How Easy Is It For Businesses To Permit Workers To Work From Home To Comply With Their Requirements On Flexible Working Regulations?
The number of regulations which impact on the employment sector is vast and continues to grow. There appears to have been a constant supply of new laws, guidelines and directives which encompass wages, working time, discrimination and diversity, to mention just a few. This has caused not only a time-consuming burden of administration on businesses but also the fear that they may miss one or more of the new requirements and find themselves being taken to court or an industrial tribunal. The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) claimed in a recent publication, “The relentless flow of complex employment law is stifling UK competitiveness and risks future job creation”. The BCC has estimated that the Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002 has cost this country’s businesses over £1.5bn since its introduction. When one also considers the identical state of affairs which is occurring as a result of new financial regulations and the increasingly complex nature of our tax system it is clear that managers of businesses need to be very watchful to ensure that they are operating legally.
One of the areas within the Flexible Working (Procedural Requirements) Regulations 2002 advocates having employees Work From Home. This would allow|would permit|would enable[/spin] employers to hang on to experienced employees who may otherwise be compelled stop working if their domestic circumstances change. It can also permit businesses to recruit good quality employees who may not otherwise be approached without the possibility of flexible working. It should be declared at this point that the most important aspect to think about when giving employees the chance to Work From Home is the suitability of their specific job role. When one realises that only 3% of theUK’s workforce currently Work From Home all the time it puts the concept into some perspective. In addition, this figure has not changed since 2002 despite the arrival of the modern Internet Business where most of the employees would describe their positions as Online Jobs due to their use of the newest communication technology. Another eighteen per cent of employees work at home on an occasional basis but one in three of these do so less than once a month so it can be seen that it is done on an ad hoc rather than a regular basis.
If suitable job roles are identified and there are employees who want to Work From Home then the practicalities must be debated. The aim of this exercise must be not to reduce the quality of work that would be produced from an office base. Therefore, the tools necessary to perform the work will need to be made available at home. This may include some or all of the main office equipment such as a desk, chair, filing cabinet, computer, printer, fax and stationery. Communication technology will enable the employees to maintain contact with management, clients and colleagues and this will be critical to the success or otherwise of permitting the worker to Work From Home. An internet connection will be essential, preferably broadband if modern features such as video-conferencing are to be used. For more traditional communication a dedicated telephone line or mobile phone will suffice. As the amount of equipment expands it becomes apparent that another important factor in the process is the existence of sufficient space in the worker’s home to enable them to create an office.
To sum up, the practicalities of having employees Work From Home can make this part of the flexible working concept almost impossible to implement unless you happen to be an Internet Business built around Online Jobs. How eager a firm is to undertake it, especially with the prospect of increased costs, could well depend on the value to the firm of the employee who needs to work from home.
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