acas homeworking policy

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ACAS issues guidance on home-working for employers and employees

• March 20, 2020

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) has set out the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees when working from home, in response to government advice for many workers to stay away from the office.

The guidance says that employers are still responsible for health and safety, providing the necessary equipment for work and making sure employees follow the law on working hours, amongst other things.

Acas’s advice says that, apart from working from home temporarily, the usual terms and conditions of employment still apply to employees and consequently pay should remain the same if they are working their usual hours.

According to the advice, employers are also responsible for providing the equipment and technology needed for an employee to work from home. To achieve this, Acas says the employer should:

• discuss equipment and technology with the employee
• agree what's needed
• support the employee to set up any new equipment or technology

Where an employee might be taking on childcare responsibilities during working hours, the advice recommends that employers should be sensitive and flexible towards the employees’ situation.

It also suggests that employers and employees may be able to agree a more flexible homeworking arrangement which could involve working different hours, reducing work targets or even agreeing that the employee may not be able to work a full day or a full week.

Acas notes that the same approach may be needed if an employer is caring for someone else, for example, an older relative or someone who is ill.

On insurance, the guidance highlights the need for employers and employees alike to consider the implications of working from home.

For employers, Acas recommends that they check the details of their insurance to make sure they are covered for an employee working from home if they are using business equipment. Employers should check insurance also covers them against a claim by a third party. Employees should check there are no issues with them working from home, with their home insurer, mortgage provider or landlord.

Acas Chief Executive, Susan Clews, said: “The coronavirus outbreak is impacting all of our working lives at the moment. The Government’s public health advice is to work from home where possible to help prevent the spread of the virus within the wider community.

“Employers and staff who are following this advice may be home working for their very first time and unsure about their rights or how to best manage the situation.

“Our new advice offers practical advice around homeworking that includes managing staff mental health, handling childcare responsibilities and dealing with remote working systems.”

The full report can be read at https://www.acas.org.uk/working-from-home

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Enhanced right to ask for flexible working comes into force

Employees in England, Scotland and Wales can now request flexible working from first day in new job

Employees will have the legal right from Saturday to request flexible working from their first day in a new job.

Previously, it applied only when someone had worked for their employer for 26 weeks or more.

Peter Cheese, the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said the new right could benefit millions of workers.

He added: “Flexibility around time, scheduling and place of work can be transformative in opening up opportunities for people to get into and stay in work, especially those who have health conditions, caring responsibilities, or other life choices they want to make.

“With an ageing population, and rising levels of economically inactive people due to ill health, flexible working is more important than ever, and has been shown to support better wellbeing, making it good for individuals as well as organisations.

“The pandemic accelerated the understanding of flexible working, and the demand for it, and many organisations have responded positively by introducing more flexible working policies.”

The conciliation service Acas published a new statutory code of practice on requests for flexible working alongside guidance.

The Acas chief executive, Susan Clews, said: “There has been a global shift to flexible working following the pandemic, which has allowed more people to better balance their working lives, and employers have also benefited from being an attractive place to work.

“Our new code aims to foster flexible working further and covers the new law changes. It sets out good practice on flexible working requests and will help employers and employees avoid any pitfalls.

“There are many types of flexible working such as part-time working, flexitime, job sharing, staggered hours, hybrid and home working.

“The starting position for businesses should be to consider what may be possible.”

A study of 4,000 workers by campaign group Timewise found that half would consider asking for a flexible pattern of work using the day-one right to request in a new job.

The Timewise chief executive, Claire Campbell, said: “The new legislation will help job hunters feel entitled to ask about flexible working options and requests could start coming thick and fast.

“Flexible working and diversity and inclusion are interwoven, and businesses that make the most of the opportunity could really open some doors to new and exciting talent.”

Research by campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed found that mothers were twice as likely as fathers to ask for flexible working after parental leave.

Joeli Brearley, the chief executive of the group, said: “Mothers are more likely to shoulder the lion’s share of the unpaid labour required to care for children and manage a household. As a result, they are more likely to need flexible working. Just three in 10 job adverts offer flexibility, limiting the progression opportunities and earning potential of mothers.

