Homeworking Policy

Nowadays, many businesses have some form of hybrid working arrangements in place as employers often acknowledge the benefits of flexible working. However, even if your staff work away from the office, you still have a legal duty to protect them. A homeworking policy puts this in place for you so you can protect your staff as they work from home.  

It's important to remember that there are legal rules when it comes to homeworking. If you neglect them, you could end up hurting employees, paying compensation, and even facing business losses.

What is a homeworking policy?

A homeworking policy is a set of guidelines explaining how employees are managed whilst working from home.

Homeworking is a form of hybrid working; meaning, staff will carry on their job outside their usual workplace, usually in their own homes. This could be for a couple of days a week, for a set period, or just temporarily due to personal circumstances.

However, it makes no difference if staff work from home for one day or the whole week; a homeworking policy helps you to protect them throughout their time away from your direct management. A homeworking policy makes it clear to your employees what’s expected from them whilst working from home.

What are the benefits of homeworking?

A homeworking policy can provide a huge number of benefits for your workforce and for you as the employer.  

Lower overhead costs

A huge advantage to you as the employer for hybrid working is lower overhead costs.

You can save on all kinds of financial costs that you may not have even considered. For example, costs such as office utility, rent, and maintenance bills. These savings of general day to day office life can then be put back into your business’ pocket to help improve productivity and output.

Wider pool of applicants

If your company offers a hybrid working approach, you will have access to a much wider pool of applicants for the positions you offer.

Many workers today will specifically seek a role that offers hybrid working. Many employees value the work-life balance that comes with working from home, and they appreciate a company that allow them to do this. When your employees are happy with their position, this will reflect in their performance and help staff retention. 

If your happy to allow your staff to work from home full time, this can allow you to hire talented employees on a global scale and are no longer limited to a specific applicant pool.

Happier and engaged employees

When your employees are happy with their job, they’re more likely to be productive and engaged overall.

Every employee’s personal situation is different, and working from home might mean one employee may no longer need to go through tiring or expensive daily commutes, or another might be able to handle childcare more easily and cheaply.

Homeworking allows staff to do their jobs without additional pressure or stress, and some may even work better than they would in an office environment due to a relaxed and comfortable home environment. Some employees may also prefer an office environment and it’s important to note that each employee is different with different needs.

More environmentally friendly

Hybrid working can help your company to be more eco-friendly.

Less employees are commuting daily, which means less pollution being produced by their modes of transport. This includes toxic pollutants from both personal cars, as well as public transport. Cutting down how many employees are regularly commuting means you’re doing your bit for the environment and working towards an eco-friendly lifestyle within your business.

What are the downsides of homeworking?

Whilst there are undeniable benefits to homeworking, it’s important not to overlook the downsides that come with this too.

Difficult to monitor performance

One of the biggest negatives to homeworking is that can be difficult to monitor staff performance. It can become more challenging to keep on top of engagement, motivation, and even collaboration.

Overall, it may slow down team progression and output, which means you’ll lose time, effort, and money in the long run.

Higher telecommunication costs

Telecommunication costs could rise if your company adopts a hybrid working model of working.

This could include things like work phones and video-calling equipment. Bear in mind that these can still be relatively cheap to maintain too if you select your equipment well.

However, phone bills and internet charges can sometimes be difficult to track, let alone reduce. If you have multiple users within your business, the costs can quickly add up.

Affected employee wellbeing

Some of your employees may even class as vulnerable employees and they may face certain risks you may or may not find in the workplace.

They may suffer physical injurie if they don’t work in safe conditions such as their personal workstations not being set to DSE standards. They could begin to suffer from muscle injuries, eye pain, or any other desk-based injuries that commonly occur.

The employees could also suffer from poor mental health management whilst working from home, due to isolation and lack of interaction with day-to-day life. Your employee could work through many long hours without talking to their colleagues or line-managers. Other common health conditions that are raised by homeworkers are stress, anxiety, and depression.

Blurred work hours

When employees work from home regularly, it’s common that they will blue their work hours and often end up working overtime - way beyond their contract hours. They could also end up not taking breaks, such as lunch breaks or regular breaks away from their workstations).

Usually, homeworkers will overwork because they lack direct management. They're eager to get tasks completed, so don't see the risks to overworking. In the end, it could ruin their productivity, engagement, and work-life balance.

What is the law on working from home?

There isn't a specific working from home legislation under UK employment law. However, there are certain laws linked to the practice.

