By Gemma Simpson, 24 May 2007 09:19
NEWS
Before unchaining staff from office desks and sending them off to work from home (WFH) there are a variety of potential pitfalls and precautions employers need to be aware of, lawyers have warned.
The practicalities of connecting to the office can be a problem - as silicon.com discovered during its recent WFH experiment - and employers need to work out how any computer equipment will be maintained, according to law firm Bristows.
Bosses should also enforce a trial period to see if the homeworking set-up is a success, with a 'right to revert' clause put in the employee's contract.
Jennifer Armstrong, associate with law firm Bristows, said if a company decides to bring an employee back into the office - whether for a meeting or permanently - then that employee must be consulted to explain the reasons why and given sufficient notice to prepare to return to the workplace.
How could you improve your homeworking set-up?
Read silicon.com's top 10 tips for working from home here.
The employee's contract also needs to be changed to reflect the homeworking set-up - with factors such as different work hours or changes to salary or benefits to be considered.
Armstrong, speaking at a seminar entitled 'Life at Work: Some Areas of Conflict', added company benefits should remain the same whether homeworking or not - for example, if an employee cannot use the office gym because they are now working from home then compensation should be awarded if possible.
Companies should also provide WFH workers with additional security on their computers and shredders so important paper documents do not fall into the wrong hands, either maliciously or accidentally through friends and family picking up a highly confidential company report by mistake.
Regular contact and appraisals with homeworkers are also important to make sure the employee does not feel abandoned and is reminded of the company's culture.
Armstrong said: "Once [WFH workers] are out of sight they can be out of mind too which can be isolating and lead to stress and depression."
The health and safety of a homeworking employee is still a company's responsibility too and Bristows recommends a full risk assessment of a person's working environment with a provision for accident reporting and first aid in the employee's home.
She added: "Do not assume the employee will understand the difference between a live wire and a non live wire."
And, finally, make sure there is a 'right to enter' clause in case the relationship between employer and employee goes sour. Armstrong said: "A company may not be able to get back into an employee's home to get their equipment without one."
Comments
There are 6 comments. Join the discussion
1. Jeremy Wickins MA, LLB, nearly PhD
Risk assessment of my home - NO! It really is nothing to do with my employer if I have anything risky in my house. What if the risk assessor gets injured because I have replaced all the fuses in my house with sections of 6-inch nail (okay, slightly strained analogy, but work with it)? The company is going to try to make me liable, and so I would refuse access.
Contractual right-to-enter clauses? I'm not sure they exist, and I'm really not sure that they would be upheld in court.
This... sounds like one of the reasons I decided not to become a practicing lawyer - full of panicky hot air that might lead to more billable hours ...
2. Mark Hosey
Easy.
Give them a company owned laptop. Pay for the internet connection to the companies prefered ISP.
Ensure the empoyee comes in to the office at least once a week for a total of eight hours and ensure all his/her other cottage industry collegues come in on the same day for a big happy smiley faced get together and group hug.
That's wot 'appens in the company I work for. (I wonder how much that lawyer gets paid for obvious advice? Bet she works from home!)
3. anonymous
I have been WFH for the last 4 years and after a "trial" first year no problems. I am supposed to go into the office every 3 weeks but last year only managed 4 times in the year. I have been in 7 times this year already so no repeat!
Biggest problem is switching off and find 08:00 - 18:00 is the normal day but I can nip out for shopping etc once a week during the day, I always get a call when I am out, do they know I've nipped out, can they see me?? Talk to myself a lot and Radio 1 is ok after Moyles finishes!
4. Mark Dean
Instead of giving them a company laptop or any other equipment, many companies are having them come in via a web browser and get provisioned a virtual desktop via Citrix or via RDP in a VMware ESX farm. There is also the option of using VMware ACE to provision a virtual machine that is on a DVD or even a USB key (I've also used my iPOD to run a virtual machine) which can be locked down in various ways like no transfering of files to host PC or no USB keys, etc. and also make it so only the virtual machine can VPN into the corporate network. This way, there is no need to have a 'right to enter' to recover equipment and the company's security policies are adhered to. These ACE configured VMs also can have an expiration date. Going virtual is the absolutely best way to make sure company data and employee data never gets mixed in. If more companies did this even on company laptops, then having the laptop stolen would be a non issue as the VM is also encrypted.
5. James Hammerton-Fraser
Your article on WFH only just scratches the surface of the Health & Safety implications of formally allowing your employees to work on your behalf in their home. The workstation and Display Screen Equipment Rgeulations are one key factor. Who pays to ensure it is appropriate, the employer! The employer is responsible for the Safety, Health & Welfare of the employee whilst at work, where ever that may be. "We recommend a risk Assessment" belies the significant investment in time and money to fulfill the employers responsibilities. Make sure you have a very clear Policy and Procedure to manage this area. Otherwise it will bite back......
6. Jeremy Wickins
... and now we get a Health and Safety consultant making sure there is lots of work for him and his parasitic kind! I work from home with all my own kit - there is absolutely NO right or responsibility on my employers to check the suitability, and one of my employers is a distance learning provider, and so the job description requires working from home. It has absolutely nothing to do with them if I am using a dangerously overloaded socket wired in with speaker wire, powering a screen with a 40Hz refresh rate and a computer with razor-blades on the keyboard! (Sorry for the rant - I was reading the Part P electrical regs yesterday...)