the actual costs and tax rules.

A general provision according to which the employee bears all the costs of working from home, without considering what means and costs the employer should provide or compensate, would be problematic.

A more precise provision, for example, may stipulate that the employer provides an official computer, software and technical support, while the employee is paid a predetermined amount for additional internet and electricity costs according to the number of days of working from home.

Working hours and availability of the employee

Working from home does not mean that the employee must be available at all times.

The rules on working hours, overtime, daily and weekly rest and absences apply to employees who work outside the employer’s premises.

The employer should therefore clearly determine:

• start and end of working hours
• mandatory availability periods
• way of recording work
• procedure for determining overtime
• rules for attending meetings

handling in case of internet interruption or equipment failure.

A particular risk is the informal culture of constant availability.

Sending messages outside of working hours does not necessarily mean that the employee has worked overtime. However, when he is expected to respond immediately, solve tasks or regularly monitor business applications, the question of the actual duration of his work can be raised.

In Serbia, there is no special and comprehensive right to exclusion based on the model of certain European countries. However, the protection of the employee comes from the rules on limited working hours and mandatory vacations.

That is why the documentation should determine when the employee must be available, and when he is not obligated to check messages and business systems.

Safety and health when working from home

The fact that an employee works at home does not cancel the employer’s obligations in the field of occupational health and safety.

The employer should, in cooperation with the employee, determine the conditions for safe and healthy work, the means of work it provides, the way of organizing the work process and preventive measures.

The employee should cooperate with the employer, act according to the instructions received and report changes that may affect work safety.

Preventive measures may include:

• correct body position and organization of the work surface
• safe use of electrical and computer equipment
• appropriate lighting
• regular breaks
• preventing tripping and other physical risks
• injury reporting procedure

handling in the event of a failure or security incident.

The employer can issue a written act on risk assessment for working from home and remote work with the employee’s participation. This does not mean that the evaluation of working conditions is optional, but that the law leaves room for the form of a separate written act. The obligation to determine conditions and preventive measures remains.

At the same time, working from home does not give the employer an unlimited right to enter and control the employee’s home. The method of checking the conditions should be harmonized with the privacy of the employee and the nature of the specific job.

Is every injury at home an injury at work?

Not every injury that occurs in an employee’s home is automatically a work injury.

When evaluating a specific event, it is necessary to consider:

• whether the injury occurred during working hours
• where and under what circumstances it was created
• what action the employee performed
• whether that action was related to work tasks
• when and how the event was reported

what documentation and other evidence exists.

An injury during the use of official equipment while performing a task is not the same situation as an injury caused during a private activity that is not related to work.

Therefore, internal documentation should contain a clear procedure for reporting events, but it should not be determined in advance that every injury at home is considered an injury at work or that no such injury can have that character.

Work control and employee privacy

The employer has the right and legitimate interest to check the performance of work duties. This right is not unlimited.

Logging in to the business system, monitoring the implementation of tasks or controlling the use of the official computer may be justified depending on the nature of the work.

Significantly more serious invasion of privacy is represented by:

• continuous screen recording
• automatic photographing of the employee
• constant activation of the camera or microphone
• tracking every mouse movement
• control of private communication

supervision of household members or areas outside the work environment.

Before introducing the monitoring system, the employer should determine:

• clear and permissible purpose
• appropriate legal basis
• what data it collects
• whether all data is necessary
• how long does he keep them
• who can access them
• whether the goal can be achieved by a less invasive means

how the employee will be notified.

The employee’s consent is not automatically the most reliable legal basis for any data processing, because in the employment relationship there is an imbalance between the employer and the employee.

The employer should control the performance of work duties, not the employee’s private life. The fact that the work is done in the home further increases the need for proportionality and clear limits of supervision.

Business data protection and cyber security

Working outside the office increases the risk of unauthorized access to documents, devices and business systems.

The rules of remote work should therefore include:

• use of official devices
• strong passwords and multi-factor authentication
• secure connection to business systems
• prohibition of using unprotected public networks
• storage of paper documentation
• prohibition of access to third parties
• reporting lost or stolen devices
• action in the case of a cyber incident
• returning equipment and deleting business data

trade secret protection.

In particular, it should be arranged whether the employee is allowed to work from a coffee shop, shared office space, holiday home or another country.

A permit to work from home should not automatically constitute a permit to work from any location.

Working from another country may open up issues of application of foreign labour law, tax status, social security, residence and work permits, information security and international data transfer. That is why such work should be specially approved and legally analyzed beforehand.

Can the Employer Discontinue Working from Home?

The answer depends on how working from home is introduced and legally formulated.

If the employee’s home is contracted as a permanent or regular place of work, a unilateral order to return to the office may represent a change in the contracted working conditions.

If working from home is arranged as a time-limited or revoked possibility, with clearly defined criteria and the employer’s right to change the schedule, the scope for organizational change may be wider.

The documentation should therefore answer the following questions:

• whether the employee has the right to an exact number of days of work from home
• who determines specific days
• how far in advance the schedule is communicated
• in which situations the employer may require attendance
• whether the employee can independently change the location of work
• for which reasons the hybrid regime may be limited or abolished

whether a permanent change requires an annex.

The formulation that the employee “can occasionally work from home” is not sufficient if it cannot be concluded from it who makes the decision, how long such work lasts and under what conditions it ends.