“Then we wonder why the gender pay gap widens when couples have children and continues to widen further over the subsequent decades.”

• Employment law
• Work & careers

More on this story

How women and younger UK workers are being hit by ‘underemployment’

Nationwide rescinds ‘work anywhere’ policy and tells staff to come to office

Flexible working can significantly improve heart health, study shows

Ministers warn English councils not to adopt four-day working weeks

Two-thirds of CEOs think staff will return to office five days a week, survey finds

‘We feel we’ve earned it’: UK over-50s on switching to part-time work

Burnt-out from work? Try following Hugh Jackman’s 85% rule

Britons least likely to say work is important to them, world study finds

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Working from Home Business Policy

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This document can be used by an employer to create a Working From Home Policy . A Working From Home Policy outlines the approach an employer shall take to allowing, managing and facilitating employees to work from home or other remote locations.

This document shall provide:

• a statement on the general purpose of the policy;
• the scope of the policy;
• the application process employees should follow to be able to work from home; and
• the management procedure that shall apply to employees who are working from home.

Please note that it is not a legal requirement for employers to have a Working From Home Policy but it is good business practice.

How to use this document

This document should be made easily available to and communicated with any employees. It is common to display workplace policies in an easily accessible public area so that any persons who may be connected with the Employer's activities in any way can easily see the commitment they have made to allow employees to work from home.

This policy should be signed and dated by a senior member of management who is authorised to do so. This may be the employer himself or the most senior person acting on behalf of the company, e.g. Managing Director. It is the duty of the employer or the most senior person in the company to ensure that the aims, responsibilities and arrangements contained within this document are carried out.

Please note that should this policy be revised or altered at any time, these revisions and alterations must be communicated effectively to employees at the earliest opportunity.

Applicable law

Employers should be aware of HSE guidance on employees working from home and the relevant ACAS guidance .

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A guide to help you: Important Factors for Employers to Consider when Creating Safe Working Environment

Other names for the document:

Homeworking policy, Policy for Working from Home, Policy for Homework, Remote Working Policy, Policy for Remote Working

Country: United Kingdom

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Flexible and home working

Latest on flexible and home working, reports and helpsheets, legal alert, business press, online magazines, articles and books in the icaew library collection, external resources - acas guidance, external resources - flexible working guidance, external resources - home working guidance.

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These articles from Atom Content Marketing are for general guidance only, for businesses in the United Kingdom governed by the laws of England. Atom Content Marketing, expert contributors and ICAEW (as distributor) disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions.

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Guidance highlighting both employer and employee responsibilities. Topics covered include: requests for home and hybrid working; health, safety and wellbeing when working at home; managing staff who work at home; creating a suitable policy (including a template flexible working policy ).

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An Evaluation of Homeworking in ACAS

The 90s saw a gradual increase in the number of ACAS staff working at, or from, their home.

This growth has been most prevalent among conciliation staff whose working methods, consisting primarily of telephone contact with parties to employment tribunal cases, are well-suited to the flexible arrangements that home-based working can provide.

Yet the growth in numbers of home workers, accompanied by a degree of regional variation in practices, have presented particular management and administrative challenges to ACAS, suggesting the need for a more formal policy based approach to the management of this mode of working.

To assist in this policy development process, ACAS commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies to conduct a wide-ranging investigation of homeworking in ACAS, examining both for trends in working arrangements and attitudes to office and home based work.

The findings were set within the context of a discussion on developments in homeworking over the last quarter of the 20th century, including a review of research literature relating to the subject.

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• Employment policy research
• Work for employers
• Employee relations and labour market structures
• Flexible working
• Workforce planning and labour market change
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Working From Home Policy (HR Guidelines)

• Anne Morris
• 5 August 2022

IN THIS SECTION

With more employees than ever working from home, employers must ensure they have a working from home policy in place that is clear on standards and expectations for remote workers, while ensuring legal compliance and protecting their interests.

