DESAFIOS DE LA PROTECCION JURIDICA A LAS PERSONAS TELETRABAJADORAS: UNA MIRADA CRITICA AL CONCEPTO DE SUBORDINACIN.

Remote work and, specifically, teleworking are addressed in this study from a socio-legal and multi-level approach, finding in the Italian legal system a reference to contribute to the analysis of the main issue: the concept of subordination in accordance with the current work reality. In this way, under the title “Challenges of legal protection for teleworkers: a critical look at the concept of subordination”, the prominence of teleworking during the last five years is taken advantage of to investigate whether the scope of application of Labor Law is adapted to labor relations, frequently characterized by the use of information and communication technologies, which allow the worker to develop their work performance with a high degree of autonomy, in its various manifestations. In this sense, it is finally examined whether it is necessary to update the main Spanish labor regulations, and especially the first article of the Workers' Statute, to specify and, in turn, make more flexible the notes of third-party and subordination. The core of the thesis is structured in five chapters. The first of them presents the main characteristics of a labor market sector where ICT predominates, delving into the sociological dimension of teleworking. The second and third chapters condense the basic legal and conceptual framework of teleworking, which makes it easier, in the fourth chapter, to delve deeper into the complex debate on the borders of Labor Law in general and, finally, in the fifth, to highlight the issues that this raises in the specific context of teleworking. The first chapter is dedicated to introducing the context of work in the digital age, current technologies and the digital skills required for the new profile of the teleworker. This chapter has a predominantly sociological aspect, which will address important aspects of the importance of teleworking today, dealing with identifying and reflecting on the advantages and disadvantages of teleworking for the three affected groups, that is, the worker, employer and society, around the issue of the digital divide (or, better, digital divides) and the need for professional training of the teleworker regarding this type of work. It is considered necessary to first address an important sociological review of the topic and then delve deeply into the legal aspects that involve teleworking. The second chapter contextualizes in the legal systems of Spain and Italy the important historical-normative evolution of the employment contract, from remote work, until reaching the figure of teleworking, with due analysis of the important distinction between these figures. The third chapter analyzes the notion of teleworking in labor doctrine. To do this, we start from a necessary delimitation and conceptualization of this work organization model, as well as the analysis of the different modalities in which teleworking can be developed. Having established the above, the fourth chapter of the thesis is dedicated to the complex issue of the current borders of Labor Law, with the protection of teleworkers and the analysis of subordination and alienation in teleworking, the labor notes in this context and the tenuous border with self-employed work and the vulnerable self-employed, as a consequence of the evolution of labor markets and the advance of NICT. Given the complexity and specificity of the topic, it is necessary to resort to descriptive analysis at certain moments to offer the essential notions, so that the reader can understand and evaluate the critical points that will be addressed. Once these essential bases have been established, we enter the complex task of the study proposed by the thesis. In this sense, the last chapter contains an investigation that delves into the notion of subordination, as well as the uncertainties that arise in issues directly related to teleworking as a form of organization of subordinate work, dealing with the reality of this organizational model, its complexity and need for a dynamic notion, also identifying a gray area with autonomous teleworking and the risks that it entails of escape from Labor Law. It is based on the premise that there is no single form of organization and provision of services within the teleworking modality, as we currently know it, and therefore there is no single rigid concept for the notion and indications of subordination and dependency notes, which can lead to the exclusion of certain groups from Labor Law. Finally, a reflection is made about the future and perspectives regarding the protection of Labor Law for vulnerable groups, taking into consideration the various issues that force us to rethink the current role of labor law in this issue, and the necessary protection that must be granted to certain groups that are currently on the margins of labor protection. Finally, the general and specific conclusions of the study will be addressed, capable of providing a satisfactory legal response to what the research proposes. However, although the variables for the questions raised are diverse and do not present only one direction, this research work seeks to investigate the challenges posed by the protection of those who provide their services in a teleworking regime, with the intention of reducing the legal risks derived from the differences in the levels of subordination presented by those who provide their services in a teleworking regime, as well as those that arise from the legal framework in the different figures of teleworking.