Certain employees only have a statutory right to request working from home and it’s not a legal entitlement. Employers are under no obligation to accept their ‘flexible working’ request and it’s entirely up to you if you want to enforce this.

The only time you must consider requests is when it's contractually agreed to. If an employee signs a homeworking clause within their employment contract, you must accept their request.  

Employees can only request flexible working if they have 26 weeks of continuous service. If the request is agreed to, it should be confirmed in writing, and an updated contract should be issued. Make sure you add this to your homeworking policy, too.

Other legal obligations linked to homeworking come under:

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR)

Every employer has a legal duty to create a safe and healthy work environment. This duty extends to homeworking, along with other health-related policies.

Employees must be given proper equipment and workstations to do their job correctly, which includes things like sufficient equipment, computer software, and internet security.

The homeworking policy must highlight safety management standards. You also need to carry out a risk assessment on home equipment. Individual employees can complete this themselves after receiving proper training.

Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA)

Another legal duty to include within your homeworking policy is that every manager must comply with is wellbeing management.

This means making sure homeworkers aren't facing additional issues or suffering alone. A great way to minimise them is through regular communication. Compared to their colleagues, homeworkers are often forgotten when it comes to welfare support.

Remember, employees working from home can class as vulnerable. So, make sure you safeguard them, especially those with health conditions. For example, if they're pregnant or have mental health issues.

How to manage a homeworking policy in the workplace

Employers are legally responsible for every staff-member, including homeworkers.

Remember, you still need to apply the same practices and procedures as you’d normally. This only thing that’s changed is their work location. That way, you'll be able to ensure their welfare and security - wherever they're working from.

Ways in which you can manage your homeworking staff include:

Write out your homeworking policy rules

The first step employers should take is writing out your homeworking policy rules.

It's not enough to just apply your usual work rules and training. You need to create rules that specifically apply to homeworking. Your homeworking policy rules should cover the following:

• Discuss what tasks are expected from staff.
• Outline their work hours and breaks.
• Explain who they should contact for any work-related issues.
• Discuss wellbeing responsibilities and management.

Document your rules in writing and make them available to every staff-member. You should also highlight what's expected from them; as well as what the consequences are for breaching the rules.

Carry out a working from home risk assessment

To keep on top of safeguarding homeworkers, you should carry out a working from home risk assessment.

These assessments allow you to eliminate any risks that they could face at home. For example, poor setup standards, missing work equipment, and even remote security risks.

A line-manager wouldn't necessarily conduct these risk assessments. Employees can do it themselves after receiving the proper training. But it's up to you to regularly review them within a suitable period.

Make sure your homeworking policy covers why risk assessments are needed. For example, an employee might require reasonable adjustments based on legal eligibility criteria, like disability or pregnancy.

Through your risk assessment, you'll be able to provide equipment that suits their operational needs. Remember, this legal duty stands wherever the employee is working.

Keep regular communication with homeworkers

A lot of homeworkers suffer from loneliness and isolation whilst at home.

That's why it's important for managers to keep communication going on a regular basis. This is easily done through phone-calls and video-calling technology. Whatever your methods are, make sure they're included in your homeworking policy.

A regular communication period should be upheld by both line-managers and colleagues. Keep homeworkers updated on any company changes or new work arrangements too so they’re constantly up to date with all the latest developments.

Provide cyber-security and data protection training

When an employee works from home, they should be aware of any security risks.

It's best practice to provide all employees with cyber-security and data protection training, and security training should extend to using office and personal equipment.

As you utilise more technology within your company, make sure homeworkers follow security training. Make sure you regularly review and update the terms in your homeworking policy, too.

Promote good work-life balance

When employees are working from home, it's very common for them to overwork.

That's why it's important for managers to promote good work-life balance. This is especially common with those who want to overperform; or are struggling with the transition.

By promoting a good work balance, employees will be able to maintain personal arrangements. For example, like childcare or other caring responsibilities.

Your homeworking policy should highlight benefits employees can enjoy in both their work and home life.

Get expert advice on your homeworking policy with Croner

Every company has a legal duty to protect employee wellbeing during work. And this includes protecting home-workers.

If a manager fails to follow proper homeworking policy procedures, it could account to serious consequences. Like injured colleagues, unlimited compensation, and business damages.

But you don’t need to deal with this alone. Croner offers expert advice on your homeworking policy. Our team of involved HR advisors and qualified solicitors are here to offer their assistance and support.

Need more advice on your homeworking policy? Speak to a Croner expert about any HR or UK law issue on 0808 501 6651.