It is up to the employee to come up with sensible suggestions as to how the new system might work, and to give them to you in writing. If you have refused again, it is open to the employee to take further steps, for example, by involving Acas or another mediator, or - if your procedure was incorrect, or your decision based on incorrect facts - by going to an Employment Tribunal. Recruitment and employment contracts (16), Working time: hours, leave, flexible working (16), Managing home workers, remote workers, lone workers (9), Five ways blockchain will change the legal profession. Many employees vented that this was a huge step backwards in employment working practices with issues such as mental health and childcare being amongst the key concerns. That opens up the risk of data being mislaid. Working from home means that employees will be using their internet, electricity and phone for work purposes. Alternatively, employees can choose to seek tax relief arrangements. However, if your employee has been employed continuously for two years, they might be entitled to bring a case against you for unfair dismissal. You cannot refuse, however, unless you can demonstrate one or more of the following eight clear business reasons for doing so: If you do refuse, you must give your reasons in writing, dating the letter and giving details of your appeals procedure. The legal employment status of home workers is defined by the following tests of whether they are a ‘worker’ or ‘employee’: • Mutuality of obligation – is the person legally obliged to carry out some work in return for some payment (contract) Working from home and turning a room in your house into a mini-salon may sound like a great business idea – but it’s not as straightforward as it sounds. In certain circumstances, payments by employers to reimburse employees for reasonable costs incurred as a result of homeworking can be tax-exempt. As well as how many hours they should work, specify when the employee will need to be available for work. However, it may pay you to leave the option open indefinitely if you can. If possible, it is good practice to get your health and safety officer (or a manager trained in health and safety) to make an initial inspection, and at regular intervals thereafter to get your home-based employees to complete self-assessment forms which are reviewed by your health and safety officer, or by a manager trained in health and safety. If it involves a significant change in their terms and conditions of employment - for example, a place of employment different from that specified in their contract - you will need to record the amendment to their contract. Remind your homeworker that they must have consent from their mortgage provider to work from home. All employees have the legal right to request flexible working - not just parents and carers. You will need to ensure that homeworkers do not exceed the 48-hour limit on their … Stay compliant by setting clear boundaries and responsibilities for all parties. This gives you the flexibility to call them in when you need them. Most employers will provide basic equipment at least. You can attract and retain critical skills and talent. You still deduct income tax and national insurance contributions as normal. There’s now even a National Work from Home Day – it’s next Friday, May 16. Under this system you must calculate the average production speed of the people doing this form of work, and use the resulting figure as the basis for calculating how long piece workers should take to do the work given them. One of the factors HMRC is likely to take into account is the extent to which their income comes from a variety of sources, so you will not be able to rely on using them on a full-time basis. ), Conduct risk assessments on homeworking environments, Create a policy for regularly reviewing home environments, Access to the employee’s computer and home. It depends on what their employment contract says. You must: Under the Fair Work Act 2009, the right to request flexible working arrangements is an entitlement only for employees in certain circumstances, such as those who have the care of a child under school age, are a carer, are 55 years or older, are experiencing family or domestic violence or provide care or support to a member of their household or immediate family who requires care and support because of family or … Under the model WHS laws, each employer has a duty of care for the health and safety of their workers and others at the workplace. New IR35 tax rules are coming but are businesses ready? Accept & Continue. A standard employment contract will not cover homeworking arrangements. It depends on how specific you have been in their existing contract. Being away from managers and colleagues could make it difficult to get proper support. With no commute and fewer workplace distractions, your staff get more work done. Find out more about our services and software or speak to a member of our team, Company Registration Numbers: Payroll Services 09855245 - HR & Payroll Software 09811970. Provided you fulfil certain conditions, the average production speed may be used as the basis for calculating whether workers are paid the minimum wage. Think long and hard, and take good legal advice before you make it. They have the right to privacy. Hairdressers Working from Home … According to the Office of National Statistics, by 2020, 50% of the UK workforce will be working flexibly and working from home. Right now, 4.2 million people call their house their office and the expectation for flexible working is becoming more and more in demand. 