Employees Who Work from Home

2. The Home Office

2.1 Minimum requirements for a home office include:

• A work space and reasonable working environment. Obtain the cooperation of others who live in the house.
• Secure premises and a lockable cupboard or desk. Avoid leaving valuable equipment or sensitive information on display where you risk theft or confidentiality breaches.
• Compliance with health and safety regulations (see 2.2), including suitable furniture.
• One or more business telephone lines (and possibly broadband).
• An Internet-capable computer with office software, including email and a printer (see 7).
• Fax machine or fax modem.
• Adequate insurance.Home contents insurance normally excludes business equipment. However, mot employers' insurance policies cover "any place of business" - check the policy. Additional insurance may be required if you have visitors or business meetings at home.

2.2 Health and safety requirements apply equally to teleworkers as they do to those who work in the office.

An initial risk assessment must be carried out, although this can be done by the employee. Areas to consider are:

• The seating and layout of the employee's computer workstation.
• Electrical equipment. Has it been tested and certified?
• Extension leads for telephones, PCs and printers. Make sure there are no trailing leads.
• Adequate lighting levels, ventilation and room temperature.

2.3 Planning permission is unlikely to be required if all the following are true:

• Only one room is used for teleworking.
• Only those who live in the house work there.
• The work does not lead to a substantial volume of visitors, nuisance to neighbours or extra car parking.

2.4 Tax and business rates are not usually a problem.

Ensure that the room used has another purpose (eg visitors' bedroom) to avoid paying:

• Business rates.
• Capital gains tax on sale of the property.