Hubertus Heil, the federal minister for labour and social affairs, told Bild am Sonntag that he would bring forward legislation in autumn.

Details of the new bill are scarce but the minister said it would aim to increase the number of workers based at home without requiring all employers to allow home-working.

Mr Heil added: “Anyone who wants to, and whose workplace allows it, should be able to work at home — even when the coronavirus pandemic is over.”

Germany’s labour ministry previously proposed in early 2019 that German companies should be obliged to either allow staff to work from home or justify why they can’t, DW reports.

Finland brought in new employment legislation from the start of 2020 which promotes working from home by replacing the concept of a “workplace” with a more flexible “working place”, according to Nordic Law.