The General Conference of the International Labour
Organization,
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office, and having met in its Eighty-third Session on 4
June 1996, and
Recalling that many international labour Conventions and
Recommendations laying down standards of general application concerning working
conditions are applicable to homeworkers, and
Noting that the particular conditions characterizing home
work make it desirable to improve the application of those Conventions and
Recommendations to homeworkers, and to supplement them by standards which take
into account the special characteristics of home work, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with
regard to home work, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form
of a Recommendation supplementing the Home Work Convention, 1996;
adopts, this twentieth day of June of the year one thousand
nine hundred and ninety-six, the following Recommendation, which may be cited as
the Home Work Recommendation, 1996:
the term home work means work carried out by a
person, to be referred to as a homeworker,
in his or her home or in other premises of his or
her choice, other than the workplace of the employer;
for remuneration;
which results in a product or service as
specified by the employer, irrespective of who provides the
equipment, materials or other inputs used,
unless
this person has the degree of autonomy and of economic independence
necessary to be considered an independent worker under national
laws, regulations or court decisions;
persons with employee status do not become
homeworkers within the meaning of this Recommendation simply by
occasionally performing their work as employees at home, rather than at
their usual workplaces;
the term employer means a person, natural or
legal, who, either directly or through an intermediary, whether or not
intermediaries are provided for in national legislation, gives out home
work in pursuance of his or her business activity.
This Recommendation applies to all persons carrying out
home work within the meaning of Paragraph 1.
Each Member should, according to national law and
practice, designate an authority or authorities entrusted with the
formulation and implementation of the national policy on home work
referred to in Article 3 of the Convention.
As far as possible, use should be made of tripartite
bodies or organizations of employers and workers in the formulation and
implementation of this national policy.
In the absence of organizations concerned with
homeworkers or organizations of employers of homeworkers, the authority
or authorities referred to in subparagraph (1) should make suitable
arrangements to permit these workers and employers to express their
opinions on this national policy and on the measures adopted to
implement it.
Detailed information, including data classified according
to sex, on the extent and characteristics of home work should be compiled
and kept up to date to serve as a basis for the national policy on home work
and for the measures adopted to implement it. This information should be
published and made publicly available.
A homeworker should be kept informed of his or her
specific conditions of employment in writing or in any other appropriate
manner consistent with national law and practice.
This information should include, in particular:
the name and address of the employer and the
intermediary, if any;
the scale or rate of remuneration and the methods
of calculation; and
The competent authority at the national level and, where
appropriate, at the regional, sectoral or local levels, should provide for
registration of employers of homeworkers and of any intermediaries used by
such employers. For this purpose, such authority should specify the
information employers should submit or keep at the authority's disposal.
Employers should be required to notify the competent
authority when they give out home work for the first time.
Employers should keep a register of all homeworkers,
classified according to sex, to whom they give work.
Employers should also keep a record of work assigned
to a homeworker which shows:
the time allocated;
the rate of remuneration;
costs incurred, if any, by the homeworker and the
amount reimbursed in respect of them;
any deductions made in accordance with national
laws and regulations; and
the gross remuneration due and the net
remuneration paid, together with the date of payment.
A copy of the record referred to in subparagraph (3)
should be provided to the homeworker.
In so far as it is compatible with national law and
practice concerning respect for privacy, labour inspectors or other
officials entrusted with enforcing provisions applicable to home work should
be allowed to enter the parts of the home or other private premises in which
the work is carried out.
In cases of serious or repeated violations of the laws
and regulations applicable to home work, appropriate measures should be
taken, including the possible prohibition of giving out home work, in
accordance with national law and practice.
National laws and regulations concerning minimum age for
admission to employment or work should apply to home work.
V. The Rights to Organize and Bargain
Collectively
Legislative or administrative restrictions or other
obstacles to:
the exercise of the right of homeworkers to establish
their own organizations or to join the workers' organizations of their
choice and to participate in the activities of such organizations; and
the exercise of the right of organizations of
homeworkers to join trade union federations or confederations,
should
be identified and eliminated.
Measures should be taken to encourage collective
bargaining as a means of determining the terms and conditions of work of
homeworkers.
Minimum rates of wages should be fixed for home work, in
accordance with national law and practice.