In this guide for employers, we share an overview of the law relating to working from home, including an employer’s legal responsibilities toward their employees, and what a working from home policy should include as a matter of best practice.

The law on working from home

Homeworking is where a member of staff is permitted to carry out their daily contractual duties from home on an occasional, temporary or permanent basis.

The employee will typically still work in accordance with the core conditions under their contract of employment, such as the same working hours and pay, but will not be required to go into their official place of work for those days where working remotely has been agreed on hybrid working basis .

Working from home is a type of flexible working arrangement that can enable employees to meet the demands of their job role while providing a degree of flexibility to achieve a better work/life balance.

There are also various benefits to homeworking for your business, including lowering overhead costs, freeing up office space, and a happier and potentially more productive workforce with improved staff retention.

There is no legal right to work from home .

Employees have the right to request flexible working after accruing 26 weeks’ continuous service . As an employer, you do not have to agree to any such request by law, although you are legally required to consider a request made and provide sound business reasons for any refusal.

What are an employer’s responsibilities for homeworkers?

By law, all employers are under a duty of care to ensure the health, safety and wellbeing of their employees, including when an employee works from home.

Ordinarily, you would be expected to carry out some form of health and safety risk assessment of the workspace available within the employee’s home environment. A risk assessment can still be completed, even in the current climate, by way of an employee questionnaire, ensuring that every individual feels that the work they are being asked to do can be achieved safely at home.

You will be responsible for ensuring that employees have access to the right equipment and technology needed to conduct their role from home, such as a laptop, mobile phone, suitable business software and good internet connectivity. Where this needs to be set up or provided, you will be responsible for making this happen, together with any necessary training and support to work from home or to use any remote working systems.

During the course of any period of homeworking you should also keep in regular contact with employees, checking on their health and wellbeing. This includes any mental health issues that may arise as a result of high levels of stress and anxiety, or feelings of isolation, caused by working from home or because of work-related issues.

What should a working from home policy include?

Whether you are considering implementing a working from home policy on a permanent basis or as a temporary measure, you will need clear rules setting out any eligibility requirements, how to request working from home and how this will work in practice.

Below we consider some of the key aspects of a working from home policy.

Eligibility criteria

Your working from home policy should include clear guidelines to let your staff know who is eligible for home working and who is not, as well as how to apply.

When considering eligibility, you will need to take into account the impact on your business of allowing homeworking, and whether this is economically and operationally viable without placing your business at a significant disadvantage.

It may be that the business can survive with only a key number of employees working within certain roles, with the majority working from home. In other cases, working from home may not be possible at all.

Any decision to allow homeworking does not need to be implemented across your entire organisation, although you should be transparent and clear about the basis upon which employees are eligible to work from home, ensuring that this does not discriminate against certain individuals or groups of individuals.

Carrying out a risk assessment

For those who are eligible for homeworking, you will still need to carry out some form of risk assessment for that individual, ensuring that they can work from home safely and reliably without direct supervision, and whether homeworking is feasible in terms of space and equipment, as well as any caring responsibilities, such as for young children or sick and elderly relatives.

Your questionnaire should include asking details about the employee’s personal circumstances or vulnerabilities that you may need to be aware of, such as whether the employee is pregnant, has a weakened immune system or a long-term medical condition such as diabetes, cancer, chronic lung disease or respiratory conditions such as asthma, or lives with anyone with these conditions.

You will also need to ask questions relating to the viability of working from home, including access to any necessary devices, paperwork, office furniture, computer applications, software and a secure internet connection.

Establishing a homeworking agreement

Homeworking can be very different to face-to-face work practices, presenting all sorts of new practical daily challenges. It is important that you set out how you expect employees to perform while working remotely, exactly what they are required to do and how things will work in practice.

This should include agreeing to the following:

• At what times the employee will be available to work
• At what times the employee will be able to take breaks
• The ways in which employees will keep in touch and with whom
• Who employees should contact if they have any problems
• Exactly what the employee is required to do
• How their performance will be managed and measured

It is important to recognise that some individuals may find it hard to organise themselves when working from home, so setting daily or weekly tasks may be a good way of providing a suitable structure for those working remotely.

