Work From Home Policy Example

The work from home policy applies to all our employees who prefer working from home in times of need. However, an employee’s working from home request will be considered on a case by case basis. Approval of work from home request is based on job duties, prior performance, and productivity.

Responsibilities

The supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the terms and conditions under the work from home policy have been satisfied prior to approving the request. It is the responsibility of the employee to adhere to all the company’s policies and procedures even when working from an alternative location. Additionally, employees must maintain accurate and up to date records of hours worked at home within a normal span of hours. The employee is expected to be contactable and available for communication with the HR/reporting manager and team members during the periods in which home-based work is carried out.

When Are Employees Allowed To Work From Home

Depending on the job duties assigned, employees are allowed to work from home. Employees who need to be in direct physical contact with clients and customers are not eligible to telecommute under this policy. Similarly, maintenance and support staff are exempt from this policy. But employees working from their work stations with the help of computers can occasionally avail the benefit of this policy. However, the employee must get his/her work from home request approved by his/her reporting manager.

Before approving a request, managers must consider the fact that all employees are different. Some employees may not be productive in work from home setup. Therefore, managers must ensure that the productivity of the employee does not waiver in work from home arrangement. If need be, they can set clear targets to be achieved by the employee for the duration of work from home.

Scope

Work from home arrangements can be occasional, temporary or permanent, the decision of which is taken at the time of the interview. If the work from home arrangement spans for more than a week, managers and team members should meet to discuss details and set specific goals, schedules and deadlines.

Employees can work from home,

• Full-time
• On certain days of the weeks/months, dividing their schedule between being present at the office and working from a remote location
• Every day, dividing their schedule between being present at the office and working from a remote location

Employees can request for work from home for reasons that include but not limited to:

• Parenting
• Bad weather
• Emergencies
• Medical reasons
• Work-life balance
• Long commute

Things To Keep In Mind

Different employees and roles have different responsibilities based on their job description. There are chances some of the employees will have access to confidential data about the company. Thus, it becomes critical for the employee and especially the reporting manager to consider the impact on the company for such employees to work from home.

Before asking and approving work from home request, employees and managers must consider the below concerns:

1. Is the employee eligible for work from home by the nature of his job description?
2. Are there any cybersecurity and data privacy concerns?
3. Is the home-based worksite a safe area to work?
4. Will the employee’s work from home in any way affect his/her team output?
5. Does the employee have the necessary software installed and permissions granted to operate official portals from home?
6. How strong is the internet connection, noise control at the employee’s home or alternative place of work?
7. In case of issues arising at the preferred place of work, can the employee come to the office?

Approval Procedure

When employees plan to work from home, they must email their request or raise it at the appropriate Human Resource Information System (HRIS) at least (number of days) days in advance. It is up to the manager to approve the same after considering all the aspects mentioned above.

There could be chances that the reporting manager and the employee are in different time zones. When employees need to work from home for unforeseen reasons, they may not be able to get their requests approved in time. In this case, they may work from home and notify the HR department. They must check in with their managers as soon as their manager clocks in.

Mutual Understanding

Managers can set guidelines that ensure employees work at their optimum level. The employee and the supervisor must decide how often they need to catch up to ensure that all the goals and targets are met. They can even consider scheduling weekly meetings. Managers must provide straightforward guidelines to ensure employees know what to do in their new work environment.

Compensation And Benefits

In most cases, work from home arrangements doesn’t affect employees’ employment terms. HR will create a new contract if working from home has any effect on compensation and benefits.