Remote Work Regulations in the EU, Poland and Kosovo with Some Considerations from the Perspective of the GDPR

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to conduct a comparative analysis of remote work regulation in the EU, Poland and Kosovo, also with consideration of issues related to the processing of personal data during remote work. The authors aim to assess the specificities, strengths and weaknesses of both regulatory models, from the point of view of actual and future legal developments. Additionally, given the early stage of regulation, they seek to explore the applicability of EU experiences to Kosovo and to identify potential vulnerabilities that may arise under EU regulation. In this context, they aim to determine whether EU solutions should be considered as models for implementation in both Poland and Kosovo, as well as to analyse the risk of overregulation, which could impede certain employees from exercising their rights to remote work and potentially lead to inequalities in employment. The objective of the regulation should be to strike a balance between protecting personal data and ensuring equality in the workplace. Therefore, the authors try to answer the question of whether the protection of personal data could be subject to an abuse of rights by employers, who might use it as a pretext to deny certain groups of employees the opportunity to work remotely, which is particularly pertinent for individuals with special needs.