Renault Broadens its Teleworking Program

AUTO CENTRAL – July 2, 2010: The management of Renault and the following trade unions CFDT, CFTC, CFE-CGC, have signed a rider to the teleworking agreement of January 22, 2007. Under the terms of the new agreement, employees of Renault s.a.s (French perimeter) will be able to telework from home one day per week, as opposed to a minimum of two previously. In this way, Renault is providing a practical response to concerns frequently expressed by employees for a more flexible work organization and a better balance between their professional and private lives. The rider came into application on June 22.

A rider to extend teleworking across Renault

The aim of the rider to the teleworking agreement signed on June 22, 2010, is to significantly develop this form of working for French employees across the company. Teleworking from home cuts transport time between home and work, and reduces fatigue and stress for employees, as well as enabling them to organize their assignments in a more flexible way. It is also part of Renault’s efforts to promote sustainable development, particularly by helping to cut pollutant emissions from transport. To develop teleworking from home, the rider introduces two major changes, which were supported, on behalf of employees by a number of trade unions:

teleworking, previously exercised only between two and four days a week, can now be exercised for just one day a week,

employees can now telework from a second home in France, and not only from their main place of residence.

A program praised by teleworkers

Set up within Renault s.a.s by the agreement of January 22, 2007, teleworking concerns all employees except, naturally, those assigned to fixed workstations in an industrial plant. It is a voluntary approach, with employees choosing to opt in, in agreement with their management, being able to opt out at any time.

Today, Renault has more than 400 teleworkers and this new way of working is attracting a growing number of employees. Managerial and non-managerial staff, men and women, are represented in equal numbers. Some three-quarters of teleworkers (73%) have opted for two days of teleworking per week.

The surveys conducted among teleworkers and their managers show that the program is a huge success. For all those interviewed, teleworking is a way to achieve a better balance between their professional and private lives. It is seen to be a real driving factor in performance and to create working conditions that are fully satisfactory.