Employees working from home

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.

Home working can help you retain staff and widen the base from which you can recruit, boosting your chances of recruiting successfully.

Working from home in response to the coronavirus pandemic

Staff working from home has become a new normal for many businesses following the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) in March 2020, which led to offices and commercial premises having to shut down to protect the health of staff and other members of the public.

The COVID-19 pandemic essentially provided a trial period of homeworking by necessity as the government advised businesses to enable staff to work from home where possible. The pandemic gave employers and staff an opportunity to experience the practicalities of working from home when otherwise such an opportunity may never have been given proper consideration. Neither the employer nor the employee should discount the prospect of homeworking without a trial period.

Allowing and enabling staff to work from home can lead to positive and negative experiences for both employees and employers. This guide will help you as an employer make the most of your staff working from home whether this is staff exclusively working from home or a hybrid plan that mixes both home working and office or other work location settings.

This guide will help you decide whether home working is a possibility for your business and sets out key issues and considerations when introducing and managing staff working from home.

These considerations include health and safety obligations and how to ensure employees are provided with the appropriate equipment to carry out their jobs effectively.