DESAFÍOS LEGALES EN LA PROTECCIÓN DE LOS DERECHOS LA-BORALES: LA TRANSFORMACIÓN DIGITAL Y EL TELETRABAJO

Abstract

The legal challenges in protecting labor rights in the face of digital transformation and the implementation of teleworking in Ecuador, whose expansion accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic as an essential work modality, have redefined work dynamics and generated tensions surrounding the delimitation of the work-day, employer control, and the right to digital disconnection. The objective of this study is to determine whether the current regulatory framework effectively guar-antees the fundamental rights of workers in digital environments. To this end, a qualitative methodology is employed, based on a normative analysis of the Labor Code and the regulations applicable to teleworking. The analysis reveals that, de-spite the regulatory advances promoted in the post-pandemic context, regulatory gaps and limitations in their practical application persist, which has favored the consolidation of existing labor practices. These dynamics affect fundamental rights and generate legal uncertainty in the employment relationship. Conse-quently, it is concluded that the Ecuadorian legal system requires regulatory strengthening and greater precision in the regulation of telework in order to guar-antee effective protection in accordance with the new realities of digital work.