Equal treatment of employees

The employer is not obliged to allow every employee the same number of days of work from home, regardless of the nature of the job.

Certain positions require physical presence, direct contact with clients, access to equipment, or work with documentation that cannot be safely used off-premises.

However, differences between employees should be based on objective and pre-understandable criteria, such as:

• nature of jobs
• the need to be present at a specific location
• security requirements
• team organization
• privacy protection

technical possibilities.

Arbitrarily approving work from home to individual employees, without clear criteria, can increase the risk of disputes due to unequal treatment.

The most common mistakes of employers

Reliance on an oral agreement

Later, it is difficult to prove what was agreed, how long the regime was supposed to last and who had the right to change it.

Misjudgment of the need for an annex

It is risky to assume that the annex is always needed and that it is never needed. The answer depends on the content of the existing contract and the actual change in working conditions.

Unregulated costs

Employees and employers may have different understandings of who pays for equipment, internet, electricity and maintenance.

Absence of records of working hours

It is difficult for the employer to prove the duration of work, the use of holidays and the existence of overtime.

Permanent availability of the employee

The hybrid model turns into an extension of the working day without clear records and corresponding compensation.

Excessive electronic surveillance

Productivity control can turn into disproportionate data processing and breach of employee privacy.

Neglecting safety at work

The employer does not have established conditions, preventive measures or procedures for reporting injuries.

A vague return to the office

A dispute arises as to whether working from home is a contractual right, a permanent place of work or revokes an organizational possibility.

Copying foreign policies

The document may contain institutes that do not exist in Serbian law or ignore the obligations of domestic law.

Work from abroad without approval

The employer may be exposed to labour law, tax, immigration and regulatory risks.

Checklist for the legal introduction of hybrid work

Contracts and internal acts

review existing employment contracts

precisely determine the place of work

assess whether annexes are needed

adopt or harmonize the corresponding general act

determine the relationship between contracts, regulations and internal policies.

Organization of work

determine which jobs can be performed outside the employer’s premises

determine who approves working from home

define the schedule and obligation to come to the office

determine the permitted work locations

separately arrange work from another country.

Equipment and costs

determine which funds are provided by the employer

arrange the use of private equipment

determine responsibility for maintenance and return of equipment

to determine the method of reimbursement of costs.

Working hours and control

organize records of working hours

define mandatory availability periods

arrange overtime

check the legality and proportionality of the supervision

determine the method of reporting and communication.

Security and data protection

determine preventive measures of safety and health at work

prescribe the procedure for reporting injuries

regulate the protection of business and personal data

prescribe the procedure in case of a technical or security incident

train employees and managers.

Conclusion

The essential legal problem of hybrid work is not that the Labour Law does not use this very term. The problem arises when the employer tries to base a permanent and organizationally significant work model on an occasional and informal agreement.

Working from home and hybrid work can only be legal and functional when it is clear:

• where the employee works
• who determines the schedule
• who provides the equipment
• how expenses are reimbursed
• how work hours are recorded
• in what way is the performance of work controlled
• what security measures are in place

when and under what conditions the employee can be returned to the office.

A universal pattern is not enough. The documentation must be adapted to the content of the existing contracts, the nature of the work, the technology, the way of management and the actual organization of the specific employer.

Read more about employment contracts, internal acts, records, occupational safety and other obligations of companies in the guide Labor law for employers in Serbia: what every company must arrange.

JP Law can review existing contracts and employer practices, determine if an annex is needed, and prepare contracts, regulations, and other documentation aligned with the actual work-from-home and hybrid work model.

Frequently asked questions

Does working from home have to be specified in the employment contract?

When working from home is a contracted and regular way of performing work outside the employer’s premises, it must be regulated by contract. In the case of occasional flexibility, the answer depends on the existing contract and the specific way of working.

Is an annex to the contract required for hybrid work?

An annex is required when the agreed working conditions, especially the place of work or other elements of the contract, are changed. If the existing contract already enables such an organization, it should be assessed whether the general act and the employer’s decision are sufficient.

Who pays for internet and electricity?

The method of compensation should be arranged in advance. It is necessary to distinguish additional expenses incurred due to work from general household expenses. The compensation can be flat-rate, calculated according to the number of days of work from home, or regulated by another objective model.

Can the employer monitor the activities of the employee on the computer?

Can carry out justified and proportionate control of the execution of work duties. The employee should be informed about the type, purpose and scope of the surveillance, and the collection of data must not be more extensive than necessary.

Is an injury at home an injury at work?

Not automatically. It is necessary to determine whether the injury occurred during work and in connection with the performance of work tasks, while considering the time, place, circumstances and available evidence.

Can the employer demand the return of the employee to the office?

It can to the extent that the treaty, the annex, the general act and the way in which the hybrid regime is introduced allow it. If the employee’s home is contracted as a regular place of work, a permanent change may require an annex.

Can the employee work from any location or from another country?

Not without limitations. The employer can determine the permitted locations for data protection, security and business organization. Working from another country requires a special legal assessment and prior approval.

Can the internal policy replace the annex to the contract?

Not when it changes rights or conditions that have already been contracted. An internal act can regulate the common rules in more detail, but it cannot independently change the content of the employment contract.