Remote Working Legislation, Laws & Regulations in the UK

Laws, regulations and legal information related to working from home and remote work

  1. Is there any legislation relating to working from home in your country?
  2. How can working from home be implemented in a company (e.g. through collective bargaining agreements, a unilateral decision, employment contracts)?
  3. Can an employer force an employee to work from home?
  4. Can an employee force an employer to allow them to work remotely?
  5. Does an employer have to provide the employee with office equipment and supplies for remote work?
  6. Does a company have to reimburse an employee for expenses incurred while working from home
  7. Does an employer have to grant an employee a specific allowance for working from home? If so, under what conditions does an employer not have to pay such an allowance?    
  8. For employees who work remotely, is the employer responsible for ensuring proper working conditions from a health and safety perspective?
  9. Are there any other specific obligations for the employer?
  10. Does an employee need to be insured to work from home?
  11. Is an employee who works from home protected by legislation for work-related accidents and illnesses?
  12. Is an employer permitted to charge its employees a “reimbursement for working from home” for costs saved? (Saved expenses could include the employee’s reduced costs for transportation, petrol, lunches in restaurants and dry-cleaning charges for office attire)
  13. Are there any other specific obligations on the employee?
  14.  Have there been any legislative changes, or updates to immigration rules, designed to encourage short-term remote working in your country (compared to the rules normally found in other countries)?
  15. Any other comments?

1. Is there any legislation relating to working from home in your country?

There is currently no specific legislation relating to working from home, however the general health and safety requirements outlined below extend to home working. 

Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (HSWA) employers are under a duty to do all that is “reasonably practicable” to protect the health, safety and welfare of their workforce. This duty extends beyond the employer / employee relationship and covers contractors and temporary workers too. There are also a number of regulations which employers must comply with, including the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (which require employers to conduct risk assessments) and the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 (which require employers to conduct workstation assessments). These duties extend to those working from home. A failure to manage health and safety is a criminal offence with potential liability for both individuals and organisations. This means the courts can impose unlimited fines on organisations and individuals, as well as imprisonment for individuals and disqualification of directors. There is also the ever-present risk to organisations of individuals pursuing civil claims for personal injury when employers fail to engage with these risks.

Specific good practice and Health and Safety Executive (HSE – the UK safety regulator) guidance has been developed to assist employers in understanding the practical implications of their duties in relation to homeworkers. The HSE guidance  covers those who work from home permanently or for part of the working week (hybrid working). Organisations should carry out a risk assessment which covers stress and mental health, the use of computers and laptops, and the home working environment.  

Employers should try to meet specialist display screen equipment needs. Employers may also be required to provide equipment to employees as a 'reasonable adjustment' under the Equality Act 2010.

2. How can working from home be implemented in a company (e.g. through collective bargaining agreements, a unilateral decision, employment contracts)?

Working from home can be implemented through individual agreement with employees or in line with an employer's policy. 

3. Can an employer force an employee to work from home?

Generally, an employer has no right to oblige an employee to work from home unless it is a clear requirement of the employee’s contract or an employer’s policy from the outset. However, in exceptional circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, work from home can be required in accordance with the Government's legislation and guidance.

4. Can an employee force an employer to allow them to work remotely?

No, an employer is not obliged to agree to an employee's request to work from home. 

An employee can make a request for flexible working (including homeworking) either as a statutory request (under s.80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996) or a non-statutory request. There are specific eligibility criteria and steps which must be met as part of the statutory request process. Flexible working may also be governed by the employer's policy. An employer can reject an employee's request if there is a valid business reason for doing so. The legislation contains eight statutory reasons why an employer may refuse a request.

An employer who refuses a request to work flexibly (including remote working) in the UK would also need to be alive to any risks of indirect or direct discrimination on the grounds of sex or disability. For example, if a mother requests remote working for childcare reasons, then an employer should be prepared to objectively justify why this was not possible in order to defend any potential challenge on the grounds of indirect sex discrimination. If an employee is disabled then it may be a reasonable adjustment to allow a request to work remotely.

5. Does an employer have to provide the employee with office equipment and supplies for remote work?

Employers are required to provide the equipment and technology to employees to enable to them to do their job. It is not regarded as reasonably practicable to provide employees with a full suite of office equipment.

However, employers should try to meet all specialist display screen equipment (DSE) needs. If they do provide DSE then the employer must comply with the specific health and safety requirements within the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 discussed in more detail in answer 8 below.

Employers may also be required to provide equipment to disabled employees as a 'reasonable adjustment' under the Equality Act 2010.

6. Does a company have to reimburse an employee for expenses incurred while working from home

No, an employer is currently not obliged to reimburse the employee for work from home expenses. However, the company may choose to cover some expenses, and it is recommended that if this approach is taken that it is set out in a policy.

If an employer reimburses an employee for personal expenditure on homeworking equipment this is ordinarily taxable as a benefit. Many employers choose to provide equipment directly rather than reimburse an employee. Broadly, provided the equipment is used predominantly for work purposes, it will not be taxable. The UK tax authority, HM Revenue & Customs, allows employers to offer eligible home workers tax free payments to cover the additional costs of homeworking. The flat rate payment is £6 per week, and a more complex arrangement exists for reimbursing actual additional expenditure.

7. Does an employer have to grant an employee a specific allowance for working from home? If so, under what conditions does an employer not have to pay such an allowance?    

