Home Working Policy, Agreement and Documents
These documents are designed for employers putting home working arrangements in place or reviewing existing arrangements.
They help employers deal with the practical, contractual, and compliance issues that arise where an employee works from home on a full-time or part-time basis.
Home Working Agreements and Policies
Use this collection where there is, or will be, a formal home working arrangement.
It includes the core documents needed to set the arrangement up properly, including the Home Working Policy and Home Working Agreement, and to support home working as an ongoing working practice.
Managing Day-to-Day Home Working Issues
Home working can work well for both employer and employee, but it needs a clear framework.
Employers will usually need to address matters such as:
- how contact will be maintained;
- reporting and supervision arrangements;
- attendance at the office for meetings or training; and
- who is responsible for equipment and furniture.
Health and Safety, Security, and Data Protection
Home working also raises important compliance issues. Employers need to consider insurance, security, and data protection, and should ensure that health and safety obligations are addressed in the same way as for employees working on the employer’s premises.
A suitable Homeworker Risk Assessment Form should be carried out before a home working arrangement begins and reviewed regularly. Employers should also consider whether the Home Working Data Protection Policy is needed.
Home Working Policy, Agreement and Documents is part of Employment. Just £38.50 + VAT provides unlimited downloads from Employment for 1 year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What documents do I need to set up a formal home working arrangement for an employee? +
Set the rules and framework with a Home Working Policy, record the individual terms with a Home Working Agreement and assess safety with a Homeworker Risk Assessment. Where the employee is hired specifically to work from home, use the Homeworker Employment Offer Letter instead of a standard offer letter. A permanent change to an existing employee's place of work is a contractual variation and should be documented in writing. The Home Worker Data Protection Policy and a Homeworking Confirmation Letter complete the set. All six are available in this Simply-Docs collection.
Do I have to carry out a health and safety risk assessment before an employee starts working from home? +
Yes. Employers owe homeworkers the same health and safety duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 as office-based staff, and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the home working environment. The HSE confirms this is a legal duty, not optional guidance. Employers with five or more employees must record the significant findings. A physical visit is not usually required: employer-guided self-assessment is accepted. Use the Homeworker Risk Assessment Form before the arrangement begins and review it regularly.
Does an existing employee need a new or varied contract when they move to home working permanently? +
Usually yes. Permanent home working changes the employee's contractual place of work, a material term that must be agreed and confirmed in writing, either by amending the existing contract or issuing a variation letter. Imposing it without agreement risks claims including constructive dismissal. A temporary or occasional arrangement may not need a change but should still be recorded clearly. To record the individual terms of a formal arrangement, use the Home Working Agreement; for a new homeworker hire, use the Homeworker Employment Offer Letter.
What data protection issues do I need to address when an employee works from home? +
Apply UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 obligations equally at home, because employees handling personal data outside the controlled office increase the risk of accidental disclosure, loss of documents and unauthorised access to company systems. Require secure handling, strong passwords, restrictions on printing hard-copy personal data at home and clear rules on reporting suspected breaches, and where employees use their own devices set out minimum security requirements in writing. The Home Worker Data Protection Policy addresses these requirements, whether as a separate policy or incorporated into a wider data protection framework.
What should a home working policy cover and why do I need one? +
A home working policy gives employer and employee the clear framework needed when work is done from home, full-time or part-time, and without one disputes about supervision, contact, equipment, expenses and ending the arrangement are harder to resolve. It should cover eligibility and approval; hours and contact; supervision and performance management; equipment and responsibility for it; health, safety and insurance; data protection and security; and ending or varying the arrangement. The Home Working Policy addresses all these areas and sits alongside the Home Working Agreement, which records each employee's individual terms.
I want to hire someone to work from home from day one. Which document should I use for the offer? +
Because the role is home-based from the outset rather than a variation of an office role, use the Homeworker Employment Offer Letter from this collection: it reflects the home working arrangement as a primary term of employment. If instead you are moving an existing employee to home working permanently, that is a contractual variation, documented using the Home Working Agreement (and a variation letter if needed) rather than a new offer letter.