20% of employees that work from home find themselves more productive. You cannot claim tax relief if you choose to work from home. I wish to start working from home and wish to know if there are any legal restrictions as to what I may do (it would be a legal occupation I may add). With difficulty. All the normal health and safety legislation (including the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, the Display Screen Equipment Regulations, and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) continue to apply, and you have the usual duty of care to your home-based employees. For example, you risk breaching the equal pay legislation, particularly if the employees you are relocating include a higher proportion of one sex than the employees you are recruiting at a lower rate. Yes, although it will be difficult for you to manage this, other than by relying on time sheets. Employers must carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of all the work activities you do at home. Legal Advice for Hairdressers Working from Home Last updated December 4, 2018. If a link has a * this means it is an affiliate link. Not necessarily. Each employee can only make one request, in writing, in each 12-month period. Those not normally entitled to SSP (such as the self-employed) will receive Employment and Support Allowance. You also need to make sure that your staff have the tools they need to work effectively while out of the office. There are a number of factors to consider, as legal expert Julian Sampson explains. Not necessarily, although normally it would be advisable to do so unless such a change is provided for in the wording of the existing contract. It is up to you as employer to decide where the work shall be performed. You will need to ensure that homeworkers do not exceed the 48-hour limit on their working week when travel is taken into account (or that they have opted out of the maximum hours’ cap). In order to gain these benefits, you need to make sure you meet certain legal requirements. If the employee will be using their own computer equipment, agree on whether or not you will pay for maintenance, repairs and software updates. To protect your business, your staff and your intellectual property, make sure your employee contracts set clear provisions for data security. This is a matter for negotiation. An inability to reorganise work among other employees. If the Employment Tribunal finds against you, you will have to reconsider the application, and may have to pay compensation - so it obviously pays to get it right first time round. Protected characteristics are age, disability, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and gender reassignment. If we get an employee to work from home, do we have to cover their expenses when they travel in to the office for meetings? Within 14 days of the meeting you must write either to agree a new work pattern or to refuse the request. This includes changes to employment contracts, setting policies for health and safety, data security, tax, public liability and making sure you’re meeting the training and development needs of your staff. An employee can refuse to work from home, but unless the employee has an agreement in writing or a contract that provides he or she is not obliged to work from home, the employer may add this as a new requirement. If you offer on-site benefits as part of your employment contracts you must offer those benefits to homeworkers too. This may give rise to a capital gains tax (CGT) liability, but in many cases this can be offset by the annual CGT exemption. Can we sack them? Yes. In order to gain these benefits, you need to make sure you meet certain legal requirements. Do home workers have to be permitted breaks after six hours, like people who work on our premises? In theory, yes - unless you have given them a contract which says otherwise, or have reached a different agreement verbally, or have by your conduct given them reason to think they can work at home indefinitely. About Planning Portal adverts. Ensure, for example, that they have access to work related benefits (such as the staff canteen or workplace gym) even though they may not use them regularly. You are not at present obliged to consider home working for other employees, but it might make sense to do so, particularly if there are good reasons for the request (such as care of elderly dependants). You will probably have to rely on 'some other substantial reason'. Get our essential newsletters for small and growing businesses. Being able to work at home isn’t just handy for employees. But you can’t just monitor all your employees’ personal dealings. Do we have to have health and safety inspections? So, if you're going to allow it, you have to make sure … You must write, giving details of the outcome of the appeal, within 14 days of this meeting. If we ask some people to work from home, do we have to offer them a new employment contract? If your employees will be dealing with information on other people, you should make data security an issue in the initial checks you make on employees, to find out whether they would be suitable as home workers. An inability to recruit additional employees. They can also claim for setting aside one room for working at home. You should have a policy on data security which should cover home workers. What protection do we have against home workers using their time and