Rights and Responsibilities of Working from Home

When the world was put on hold; train lines suspended, businesses closed, and personnel told to stay at home; the working population faced a monumental and unprecedented shift. Suddenly, home offices were created, utilising quiet corners and drawing more from our home Wifi systems than ever before. Most of all, we were suddenly faced with the health and safety risks of working out of the office, forced to establish ground rules around working hours, based around home lives and family responsibilities. We have all had to do our bit, and since the pandemic of 2020 began, the percentage of workers now working from home has grown exponentially.

Making sure that both employees and employers are able to fulfil all their rights and responsibilities from the comfort of home is a challenge, and so this article seeks to shed a little light on what the most important parts of that are, and what it means to be a responsible home worker.

The basics of working from home

As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure that all your workers and colleagues are in a position to work from home safely and effectively.

This means spending time assessing:

• Health and safety, and the DSE requirements of home working
• Equipment and the necessary tools to complete various jobs
• Individual employee's needs, and where they might need support
• Understanding the level of communication required and making sure that every line manager checks in on their team regularly

As an employee, it is your right to receive clear guidance around the expectations of your home working. You should take the time to provide regular updates and to get in touch with your colleagues or line manager should you feel like you need additional support or guidance.

Health and Safety

Arguably one of the most important factors to consider no matter what the working conditions or situation, health and safety should be of primary concern to the employer – not just as part of their responsibility to their team, but as part of their legal obligation as well.

As far as the basics in health and safety, employers should be sure to check that:

• Each employee feels safe and able to work from home
• Each employee's right to be safe at work is fulfilled, for example with home-based DSE assessments
• Managers check-in with their team regularly to ensure they do not feel isolated or anxious
• Reasonable adjustments are made to support those employees with some form of disability

The most important thing for employers to note is that they are responsible for making necessary changes to support their employees.

But they can't do it all alone.

As an employee, you too have responsibilities, and one of those is understanding and speaking up about your rights. This means:

• Telling your employer or line manager when you feel you are facing health and safety risks through working at home
• Arranging the most suitable home working conditions for your role
• Taking regular breaks to avoid sitting at a computer for too long
• Stay physically and mentally stimulated with other activities outside of work. For example, getting outside for a walk, cooking and baking with your family, or spending time reading a book

Working Hours

When your staff are working outside of the office, monitoring working hours becomes infinitely more difficult.

As an employer, it is your job to not only track the work of your team, but motivate them to continue working, interacting and engaging with their everyday role and their colleagues.

Some of the best ways for employers to ensure that working hours are followed include:

• Making clear your expectations around the core hours for working, from day one. This means understanding that your team will have external commitments, particularly around family life and caring for children – all the while ensuring that they are aware of when they need to be working, contactable and available to work
• Help your team determine the ways they will keep in touch – and how often that should be
• The rules and regulations around storing data and maintaining data protection, with limited access to confidential systems
• How performance will be managed and tracked – and how this will be adapted to a future of working from home
• Make clear who employees should contact if they need help or guidance

As an employee, staying committed, motivated, and communicative with your team will have a positive impact on your work and the work of your colleagues.

Equipment and Systems

It is ultimately the responsibility of the employer to ensure that all employees have adequate equipment in their homes to be able to work efficiently and effectively. This includes everything an employee might expect to get if working in the office, including:

• Access to all necessary equipment and technology
• Access to any systems and files that they might need to fulfil their role
• Access to IT support should it be needed
• Regular check-ins to ensure that every employee has everything they need

If you choose to work from home, as an employee, it may be up to you to provide a portable device or home-based computer to work from. Anything provided to you by the company will be done so at your employer's discretion.

Pay and Expenses

In short, the responsibility of employers is to ensure that all workers, no matter whether they are in the office or working from home, receive the same pay.

In the case of nationwide support systems such as the government furlough scheme of 2020, pay percentages and potential deductions will be decided on a company-wide basis at the discretion of the individual company.

When it comes to expenses, the main responsibility is in the hands of the employee – making sure that they provide timely and accurate tracking of all relevant expenses, sent to the company before the specified deadline.

Once received, the employer is responsible for ensuring that all relevant expenses are paid.

In Conclusion

So, there you have it – a guide to the rights and responsibilities of both employers and employees, as we all face a world where working from home has become the 'new normal'.

While working from home inevitably requires an increased focus on self-motivation and the monitoring of your own productivity, health and safety surroundings and mental support, employees must remember that it is the responsibility of the employer to follow up with and provide guidance across everything from your pay to expenses, health and safety, and the distinction between your working hours and your home life.