Home Working - Employers' Obligations

With many employees now taking the opportunity to work at home either some or all of the time, employers need to understand what they are responsible for and how to meet their obligations towards employees who are no longer attending the central place of work.

The employment team at CWJ work with employers to ensure they have a strong legal foundation in place, setting out how home working will be dealt with. We represent clients across a range of sectors, making sure that they meet their employee liabilities and that the right framework is in place to deal effectively with any issues that may arise.

We know how important it is to respond quickly to employment matters, and we offer a proactive service aimed at resolving difficulties without unnecessary delay.

To discuss how our employment lawyers can help you fulfil your responsibilities towards your home workers, please contact us on 01689 887887 or fill in our enquiry form.

Our expertise with employers’ obligations

Our Employment team deal with a wide variety of businesses, from large corporations to SMEs, providing advice, guidance and representation aimed at keeping your organisation running smoothly. We provide the in-depth expertise and high level of service combined with a personal approach which means we will take the time to understand your business and its needs and aims.

Working from home employer obligations are not always straightforward, and for some employers, it is a new area to consider. Our team can work with you to identify key issues that need to be addressed and to put a system in place that will allow you to routinely meet your liabilities to your employees as flexible working becomes an established way of working.

We also provide advice in respect of employee rights to work at home, including how to deal with the situation if working from home is not suitable and you wish to decline your employee’s request.

We are based in Orpington and provide bespoke employment law advice for clients in London and across the South East.

Members of our Employment law team’s expertise has been independently recognised in the following ways:

• Membership of the Employment Lawyers Association
• Associate membership and affiliate members of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development
• Associate to Watch in leading legal directory Chambers & Partners

Our employment law solicitors can assist with…

Those we represent and advise include independent in-house HR teams, owner-managed businesses and independent HR consultants. Our services in relation to employers’ home working obligations include the following:

• Drafting employment policies for home and hybrid working
• Advising on any necessary changes to employment contracts
• Advice in respect of flexible working requests
• Reviewing home working issues in the light of changing legislation
• Advice in respect of making reasonable adjustments for home workers

Our legal fees for employment law advice

Our pricing is clear and competitive, and we will always provide you with a realistic estimate of the likely costs involved. We benchmark our rates against other law firms with comparative legal expertise in the employment law sector to ensure that the service we provide remains of good value.

Where requested, we can act on a fixed fee basis. We can also represent you at an hourly rate, providing you with an estimate of the costs at the outset.

Home working employers’ responsibilities FAQs

Are employers responsible for employees working from home?

Employers have the same responsibilities to employees who work at home as to those who are present in the workplace, i.e. to look after their welfare, health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable.

This includes assessing any health and safety risks, ensuring equipment can be used safely, considering how to help employees manage stress and maintain good mental health and working with your employees to ensure they have a safe environment, minimising the risk of accidents.

What health and safety obligations do employers have towards home workers?

You should conduct a risk assessment of your home workers’ environments to ensure workplace health and safety standards are met. If necessary, you may need to make special arrangements for workers with disabilities.

In working to avoid stress and mental health problems, you can establish a routine for keeping in touch and monitoring employee wellbeing. Creating a stress risk assessment can help you evaluate their situation, and ensuring that someone speaks to them on a regular basis can establish whether they are having any difficulties.

You should also try to ascertain whether they are taking adequate breaks and whether they are coping with their workload. If you believe that they are suffering from stress, you will need to take steps to alleviate this.

Should employees be reimbursed for working from home?

Employers are not legally bound to reimburse employees for using their own equipment and utilities such as heating, lighting, phone line and broadband connection, but many allow employees to reclaim some of these expenses.

If you wish to do this, you should put a policy in place so that all employees know how much can be claimed. Up to £6 per week can be allowed free of income tax and National Insurance Contributions and without the employee needing to provide receipts.

If you are paying more than £6 per week, you will need to either pay income tax and National Insurance on the amount allowed or provide evidence that the employee’s actual costs are being reimbursed. This only relates to usage on top of the employee’s own usage that would have occurred anyway, even if they were not working at home.

Can an employer inspect an employee’s home office?

It may not be necessary to enter an employee’s home, but if you wish to do so, either to carry out a risk assessment or to install or maintain equipment, you should consider putting a clause granting this right in your employment contract. For employees already on the payroll, you can ask them to grant you a licence to enter to deal with these matters.

Do employers have to contribute to employees’ home working costs?

It is not compulsory for employers to contribute towards employees’ home working costs, but they can reimburse additional household expenses if they wish, and they can also choose to provide office equipment.

Reimbursed expenses should only relate to the part of the home used as a work area. Tax relief cannot be claimed for expenses that would be the same in any event, such as rent, mortgage payments, water rates or council tax.

Consult our employment solicitors in Orpington

To discuss how our employment team can advise and represent you in respect of your employers’ obligations, please contact us on 01689 887887 or fill in our enquiry form.