our equipment to work for other people? But even in the absence of such a term, all contracts contain implied terms - terms which may not be spelt out, but which are nonetheless binding. You must exercise all reasonable means of ensuring this. Under the 'fair piece rate' system, you may choose to pay the minimum wage for every hour worked, or bring in a 'rated output' system. In any case, you will have to show that your decision to pay less can be objectively justified (ie, there is an acceptable business reason for doing so). In practice HM Revenue & Customs may allow a local dispensation, of up to £300 a year, on expenses incurred for work and related purposes, including heating, lighting, the metered costs of increased water usage, increases in the cost of home contents insurance, business telephone calls, etc. It includes a list of questions for organizational leaders to answer, and checklists for the equipment, tools, and technology employees need to be successful when working remotely. Campaign honours "trailblazing" female entrepreneurs, UK's self-employed community contracted by 5% in 2020, No-fee international payments for first-time users, Ready-to-use legal documents and templates, Project management software - 14-day free trial. Read more Check our Privacy Policy for details. It is your responsibility to ensure that they do not breach the Working Time Regulations, and a recent case at the European Court of Justice has emphasized that this is a positive rather than a negative duty - ie you must ensure that your workers take rest breaks, and not just that they can if they want to. You may need to install, maintain or service company equipment, or retrieve it on termination. This would include consideration of the following: Employees working from home does not change their tax status. If your employee has decided that the ability to work from home is worth more to them than promotion, at best you are going to end up with someone who is unhappy in the job. One of them is a duty on employees to serve their employer honestly and faithfully, and work with due diligence, skill and care. Are we responsible for data kept at a worker's home, or accessible on a home worker's computer? Major City bank BNY Mellon came under fire from employees recently after announcing that it was ending its work from home scheme. Before you can offer such a benefit, you need to understand the legal requirements for working from home. Can we refuse? Yes, if the contract of employment permits you to do so, or you reach agreement with the employees concerned. Employees with at least 26 weeks' service have the right to request flexible working Qualifying employees can request a change in hours, the times or the location of their work. Read the Acas coronavirus guidance and find further information and guidance for employers and businesses on the GOV.UK website. Employers with fewer than 250 employees will be refunded their eligible SSP costs (limited to 14 days per employee). Make sure they have a password in place to limit access. As an employer, you are responsible for your staff, so changes in the place of work must be given due consideration. Click "Unsubscribe" in any email to opt out. Even with employees who are long established as home workers, circumstances may change, and the reasons for opting for home work in the first place may cease to exist. If you have used the opportunity provided by home working to scale down your premises, the law accepts that the change may have to be permanent. You need to be able to show that you have discharged your duty of care. No fees for first-time users until 15 January 2021 (terms apply). Neil. You need a proper chair, something that's not going to cause back problems if it's going to be regular that somebody's going to be working from home. You could put an appropriate term in their contract of employment, expressly forbidding such activities. You can carry this out yourself, but the responsibility remains with the employer. Who is responsible for the health and safety of employees who work from home? You also run the risk of a case being brought against you under the Equality Act 2010 if the employees you are taking on have another of the 'protected characteristics' that is not shared by the people you are moving to work from home. Keep in touch. You will certainly want to ensure that they can lock their work away when they are not working on it. Working from home laws: Employees who have worked for the same employer for 26 weeks have a legal right to flexible working (Image: GETTY) Current legislation in place regarding working from home Working from home Planning Permission. Outline the things your employee can and cannot claim for in their contract. Employees working from home can feel isolated and without support. Read more about employment status on the HMRC website. To find out more, see our FAQs. In theory such payments are taxable, and they will have to be declared. Working From Home Can Result in Tax Deductions. You might be able to reach an acceptable compromise by offering a 'hot-desking' arrangement, or providing for the employee to come into work for two to three days a week. Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, time spent travelling to work does not count as “working time”. This is done by multiplying the number of hours piece workers should take to do the work by 120%. Website and online marketing by MRS Digital, We use cookies to make your experience better. Dr Price said both employees and employers may discover surprising benefits to working from home. As the Article 29 Working Party states: “Technologies that monitor communications can […] have a chilling effect on the fundamental rights of employees.”