Ensuring cyber security and data protection

When working from home it is important that employees are fully trained in the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act. If you plan to let your staff use their own devices when working remotely, you need to think about how they will keep any important data safe and private, as well as how any hardcopy files and paperwork will be stored.

You should ensure that homeworkers store and save all online files in the central cloud storage for your company or organisation, and not locally on their own device. Your work from home policy should also include rules such as ensuring employees protect their own devices with antivirus software where necessary. You may need to offer a financial contribution to cover this cost.

Keeping in touch with homeworkers

Regularly keeping in touch with homeworkers is not only essential to the operational needs of your business, but to ensure their health and wellbeing.

It is important that employees have the means to easily communicate with their manager or colleagues, so as to share progress and stay up-to-date with work projects. This might involve new ways of working, for example, using video or conference calling technology, as well as ensuring that employees feel fully supported on both a professional and personal basis.

For those homeworkers with children or other caring responsibilities, you will need to be sensitive and flexible toward their situation. You may need to agree to a more flexible homeworking arrangement, for example, working reduced or different hours, or reducing work targets and being flexible about deadlines.

You may also need to make adjustments to any temporary arrangements to improve an individual’s working conditions, as well as ensuring sufficient IT support to cope with the number of staff working from home at any one time.

Need assistance?

Making changes to working practices can offer considerable benefits to both the employee and employer, but it will be important to have an effective working from home policy in place to have clarity of roles and responsibilities.

Ensuring that you have in place a homeworking policy, with clear guidelines as to what is expected of an employee working remotely, is imperative to maintaining the operational needs of your business, as well as the health and wellbeing of the homeworker.

By failing to establish clear boundaries, this could lead to all kinds of issues including a lack of productivity, unmotivated employees, social isolation and over-working or working unsocial hours. By providing guidance and support, maintaining regular contact and monitoring an employee’s performance, you can help to manage and pre-empt any potential issues.

DavidsonMorris’ employment lawyers can help with all aspects of workforce management. Working closely with our HR specialists, we offer a holistic advisory and support service for employers encompassing both the legal and people management elements of flexible and hybrid working arrangements. Speak to our  experts  today for advice.

Working from home policy FAQs 

What should be included in a working from home policy.

The policy should provide the official guidelines for anyone working from home and for managers responsible for managing homeworkers. This includes details of what is allowable, expectations and the procedures to follow.

What is the law on working from home?

There is no right to work from home, but some employees have a right to request flexible working, which could include a remote working arrangement.

Can an employer refuse working from home?

Employers must consider a statutory request for flexible working, but they may refuse if they have good reason, such as disproportionate costs.

Last updated: 5 August 2022

About DavidsonMorris

As employer solutions lawyers, DavidsonMorris offers a complete and cost-effective capability to meet employers’ needs across UK immigration and employment law, HR and global mobility .

Led by Anne Morris, one of the UK’s preeminent immigration lawyers, and with rankings in The Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners , we’re a multi-disciplinary team helping organisations to meet their people objectives, while reducing legal risk and nurturing workforce relations.

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How the new British rights around flexible working will affect employees and businesses

Associate professor of work and employment, University of Southampton

Associate Professor of Human Resource Management, University of Southampton

Disclosure statement

Jane Parry has received funding from various government departments and research councils. She is a member of the Labour Party.

Michalis Veliziotis has received funding from UKRI/ESRC and Acas.

University of Southampton provides funding as a member of The Conversation UK.

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British employees have just received a new right to request flexible working arrangements from the first day of a new job. This is courtesy of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act and supporting secondary legislation , which are in force from April 6, and represent an important change to employment regulations for Britain’s 1.5 million employers .

