Home is where the heart is

Q. If employees want to work from home for personal reasons, is their health and safety my responsibility and what is the employee entitlement regarding parental leave?

A: Working from home is not an automatic employee right, so there is no obligation to agree. A possible exception is a parent asking for flexible working hours while assisting a child up to the age of six. However, it may be difficult to monitor work performance when employees work at home.

If agreed upon, a trial period should be implemented and evaluated.

Any difficulties experienced by either partiy must be addressed. You may consider it compromising asking your employee to work from the office part-time. It may become difficult to justify who is allowed to work from home and who must remain office-based, so ensure the decision is fair to avoid conflict.

Consultation with your workforce is essential. Introduce a system where home-based employees regularly report to management regarding their work schedule. An employee who is ill must still report their absence in the normal way. The health and safety of home-based employees remains your responsibility. Regular risk assessments should be carried out. Ensure all electrical equipment used for work meet safety laws. Finally, in terms of parental leave, the right applies to a parent who has been employed for one year or more. Professional advice should be sought, as the law is complex.