No, an employer is not obliged to grant the employee any allowance. 

8. For employees who work remotely, is the employer responsible for ensuring proper working conditions from a health and safety perspective?

Yes, Regulation 3(1) of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 provides that employers are required to carry out risk assessments for their workers. This applies to risks where the worker is working from home, even if that is not their only place of work or, for example, they only work from home one day a week. It requires employers to "make a suitable and sufficient assessment of (a) the risks to the health and safety of [their] employees to which they are exposed whilst they are at work; and (b) the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking".

However, whilst a risk assessment may be carried out by a trained health and safety person visiting the individual’s home, this is not mandatory, particularly where the work is low risk, office-based work, where the individual is not working with hazardous machinery or materials. It will still be “suitable and sufficient” if the individual carries out the risk assessment themself where they have had some training or guidance on this. The individual should then follow a risk assessment process, for example set out in a form provided by the employer where hazards and risks are identified, and later discussed with the employer. 

The UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identifies five steps required for carrying out a workplace health and safety risk assessment. These are:

  • Identify the hazards;
  • Decide who might be harmed and how;
  • Assess the risks from the hazards and decide on appropriate precautions;
  • Record any significant findings; and
  • Regularly review the risk assessment and revise as necessary.

The individual should be advised that risk assessment is an ongoing duty, so steps should be taken by the employer to facilitate the reporting of any changes. 

The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 also place a duty on employers to ensure the work equipment they own, operate, and have control over is safe to use at all times. The equipment that is supplied must be suitable for its purpose, maintained in good working order and inspected regularly.

As outlined above, in accordance with the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 if a homeworker is a DSE user an employer must:

Further information on the steps to be followed is published by the HSE. Working safely with display screen equipment: Overview - HSE

9. Are there any other specific obligations for the employer?

Data protection is a key legal obligation to consider with home workers. Employees should be trained on keeping data secure while working at home. They should consider confidentiality when having conversations at home, and make sure that printouts are taken into their employer’s workplace to be stored or disposed of securely. Devices should not be shared and strong passwords should be used. Most employers will have policies and rules in place around the use of equipment and cyber security.  The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which is the UK supervisory authority for data protection, has produced Guidance  on working from home securely.

If an employer chooses to monitor an employee working from home this would trigger data protection obligations, in addition to other legal considerations. Our Law-Now Monitoring your workforce contains further information.

10. Does an employee need to be insured to work from home?

It is mandatory for employers to have employers’ liability insurance; every employer carrying on business in Great Britain must maintain insurance (with an authorised insurer) against liability for bodily injury or disease sustained by its employees, and arising out of and in the course of their employment in Great Britain. An employer's insurance policy should cover employees working from home and cover equipment.

Employees are advised to contact their household insurance provider to discuss specific insurance requirements and notify them of home working arrangements in case it affects their home insurance cover.

Further to the risk assessment of the worker's home, should they suffer a work-related accident or illness, whether the employer is liable will depend on the circumstances and whether the risks could have been prevented by implementing any measures to reduce the risks involved. A UK employer is not generally liable for a worker’s personal equipment, and workers are also under a duty to take reasonable care to avoid injury to themselves.

There may also be a duty to report an accident that takes place at home although it will depend on the circumstances. The HSE explains:

“Not every incident in a person's home will be reportable. An incident may be reportable under Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) if it occurred as a result of:

  • the work activity being done, or
  • the equipment you have provided to carry out that work”.

12. Is an employer permitted to charge its employees a “reimbursement for working from home” for costs saved? (Saved expenses could include the employee’s reduced costs for transportation, petrol, lunches in restaurants and dry-cleaning charges for office attire)

No.

13. Are there any other specific obligations on the employee?

Employees have duties both under the HSWA and associated regulations and common law. Employees must take reasonable care to avoid injury to themselves or to others through their work activities and must cooperate with their employer and others in meeting statutory requirements. The HSWA also requires employees not to interfere with or misuse anything provided to protect their health, safety or welfare. 

Employees must report all employment-related hazards to their employer and ensure that their homeworking environment stays suitable and appropriate in line with the workplace health and safety risk assessment.

14. Have there been any legislative changes, or updates to immigration rules, designed to encourage short-term remote working in your country (compared to the rules normally found in other countries)?

There have been no updates made to the UK immigration rules in this regard – a visitor cannot come to the UK if their primary intention is to work remotely. As it stands, the Immigration Rules make it clear that whilst visitors can conduct general business activities whilst in the UK such as attending interviews, negotiating/signing deals and carrying out site visits etc, they should not be working from the UK unless they are undertaking a Permitted Activity.  That being said, there has been a recent update to the Home Office Guidance, which states that visitors can undertake activities relating to their overseas employment whilst in the UK such as responding to emails/answering calls, but the primary purpose of the trip must be for a permitted activity.

15. Any other comments?

In future we may see changes to the right to request flexible working.  At the time of writing, the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill 2022-23 is progressing through Parliament.  When the Bill comes into force it will make the right to request flexible working a “day one” right (there is currently a 26-week service requirement) in addition to several other changes. Further information on the proposed changes are included in this Law-Now - Is flexibility the key to stability? Government publishes response to flexible working consultation

The Office for Tax Simplification in the UK (an independent adviser to the UK Government) published a report in December 2022 looking at hybrid and distance working. Based on the report, we may also see further changes to the tax and expenses position relating to homeworking in the future.