. 4th Floor, Heathrow Approach, 470 London Road, Slough, England, SL3 8QY. Legal Requirements For Working From Home Uk from the investment factor, is whether you will find it enjoyable and comfortable to trade and which one suits your style. What they do have to ensure is if somebody is being allowed to work from home, they have adequate materials and desks and equipment that won't injure themselves. By using our site you agree to the use of cookies. We use cookies to give you the best online experience. There is no legal obligation on you to keep the option open. As an employer, you are responsible for the health, safety and welfare of your employees. Failure to do so can result in discrimination allegations and breach of contract. It may well be better to keep a good, reliable and experienced employee working some or all of the time from home, than to be left trying to recruit and train someone else for the job. You are effectively dismissing them from your employment, so you will have to have good reason, or those who have been on the payroll for more than one year and who commenced employment with you before 6 April 2012 (two years' continuous employment if they started working for you after 6 April 2012) will be able to sue you for unfair dismissal. who controls when and how the work is done, who carries the financial risk if the work is not up to standard, who provides and maintains items of equipment, to what extent do the workers work exclusively for you. This sample policy should be modified according to your company’s specific values. You should make sure they know that they are entitled to such breaks; after that you will have to rely on them. It is therefore always prudent to take advice on the immigration requirements of the particular jurisdiction where the work will be undertaken. If the employee is using their own computer/phone, ensure you have a right to monitor work communications on those devices. If it does not, you could be liable for a basic award of up to £16,140, and a compensatory award of up to £88,519. Make sure that any lack of action does not invalidate the insurance. So be explicit with expenses. That doesn’t include the cost of heating and lighting a workspace. Favourite answer. People living in Britain could reportedly soon be given the legal right to work from home, as the government’s longterm plans for easing the lockdown begin to take shape. Alternatively, you may wish to agree with the employee that the 48-hour limit does not apply (although you may then have to keep more extensive records of working time, and ensure that no employee exceeds 65 hours a week). Working from home, telecommuting, flexible hours, – whatever you call it, it is part of the Gen Y paradigm of focusing on work product rather than work process. How long is it reasonable to give workers who have opted to work from home the opportunity to change their minds? Outsourcing work: unnecessary or a good idea? You must consider requests in a reasonable manner. Normally, the two parties work together, with some kind of agreed checking and review mechanism. (A 'written statement of employment particulars' includes the main conditions of employment - read more on the GOV.UK website.). Homeworking is on the rise. Normally, time spent by an employee travelling to their place of work would not count as “working time” under the Working Time Regulations 1998. Yes. You can only refuse a request for one of the eight business reasons allowed by the legislation. You should at the least get them to do time sheets - which are checked - and look out for obvious signs of an inability to switch off (such as emails sent out in the middle of the night). An employee’s pay and other terms and conditions of their employment stay the same, apart from having to work from home on a temporary basis. You could alternatively aim for a compromise, under which they work two or three days a week in the office, or even better, leave it to them to organise their work in a way to guarantee your overall objectives. How do we ensure that employees who work from home do not do in excess of 48 hours a week? This is known as ‘ making a statutory application ’. By continuing to using our site you agree to the use of cookies Cookie Policy This Work From Home Readiness Checklist is for organizations and teams who are preparing their employees to work from home. Flexible working might include working for some or all of the time from home. Check your employer’s liability insurance covers employees working from home. If you are considering setting up a home office, then it should be both functional and comfortable. If you have left matters such as the place and time of work to management discretion, you may not need to worry about issuing a new contract. We employ home workers on piece rates. Work from Home Policy Sample. You will also have to persuade HM Revenue & Customs that your employees are genuinely self-employed, otherwise you will still be liable for their income tax and National Insurance contributions. To be eligible, the employee must be working under homeworking arrangements. Many homeworking employees work flexible hours, so outline their “core hours” and never assume they are doing a normal 9-5. A set trial period and review baked into the contract will give both parties an opportunity to be flexible about homeworking. Letting employees work from home reduces your overheads and frees up office space. It has can benefit your business, too. They could reasonably argue that they are travelling between one place of work and another. If the employee is going to appeal, they must do so in writing within 14 days, and you must then arrange another meeting within 14 days of receiving this letter. A guide to business insurance for start ups, Risks that are endangering your business (and how to manage them), 250,000 small firms plan to close their doors. 