Need of Legal Recognition for Distance Working in PostCovid19 Sri Lanka: An Empirical Approach

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic immensely affected the employer-employee relationships within the industrial sector leading to drastic issues with regard to labour relations providing room for distance working concept. Though the Home Work Convention,1996functionsasan international legislation which regulate distant workers, it is pertinent that Sri Lanka has not signed and ratified the convention due to existing controversies such as the absence of a proper procedure of claiming compensation, occupational safety and health for distant workers, mechanism of evaluating the exact hours of work and issues with regard to salaries, social security andgratuity,jobsecurityandsocial problems faced by women employees etc. Therefore, the entire research focuses on the need of an effective legal and regulatory framework which safeguards the rights of distant workers recommending to enact a separate legislation which ensures the rights of distant workers while strengthening its regulatory framework in advance.