No financial support for journalists working from home

When asked if journalists receive financial support or compensation for telework or home office, a majority of them responded negatively. Only in Belgium, Germany and Sweden did journalists’ unions/associations respond positively. Negative answers include Montenegro, Portugal, Croatia, North Macedonia, Denmark, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Hungary, Cyprus, Malta, Finland and Serbia.

When asked more precisely how health and safety issues are dealt with, a majority of respondents confirmed that provision of insurance for home-office/telework in case of accidents was respected.

The Turkish union of journalists (TGS) pointed out that according to law, "the employer is obliged to inform the employee about the occupational health and safety measures, to provide the necessary training, to provide health surveillance and to take the necessary occupational safety measures regarding the equipment provided, taking into account the nature of the work performed by the remote worker." However, according to Media Monitoring Reports written by the Media for Democracy/Democracy for Media Project (implemented by the Association of Journalists), in reality many journalists were not provided with adequate PPE (personal protection equipment) during and after the pandemic.

In Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands, unions/associations reported that provisions or requirements existed for ergonomic equipment.

In Hungary, the Union of Journalists reported that absolutely no health and safety measures were taken into account by employers in case of telework/home office. The same goes for Cyprus, Malta, Kosovo, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro and Estonia.

On the sensitive issue of data protection and electronic surveillance, journalists’ unions/associations reported receiving support in terms of training and material. Training is provided in North Macedonia, Serbia, Belgium, Portugal, and Montenegro.Material is provided in Luxembourg, Malta, Germany and Finland

In Turkey, journalists are briefed by employers on data protection but there is no specific policy focusing on electronic surveillance even if this is not a major concern for media outlets, given the political pressure on journalists in the country.

In some countries this issue is not tackled at all, for example in Croatia and in Hungary.