Flexible working covers numerous arrangements that deviate from “standard” employment practices, such as part-time work, compressed hours, job shares, flexitime and remote working. British employees all received a right to ask for such arrangements when the Flexible Working Regulations were extended in 2014. However, this came with substantial restrictions, such as applicants having had to be in post for 26 weeks, so that in practice most workplaces arranged flexible working either informally or outside of the statutory request process.

The new rules may well make the statutory system mainstream. Around 2 million employees a year are currently leaving their jobs due to a lack of flexible working arrangements (albeit informal flexible-working arrangements increased during the pandemic).

Organisations should therefore prepare for an increase in statutory requests. Most employers are expecting this, according to research by work communications platform Slack, which also finds that a majority have not made their workforce aware of their new rights.

So what are the key changes , and what do they mean for employers and workers?

1. The right to a request from day 1

It will be vital that recruitment teams are well equipped to discuss flexible working during job interviews, and also that managers have the skills to design jobs that reflect the needs of their staff.

The government’s intention is that by encouraging a more diverse range of job applicants, organisations will have a wider talent pool from which to recruit. Many employees , women in particular, stay in posts where they have secured a flexible working arrangement, knowing it might be difficult to obtain a similar arrangement elsewhere.

In many cases this hampers their career progress, which can have lifelong financial consequences . This helps to explain why a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development found that 57% of HR professionals favour the new day 1 right to a request.

2. How requests work

Employers must now respond to requests within two months, whereas previously they were allowed three, which can be too long in a crisis situation. Employees under the old system could only submit one request a year, but can now submit two.

The idea is that those with changing circumstances will be supported to work flexibly in different ways over the course of a year. For example, someone supporting their partner through cancer treatment may want to vary their working patterns around anticipated care demands. Employers might find these shifting arrangements challenging, but it will hopefully help them to retain valued staff.

Equally, employees whose first application has been turned down can now make a new request without having to wait too long. For example, they might come back with a new proposal that demonstrates an understanding of their employer’s constraints and proposes a more mutually beneficial arrangement.

It will be incumbent on employers to make sure their decision-making process is as transparent as possible, since this will help employees to tailor future requests and ensure that there’s a constructive and efficient dialogue.

3. Rejecting requests

In another change to the 2014 rules, employers must not reject a request without first consulting the employee. This is essential to make sure employers understand the circumstances behind requests, particularly given that these are often motivated by rapidly changing, unavoidable things like family health crises. The starting position for employers should always be to consider what may be possible, and to identify viable alternatives if the employee’s request isn’t workable.

4. Applicant requirements

Employees submitting requests are no longer required to explain how their proposed arrangement would affect their employer and how it could be dealt with. This means that line managers will need to have a central role in making decisions about requests, since they will usually have the greatest knowledge about job roles and will have to implement any new arrangement. Employers will accordingly need to train and support their line managers around managing flexible working.

For anyone needing more information, national employment-relations adviser Acas’ code of practice helps to explain what the changes mean for employers and employees.

The case for more flexible working

We recently conducted research for Acas, for publication this summer, looking at how organisations in different sectors have been using flexible working since the pandemic. We found that only a small minority of the huge range of today’s flexible working practices have been organised through the statutory right to request process.

Statutory requests have mostly been restricted to more complicated cases. This might include situations where a line manager is known to be unsympathetic to flexible working, or where a request would run contrary to normal shift patterns, such as in a supermarket or hospital.

The large volume of informal flexible working in organisations provides some indication of employee demand for these arrangements. An informal set-up can be fine for everyday demands like needing to take time off to look after a sick family member. But where a flexible arrangement has become more routine, such as working longer or shorter hours on different days, employees might benefit from the enhanced security of having it written into their contracts rather than relying on a verbal agreement.

While some employers will probably regard the legislation as a major shakeup, the government’s impact assessment highlighted business benefits such as improved productivity, more motivated employees and reduced absenteeism. We would also argue that the legislation offers employers a unique opportunity to take stock of how their employees’ needs for flexible working have changed since the pandemic.

Such an approach can enable them to gain a deeper understanding of their employees’ circumstances, and take a more inclusive and fair approach to supporting requests.

• Flexible working
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