Work from Home Policy

This Work from Home Policy template can be tailored to your business needs and is designed as a starting point for establishing employment policies on working from home. This sample policy should be modified according to your company’s specific values. A Work from Home Policy may also be referred to as a Home-Based Work Policy or Homeworking Policy.

Policy brief & purpose

We designed our work from home policy to make sure that working from home is beneficial to our employees and company.

Scope

This company work from home policy applies to all our employees who prefer working from home. 

Are employees allowed to work from home?

Employees are allowed to work from home only if their job duties permit it. For example, people who are obliged to come in direct physical contact with customers are not eligible to telecommute under this policy. However, employees who carry out most of their work on a computer can occasionally work from home.

Policy elements

Employees work from home when they complete their work at a place located outside of our company’s premises. They may work from home:

• Full-time
• On certain days as per the agreement
• Every day, dividing their schedule between being present at the office andworking from a remote location.

Work from home arrangements can be occasional, temporary, or permanent.

Reasons that could demand telecommuting include but are not limited to:

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

Other reasons for working from home depend on employees and Line manager's judgement.

How to determine whether an employee can work from home

We advise both employees and managers to consider these elements before asking/approving work from home:

• Is the employee eligible by nature of their job?
• Are there any cybersecurity and data privacy concerns?
• Will collaboration with the employee's team become difficult?
• Do employees have the necessary equipment or software installed at home?
• What are the conditions of employees' home or alternative place of work (noise,internet connection etc.)

Requesting Work from Home Procedure

When employees plan to work from home, this procedure must be followed:

• Employees file a request through email or a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) at least [two days or as per the business needs] in advance.
• Their managers must approve their request considering all elements we mentioned above.
• 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 who need to work from home for unforeseen reasons (e.g. illness or temporary difficult commute) should file their request as soon as possible, so managers can consider and approve it.

Time Zone difference

Sometimes, managers and their team members are in a different time zone. When employees need to work from home for unforeseen reasons, they may not be able to get their request approved in time. In this case, they may stay to work from home and notify the HR. We advise employees to check in with their managers as soon as their manager clocks in.

Compensation and benefits

Usually, work from home arrangements do not affect employees' employment contracts. If working from home has any effect on compensation and benefits, then HR is responsible to create a new contract.