Remote work and occupational health and safety: New obligations for companies

On 7 April 2026, Law No. 34/2026 (the Annual Law on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) entered into force. Among other things, this law introduced additional obligations on health and safety regulations for remote (smart) workers. In this regard, Article 22 of Law No. 81/2017 already imposed on employers an obligation to protect the health and safety of workers performing their duties under “smart working” arrangements, in particular by providing, on an annual basis, a written information on the risks associated with carrying out work outside the employer's premises, to be delivered to both the worker and the workers' health and safety representative (RLS). However, this obligation has shown limited effectiveness over time, due to the lack of a specific sanctioning framework, unlike other obligations set out in occupational health and safety legislation. The legislator therefore has introduced a new paragraph 7‑bis into Article 3 of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008 (the Consolidated Act on occupational health and safety), under which “for working activities performed under smart working arrangements in work environments that do not fall within the employer's legal control, the employer must ensure the compliance with the safety obligations related to remote work, in particular those relating to the use of display screen equipment, through the deliver to the worker and to the workers' health and safety representative, at least on an annual basis, of a written information identifying the general risks and the specific risks connected with the remote work, without prejudice to the worker's obligation to cooperate in the implementation of the prevention measures adopted by the employer to address the risks associated with performing work outside the company's premises”. The amendment therefore aligns with the framework already established by Law No. 81/2017, strengthening its practical application. Particular attention is paid to risks arising from the use of display screen equipment (such as, for example, eyesight problems, postural disorders, and physical and mental fatigue), which are regulated under Legislative Decree No. 81/2008 and are now expressly referred to with regard to work performed remotely. Alongside the obligation to provide the information notice, the employer's operational obligations remain unchanged: employers must carry out a prior risk assessment and ensure that the technological equipment made available to workers is adequate and safe. However, the most significant strengthening concerns the introduction of a system of sanctions. The amendment modified Article 55 of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008, providing that failure to deliver the written information notice is sanctioned with the arrest from two to four months or with a fine ranging from EUR 1,708.61 to EUR 7,403.96. As a result, the annual information notice ceases to be a merely programmatic provision and becomes a legally binding obligation backed by criminal sanctions. Finally, attention should be drawn to the fact that, while providing that the information notice must also be delivered to the workers' health and safety representative (RLS), the legislator did not clarify whether, in companies or production units where such RLS is not in place, the notice must instead be delivered to the territorial workers' health and safety representative (RLST). Based on a systematic interpretation of Articles 47 and 48 of Legislative Decree No. 81/2008, the RLST exercises the powers of the RLS where the latter has not been elected or appointed. Consequently, in the absence of the RLS, the information notice should be provided to the RLST, where duly appointed and whose identity has been communicated to the company and to workers in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 81/2008. Following the amendments introduced by Law No. 34/2026, companies are therefore required to promptly review the procedures adopted with regard to occupational health and safety for workers operating under smart working arrangements. In particular, employers (i) must prepare written information (or ensure that the information already provided is) complete and updated, clearly identifying the general and specific risks associated with remote work, and (ii) must ensure that such information is effectively delivered every year to both the worker and the workers' health and safety representative; in this respect, it is therefore necessary to ensure the implementation of appropriate systems capable of evidencing the delivery of the information notice.

Authored by Vittorio Moresco and Giulia Maccioni.