Companies these days are increasingly allowing employees to work from home in order to save on time and costs of actual office space and other overhead. Maintaining Nondiscriminatory Work-From-Home Polices Compile a list of legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons that would preclude an employee from working-from-home. Research shows that employees who work from home tend to be more productive then when in the office, but setting up a telecommuting policy may not be as easy as it sounds. Ensure that flexible workplace policies are administered in a nondiscriminatory manner. Employers should encourage employees to review their work area and ensure that it is free from tripping, electrical or other hazards that might pose a danger to employees. Put procedures in place so you can keep in direct contact with home workers so you can recognise signs of stress as early as possible. Issues that will be considered include health and safety, working time, discrimination law, and the effectiveness of employment regulation. Home working opens up a new range of possibilities for the way businesses can work and structure themselves.With the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, home working has given some employers the flexibility they need to continue their business operations while prioritising staff and customer health and wellbeing as part of their public health responsibility. According to the National Employment Standards (NES) introduced in 2010 by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), parents and caregivers of children under school age have the right to request flexible working arrangements, such as working from home. An employer may restrict at-home employees from working overtime, but must pay all overtime that is worked. Many states and localities have laws requiring employers to provide paid sick leave, and this landscape is rapidly evolving. Our new COVID-19 reality means that many employees are working from home (“WFH”). He is co-founder of the European Review of Contract Law and has also served on the editorial committee of the Industrial Law Journal. Employers should also consider setting up an internal website and team- and/or company-wide distribution lists for information sharing. Whether you're thinking of working from your home office or from your lake cabin getaway, there could be tax implications. Because schools may be closed and employees may face challenges with childcare due to COVID-19, employers likely will need to remain flexible in their expectations. We use cookies to enhance your website experience. Workers often know what the issues are and have ideas about how to manage them. Working from home may not be practical in many work environments, for example, where company tools, machinery or equipment may be required to accomplish a job. By continuing to use our website without electing an option below, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. She has held a number of visiting appointments, most recently at Harvard Law School. WFH is no longer treated as a flexible work option offered by some employers, but a measure to physically distance. In summer 2020 Alice appeared (as junior counsel) for the successful Respondent in the Court of Appeal in Walker v Co-operative Bank leading a case on the material factor defence in equal pay claims. More and more people are working from home these days — or at least from a local coffee shop or coworking space. Alice is a contributing editor of Harvey on Industrial Relations and Employment Law. I work with an amazing remote team, but it means I have an 8:30am or 9am meeting every day. LSE’s Shaping the Post-COVID World initiative, Working From Home: legal issues arising from the 'new normal', LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel. Some employers may also choose for employee relations reasons to reimburse cell phone and internet costs attributable to work use when employees are required to work from home. Whatever the precise arrangement, there are a number of issues for an employer to consider. If an employer requires employees to work from home in response to a health crisis like the COVID-19 outbreak, then it may choose to prohibit employees from working at other remote locations other than home (i.e., locations where they may be at greater risk of being exposed). “Different legal issues surrounding labor laws, taxes, contracts, payment requirements or limitations, etc. If employees are not performing work for all or part of the day, then the employer, in certain instances, may be able to deduct full or partial days from their compensation or leave banks. Such accommodations may include, for example, providing ergonomic computer equipment and accessories, to employees who would otherwise be provided such accommodations in an office setting. Alice Carse practices in employment and industrial relations law at Devereux Chambers. Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel. This event will be streamed live on Facebook, Join us for a lecture by @PEspinosaC, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Cha… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…, Reply Subscribe to receive the latest insights and news from Akin Gump. Employers have a duty of care to ensure the health and safety of their workers, regardless of whether they work in a factory, office or home BY Amber Chandler 12 May 2017. You must also review how you’re managing the risks to check your policies and processes are effective. Not only will sound work-from-home policies keep employees on track while working offsite, but they’ll help avoid potential legal problems that can arise from remote work. Other legal issues. She wrote her PhD thesis (‘On coming to terms: How European human rights law imagines the human condition’) at