Rates of remuneration of homeworkers should be fixed
preferably by collective bargaining, or in its absence, by:
decisions of the competent authority, after
consulting the most representative organizations of employers and of
workers as well as organizations concerned with homeworkers and
those of employers of homeworkers, or where the latter organizations
do not exist, representatives of homeworkers and of employers of
homeworkers; or
other appropriate wage-fixing machinery at the
national, sectoral or local levels.
Where rates of remuneration are not fixed by one of
the means in subparagraph (1) above, they should be fixed by agreement
between the homeworker and the employer.
For specified work paid by the piece, the rate of
remuneration of a homeworker should be comparable to that received by a
worker in the enterprise of the employer, or if there is no such worker, in
another enterprise in the branch of activity and region concerned.
Homeworkers should receive compensation for:
costs incurred in connection with their work, such as
those relating to the use of energy and water, communications and
maintenance of machinery and equipment; and
time spent in maintaining machinery and equipment,
changing tools, sorting, unpacking and packing, and other such
operations.
National laws and regulations concerning the
protection of wages should apply to homeworkers.
National laws and regulations should ensure that
pre-established criteria are set for deductions and should protect
homeworkers against unjustified deductions for defective work or spoilt
materials.
Homeworkers should be paid either on delivery of each
completed work assignment or at regular intervals of not more than one
month.
Where an intermediary is used, the intermediary and the
employer should be made jointly and severally liable for payment of the
remuneration due to homeworkers, in accordance with national law and
practice.
The competent authority should ensure the dissemination
of guidelines concerning the safety and health regulations and precautions
that employers and homeworkers are to observe. Where practicable, these
guidelines should be translated into languages understood by homeworkers.
Employers should be required to:
inform homeworkers of any hazards that are known or
ought to be known to the employer associated with the work given to them
and of the precautions to be taken, and provide them, where appropriate,
with the necessary training;
ensure that machinery, tools or other equipment
provided to homeworkers are equipped with appropriate safety devices and
take reasonable steps to ensure that they are properly maintained; and
provide homeworkers free of charge with any necessary
personal protective equipment.
Homeworkers should be required to:
comply with prescribed safety and health measures;
take reasonable care for their own safety and health
and that of other persons who may be affected by their acts or omissions
at work, including the proper use of materials, machinery, tools and
other equipment placed at their disposal.
A homeworker who refuses to carry out work which he
or she has reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and
serious danger to his or her safety or health should be protected from
undue consequences in a manner consistent with national conditions and
practice. The homeworker should report the situation to the employer
without delay.
In the event of an imminent and serious danger to the
safety or health of a homeworker, his or her family or the public, as
determined by a labour inspector or other public safety official, the
continuation of home work should be prohibited until appropriate
measures have been taken to remedy the situation.
A deadline to complete a work assignment should not
deprive a homeworker of the possibility to have daily and weekly rest
comparable to that enjoyed by other workers.
National laws and regulations should establish the
conditions under which homeworkers should be entitled to benefit, as other
workers, from paid public holidays, annual holidays with pay and paid sick
leave.
The competent authority should ensure that there are
mechanisms for the resolution of disputes between a homeworker and an
employer or any intermediary used by the employer.
Each Member should, in cooperation with organizations
of employers and workers, promote and support programmes which:
inform homeworkers of their rights and the kinds
of assistance available to them;
raise awareness of home-work-related issues among
employers' and workers' organizations, non-governmental
organizations and the public at large;
facilitate the organization of homeworkers in
organizations of their own choosing, including cooperatives;
provide training to improve homeworkers' skills
(including non-traditional skills, leadership and negotiating
skills), productivity, employment opportunities and income-earning
capacity;
provide training which is carried out as close as
practicable to the workers' homes and does not require unnecessary
formal qualifications;
improve homeworkers' safety and health such as by
facilitating their access to equipment, tools, raw materials and
other essential materials that are safe and of good quality;
facilitate the creation of centres and networks
for homeworkers in order to provide them with information and
services and reduce their isolation;
facilitate access to credit, improved housing and
child care; and
promote recognition of home work as valid work
experience.
Access to these programmes should be ensured to rural
homeworkers.
Specific programmes should be adopted to eliminate
child labour in home work.
Where practicable, information concerning the rights and
protection of homeworkers and the obligations of employers towards
homeworkers, as well as the programmes referred to in Paragraph 29, should
be provided in languages understood by homeworkers.
