Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations

Part Two: Selected Cases
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Ministry of Research and Information Technology Denmark (1997).

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Processing (ADP). The investigation assessed the status quo regarding technical equipment, and
investigated the use of office automation systems, changes of work processes and ADP-strategies.
According to the Ministry of Research in January 1996 only two out of five local authorities had
electronic mailboxes, but two thirds of them expected to have caught up by the end of the year.
A future project in the context of the government's ICT activities is the fusion of two ministries -
the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Energy - into one ‘virtual ministry’ with 150
addresses.
The Ministry of Social Affairs has been supporting numerous telework projects in public and
private organisations. This support has been mainly led by the expectation that telework enables
employees to find a better balance between work and private life. As a part of these activities and
in co-operation with the Ministry of Research, five municipalities in southern Jutland - Prästö,
Mön, Fladsaa, Vordingborg and Langebaek - are conducting telework activities in a pilot project.
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Among three sectors a framework collective agreement regarding telework has been agreed upon
for county and local authorities (KTO) in 1997, also defining issues for local and individual
agreements. The framework agreement fixes:
l
that it only applies to regular performed telework;
l
the principle of voluntary teleworking;
l
that the employer supplies the teleworker with necessary equipment or compensation;
l
that a certain time for the teleworker’s availability must be appointed;
l
that overtime has to be noted;
l
that mutual trust is a precondition;
l
that contact with the workplace must be secured;
l
that in general security in employment must be considered.