Working From Home: Guidelines for Employers

We understand the interest in working from home was accelerated by the coronavirus and we didn’t all have the luxury of time to plan. However, it looks like homeworking is here to stay, so to help you manage your situation, we have prepared a guide outlining the key points you should consider. Follow these points to help make working from home work for you!

Risk Assessments

Employers have a duty of care to ensure the health and safety and wellbeing of employees, including when they are working from home. There is a grey area when the home becomes the work environment, so establish clearly the area of the property for which risks will be assessed.

It is good practice to conduct risk assessments that are specific to each homeworker’s work environment, and to involve the homeworker in the process of identifying potential hazards. Businesses that have carry out risk assessments for individual homeworkers often address a range of significant hazards in the home working area, including electrical, manual handling, chemicals, ventilation, lone working and isolation, and more. This even includes potential hazards that would not normally be found in a workplace, such as pets.

Regular reviews of risk assessments should be carried out to ensure that there have been no significant changes. You can start this process for free using our home worker risk assessment checklist, which is available through the form at the bottom of this page. For a more in depth risk assessment, you can book a home worker risk assessment to be carried out by our trained and experienced risk assessors, by calling us on 0370 118 8000.

Ensuring Security

You should always ensure that communications between employees and other people are secure. For instance, any confidential phone calls should be encrypted. Applications like WhatsApp and Instant Messenger may not offer you the level of security suitable for your business, so alternative solutions may need to be set up. Always make sure that any homeworkers are aware of how to safeguard confidentiality and comply with GDPR. It is also best practice to ensure that staff run virus checks on any attachments received by email prior to opening them.

Will the Employee’s Job Role Change if Working from Home?

Employers and employees should be practical, flexible and sensitive to each other’s situation when working from home. Things might need to be done differently, so keep an open mind. It is possible that some duties will not be able to be carried out at home, in which case you should question whether working from home in the long term is actually feasible.

Agreeing working times and breaks help to establish a routine. If working hours are not defined, boundaries between home life and work life can easily become blurred and lead to increased stress. If the working from home arrangement is going to be temporary, where possible, it is good practice to agree how long the period of working from home will last. Always keep a written record of the arrangements so that everyone understands and is in agreement.

You will also need to consider how you can measure output and performance with a remote workforce. Be prepared to lower your expectations if home working conditions are less than adequate.

What Support Needs to be Provided for Home Workers?

Homeworking can be challenging, so ensure you support your colleagues while they are adjusting. Consider the needs of each employee separately. For instance, some will have childcare issues, some people who are used to a team environment may struggle with limited social contact work, and others may have a lack of suitable workspace. If you can, provide a phone specifically for work use. Being able to switch the phone off at the end of a working day is an important part of maintaining a good work/life balance. For more information about looking after mental health, please read our article on looking after your mental health when you are homeworking.

What is the Best Way to Communicate with Home Workers?

It is important that homeworkers have one or two key contacts within the organisation for maintaining regular communication. Make sure contact information, including emergency contacts, is up to date and available. Create a clear plan for your communications, including how often will you contact each worker. Remember, it is important to keep in regular contact with your workforce and check on their well-being. Talk to them about any problems they have working from home and try to find ways to improve arrangements.

Collaborative work has manifold advantages, including greater efficiency, creativity and productivity, as well as fostering a sense of team work. When your employees are spread out across different geographical locations, consider using software specifically designed for collaborative work, such as Microsoft Teams.

Am I Responsible for Providing Equipment?

Providing and maintaining work equipment can help to ensure that homeworkers are working safely, as well as efficiently. Make sure to establish what equipment is needed to enable employees to work efficiently at home. Please remember that if you supply equipment for use at an employee’s home, you will need to check whether it is covered by your insurance. It is a good idea to ask employees for a signature confirming they have received the equipment you have supplied, and acknowledging they have an obligation to look after it.

What are the Health and Safety Issues I Need to be Aware of?

Risk at home can differ from those in the workplace. Taking time to ensure safe working practices helps avoid the potential costs of interruptions to work output from ill-health or injury. As the person responsible for managing risk, you should be aware of any hazards posed to home workers by:

• The working environment of the homeworking area
• Electrical safety
• Emergency arrangements, such as fire and first aid
• Stress
• DSE (required for anyone using a workstation regularly for their work, I.E. for more than an hour a day)
• Manual handling
• Slips and trips hazards
• Lone working

Free Home Working Risk Assessment Checklist

Please fill out the form below to receive your free home worker risk assessment checklist. This will be emailed to you shortly after completion of the form.