Employees working from home

Types of work and skills suited to home working

When weighing up whether to let an employee work from home, you should consider the nature of their job. Some types of work are particularly suited to homeworking. For example:

• telesales and marketing
• customer service
• consultancy and professional services, such as accountancy or HR administration
• writing, editing, research and translation
• some types of administrative work

You also need to consider whether employees themselves are suited to working away from your base. They're likely to need skills in a number of key areas:

• time management and self-discipline
• motivation
• self-sufficiency
• communication
• technology

Working from home isn't for everyone. But bear in mind that if you allow one person to do it, you may be setting a precedent that others will want to follow, so it's best to have a clear idea from the start of how homeworking could fit the needs of your business. You may want to consider setting some "house" rules, such as giving priority to requests from parents of young children.

Remember, too, that in some cases you're legally obliged to "seriously consider" requests for homeworking. Parents of children under six and disabled children under 18 can request a range of flexible-working patterns from their employers - including the right to work from home.