Working From Home Policy

What is a Working From Home Policy?

A working from home policy is a set of guidelines that outlines how your employees can efficiently and productively work remotely.

It ensures a smooth transition from traditional office settings to a flexible work environment.

Get in touch with us to create an effective work from home policy that suits your organisation’s unique needs and start reaping the benefits of a flexible workforce.

Why is a Working From Home Policy so Important?

Looking for a clear and effective work-from-home policy for your business?

With the increasing trend of remote work, implementing a well-crafted work-from-home policy is essential to maintain productivity and streamline operations.

By defining expectations, outlining communication channels, and setting guidelines for work hours and deliverables, you can foster a supportive and productive work-from-home culture.

Unlock the potential of remote work for your business. Enhance productivity, streamline operations, and boost employee morale with a customised work from home policy from Progressive Legal. 

By having this document in place, it assists in avoiding legal issues and disputes down the track.  Here are the key aspects to be included in your policy.

The purpose of a working from home policy

At the outset, it’s useful to include the purpose of the policy to provide context.

It’s quite common to state that the business recognises there are circumstances when it may be appropriate for a staff member to work from home and that the purpose of the remote work policy is to provide guidance concerning the difference types of remote working arrangements, the process of requesting to work from home and the roles and responsibilities of managers and employees. 

Scope

The policy should apply to all employees, independent contractors and any other individuals nominated by your business. 

Categories of remote working arrangements

Employees may work from home on the following basis:  

• Full-time; 
• Part-time;  
• On certain days; or 
• On an ad hoc basis. 

Application process

Application processes may differ from business to business, but generally it involves an employee submitting a written application outlining the request to work remotely, the reasons for such a request and how often the employee requests to work remotely. The application is then assessed by the employee’s direct manager or other relevant personnel.

In some cases under the Fair Work Act, employees have the right to request flexible working arrangements.

You should note in the policy if there are any types of work that may not be suitable to be performed remotely and provide examples, such as, retail employees, hospitality workers and teachers, etc.  

The remote work policy should also note that it is at the business’ sole discretion whether to approve remote work requests, unless required to by Law. 

Application assessment

When assessing requests to work from home the following factors should be taken into consideration:  

• the effect on the business should the request be approved; 
• whether the home worksite complies with applicable Work Health and Safety requirements; 
• the ability of the employee to meet the requirements of their job if the request is approved; 
• any arrangements, such as setting up IT systems and providing laptops, that may need to be put in place to facilitate the employee working from home; 
• the nature of the employee’s work and whether it can be carried out from home; and 
• the ability of the employee to work independently. 

It’s also an option to request to visit the proposed home worksite to ensure it complies with health and safety requirements, should that be necessary.   

Trial Period

You might consider it’s necessary to implement a trial period for all employees requesting to work from home. The policy could state that any employee approved to work from home will undergo a trial period of, say 1-3 months, to ensure the employee is working productively and the business is receiving the full benefit of the employee’s work.  

Roles and responsibilities

It’s vital that the policy is clear about the responsibilities of employees working remotely and their managers.  

It should be noted in the policy that managers are responsible for:  

• assessing each working from home request and consider the policy when deciding if a request is approved; 
• ensuring the employee is working in accordance with their working from home arrangement and is complying with all of the businesses policies and procedures; 
• monitoring and reviewing the working from home arrangement; 
• providing the required resources and equipment to facilitate the employee working from home;  
• accurately document the ownership and usage arrangements of the business equipment. 

The policy should state that the employee working from home must:  

• comply with all policies and procedures of the business; 
• be easily contactable during work hours; 
• ensure the home worksite complies with work, health and safety requirements at all times; 
• report any health and safety hazards; 
• maintain accurate records of hours worked; 
• work to the same standard that they would while working at the workplace; 
• allow the employer access to the proposed home worksite for the purpose of work, health and safety inspections; and 
• take reasonable precautions necessary to secure any company property, like laptops.  

IT infrastructure

It’s important to consider whether the infrastructure is in place to allow all employees to work from home. Is the IT system capable of allowing large numbers of employees to work remotely?  

You also need to ensure that the employees have the appropriate hardware and software necessary to work from home.  

Confidentiality and Data Security

It’s imperative to remind employees working from home of their obligations to maintain confidentiality concerning the business’ confidential information and not allow information to be shared with family members, for example, by leaving the room with the work laptop open displaying a confidential document for a flatmate to see.    

Work, Health and Safety

Your obligations as an employer to ensure the health and safety of your employees extends to situations where employees work from home.  

It’s recommended that you establish where in the employee’s home they plan to work and either ask the employee to confirm that the home worksite complies with work, health and safety requirements and request photos of the worksite or request to inspect the worksite so that you are satisfied that it’s compliant.  

Insurance

It’s likely you have worker’s compensation insurance in place, but it’s also important to check that your policy covers your employees working from home. If this isn’t covered, you need to take steps to amend your insurance policy.  

It’s also possible to ask employees to provide a copy of their home and contents insurance to ascertain whether their work computer and any other items owned by the business are covered.  

With working from home fast becoming the “new norm”, it’s best practice to have a document in place that makes employees and contractors very aware that while working from home, they are to act as if they are at work and not be tempted to blur the lines between work and home life. i.e. while they are working-from-home, they need to act appropriately as if they were at work.  

That means reminding them of what that looks like, that they need to really consider confidentiality, security, passwords, behaviour on social media and online generally.  

At Progressive Legal, we can draft a standard tailored working-from-home policy for your business for a fixed fee starting from $450 + GST which will be drafted and settled by qualified and experienced workplace lawyers.