Employees working from home

Introduction

Allowing staff to work at home on either a full or part-time basis can bring a range of business benefits - from increased productivity and greater staff motivation to more effective use of your premises. It also widens the base from which you can recruit, boosting your chances of recruiting successfully.

The spread of homeworking - using the Internet or telephone - is opening up a new range of possibilities for the way businesses can work and structure themselves. As well as opportunities, it also brings new responsibilities for the employer and employee. For example, flexible-working regulations mean you now have to seriously consider requests to work from home from employees with young or disabled children.

This guide will help you decide whether homeworking is a possibility for your business and sets out key issues considerations when introducing and managing the practice.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Advantages and disadvantages of employees working at home
• Types of work and skills suited to home working
• Employment contracts and working from or at home
• Kitting out people who work at home
• Manage employees who work from home
• Your health and safety obligations towards homeworkers
• How technology can facilitate working from home
• Responsibilities of homeworkers
• Here's how I manage the performance of my homeworkers and keep them motivate