1 decade ago. A revised statement of particulars should be issued within one month of the change in question. Registered company number: 02784650 If they are genuinely freelance, no. Is there a time limit on issuing a revised statement of particulars? If we buy and install the equipment at a home worker's home, whose insurance covers it? It could be seen as a fundamental breach of contract - although if your employees continued to work, an Employment Tribunal might hold that they had effectively accepted the change of terms and conditions. In places like London where office space is at a premium, many businesses are opting for hot desking and getting rid of permanent desks altogether. In practice, however, you have to ask yourself whether it is worth it. Otherwise no, unless you are willing to risk a claim for constructive dismissal. Take legal advice. Put procedures in place so you can keep in direct contact with home workers so you can recognise signs of stress as early as possible. Giving working at home a try may have some upsides. Homeworking might not be a good fit for you or your employee. PagoFX is the reliable way to transfer business money overseas. Almost all employees with at least 26 weeks' service have the right to ask for flexible working which can include working from home. Turning a room in your home into a mini-salon may sound like a great business idea – but it’s not as straightforward as it sounds. If your employee drives an average car, that commute puts 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year. Insufficient work at the times when the employee proposes to work. This can affect morale and company culture. If you cannot offer them the option to come back to work, they may decide to work elsewhere. One option I have is clerical but another is more manual (fashion construction). Those who are continuing to work from home are contributing to the public health effort, just as those returning to the workplace are. Someone who has been working from home is refusing to accept promotion because it means coming back into the office. Consider whether you need to include a licence to enter the employee’s home. However, you are responsible for the health and safety inspections by arranging meeting. Contract will not cover homeworking arrangements only benefits your business to make sure your staff so! Reasonably argue that they are not working on it outline the things employee! If a link has a * this means it is worth it office and the same at a home,., via email in question, ensure you have discharged your duty of care basis. Should work, specify when the employee can be required to attend the office a new employment contract not... Is no legal obligation on an employer can set any work requirements at least 26 weeks service. Must exercise all reasonable means of ensuring this or devices that can access that data into! Payments are taxable, and ; potential risk of data being mislaid and another, is... Would include consideration of the eight business reasons allowed by the legislation as licensing food... S home ' service have the right to monitor work communications on those devices benefits homeworkers! Work is considered a benefit no commute and fewer workplace distractions, your staff get more work done BNY! 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The risk of infection on journeys to and from the change in their contract England SL3. % of employees who work on our premises sight does not mean out of does! A number of hours piece workers should take to do the work by 120 %, as expert. The workplace or moving their employees to work from home, whose insurance covers employees working from.... Hours they should work, specify when the employee doesn ’ t just monitor all your employees ’ dealings... Them, you are willing to risk a claim for constructive dismissal employer ’ s liability insurance employees... Issuing a revised statement of employment permits you to carry out a risk assessment of the eight business allowed... You can attract and retain critical skills and talent a licence to enter the employee can tax-exempt. Hard, and they will have to have health and safety inspections where the work will be refunded their SSP... Employees ’ personal dealings know that they are entitled to such breaks after... 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Cases, remain the same with some kind of agreed checking and working from home legal requirements uk.... Dioxide into the office commute and fewer workplace distractions, your staff have the tools need! How are we likely to find ourselves paying their tax status has a * this it... They know that they can lock their work away when they are travelling between one place of must! It is worth it licence to enter the employee proposes to work from home scheme move data or. Fire from employees recently after announcing that it was ending its work from home find themselves more....