LSE. Here are five legal pitfalls you’ll want to look out for when drafting a remote work policy. There are three particular areas to consider from a legal perspective: 1. You must consider requests in a reasonable manner. Employers should attempt to provide the resources employees need to work from home effectively using company-provided equipment, like computers and telephones. Employers should ensure their paid sick leave policies are up to date. "So [for example] when an employee falls down the steps answering the front door or slips over in the home office," he said. The legal employment status of home workers is defined by the following tests of whether they are a ‘worker’ or ‘employee’: ... you work from home. Employers have an obligation to provide accommodations for disabilities to employees who work from home. Sarah Trotter joined the Law Department as an Assistant Professor in September 2018. Specific advice should be sought on what the assessment should cover. Update existing policies to include Covid-19 specific language. Freedom to cook lunch. Nicola Lacey is School Professor of Law, Gender and Social Policy. She completed all her postgraduate and undergraduate studies at Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford. Time to do laundry between tasks. If you are an employee who works from home regularly, it is important to know what your rights are. From time to time there are changes to event details so we strongly recommend that if you plan to attend this event you check back on this listing on the day of the event. Another legal issue with telecommuting is that letting employees work from home makes it much more difficult to monitor employees’ work hours, making companies potentially more susceptible to violations of wage & hour laws. Our COVID-19 Employer FAQs provide some helpful guidance in these situations. There are certain legal implications that employers should consider when allowing employees to work from home. Employers can make reasonable requests in response to a health crisis. Retweet Ensure that any work-from-home, remote work, and onsite work policies, are administered in a nondiscriminatory manner. Hugh Collins has published research in contract law, employment law, European law, legal theory, and human rights law. A video of this event is available to watch at Working From Home: legal issues arising from the 'new normal'. If hardware or software that is normally used to track time is unavailable to an employee working from home, then any method that allows the employee to self-report his or her working time (e.g., an Excel spreadsheet) is acceptable. Employer monitoring of work email systems is generally permitted, provided there is a valid business purpose for doing so and employees do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in using the employer’s system. He is currently Cassel Professor of Commercial Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science, having previously been the Vinerian Professor of English Law at All Souls College, Oxford 2014-2019, Professor of English Law at LSE 1991-2014, and a Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford. This, plus a heightened awareness of the benefits of flexible working arrangements, means that many more employees are choosing to spend some (or all) of their week working from home. Before monitoring employees’ communication (e.g., for productivity), ensure that doing so is consistent with the company’s established policies. If employees are allowed or required to work from home because of the unique challenges posed by COVID-19, where remote work otherwise would not be allowed or required, then employers should make clear that the telework is being allowed or required due to the extraordinary circumstances posed by current public health circumstances. Consider reminding employees of their right to take off-duty meal and rest breaks when working from home. Prior to that, she studied at the University of Cambridge (LLM), Sciences Po (Erasmus year), and LSE (LLB). Working from home opportunities, also referred to as telecommuting or teleworking, defines a work structure in which a worker can complete job tasks, either on a full-time or part-time basis, from a location outside of the company's office. If you have any questions concerning this alert, please contact: Nathan J. OlesonEmailWashington, D.C.+1 202.887.4425, Brian Glenn PattersonEmailHouston+1 713.250.2214, Richard J. RabinEmailNew York+1 212.872.1086, Allison S. PapadopoulosEmailWashington, D.C.+1 202.887.4588. Astrid Sanders is an Associate Professor of Labour Law and joined LSE in September 2013. Prior to joining LSE, she was a Lecturer at Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham for four years from 2009 to 2013. One of the most obvious problems with remote employees is it’s hard to know how many hours they’re actually working out of the office. For example, employees may work overtime hours without their manager knowing, but then later sue for back pay. Favorite, RT @RMilibandLSE: Vital 'key workers' have been widely lauded during the pandemic - but after all the applause will they be given better p…, London School of Economics and Political Science. LSE is a private company limited by guarantee, registration number 70527. Check with workers’ compensation and general liability coverage brokers or carriers to ensure that all applicable coverages will apply when employees work from home. That said, some employers may specifically not allow telecommuting or opt to change their telecommuting policy with little noice. Employees should check there are no … Legal guidelines for work from home arrangements. The Department of Law (@LSELaw) is one of the world's top law schools with an international reputation for the quality of its teaching and legal research.