House of Lords - House of Lords Staff Handbook

House of Lords Staff Handbook Seventeenth Edition

APPENDIX M:HOUSE OF LORDS HOMEWORKING POLICY FOR STAFF

(Paragraph 5.4)

1. There are two types of homeworking: occasional homeworking and regular or contractual homeworking. Neither is an automatic right, though the House of Lords will entertain applications for either.

Occasional homeworking

2. Some House of Lords staff already work from home occasionally. So far as this occasional homeworking is concerned, the new policy does little more than confirm present practice. It may be authorised for:

Staff completing a particular report/project with a deadline and requiring an uninterrupted work environment.

Staff experiencing occasional difficulties with travel arrangements due to public strikes or adverse weather conditions.

Staff finding they have to cope with short term (i.e. a few days), unexpected caring difficulties e.g. sick child or elderly parent at home.

Other ad hoc circumstances at the discretion of the Head of Office.

3. The work itself must be able to be undertaken at home (for example, writing reports or papers, data inputting, reading and proof reading). And the absence should if possible not cause other colleagues additional work or inconvenience members of the House or its committees. Appropriate arrangements for working remotely should be made (using office laptops or accessing remotely via CITRIX or VPN/RSL for example), and regard should be had for health and safety.

4. Occasional working of this kind may be authorised on an ad hoc basis by the Head of Office, taking advice from the Director of Human Resources if necessary.

Regular or contractual homeworking

5. Regular or contractual homeworking represents a permanent or time-limited variation to the contract of employment whereby the employee works some time at home and some time on the Parliamentary Estate. Working in Parliament usually requires staff to be available on the Parliamentary Estate, in their offices or elsewhere, in order to provide services to the House, its committees or its members, or to support those services indirectly. Not all staff and not all jobs are suitable for homeworking (see paragraph 7 below). Applications for contractual homeworking of one or two days a week will nonetheless be entertained by the House of Lords administration. Such applications must be approved by both the Director of Human Resources and the Head of Office, and will necessarily be subject to rigorous criteria.

Criteria

6. Criteria for homeworking are as follows:

The work itself must be able to be undertaken at home.

The working pattern must be cost-effective.

Regard must be had to any increased workload (e.g. management tasks) which may fall on the homeworker's colleagues.

7. Homeworking will not be considered for:

Staff who have to be here to do their job.
Staff in receipt of an unsatisfactory marking in their last Annual Appraisal Report.
Staff whose level of work output or standard of work/performance has been unsatisfactory.
Staff who require clear supervision in order to deliver an output which is acceptable in quality and/or quantity.
Staff with a record of poor timekeeping or attendance.
Staff on probation, although staff with a statutory right to do so may apply for flexible working (which may include a request for homeworking).

8. Regular homeworking must not be used as a long-term solution for childcare or other caring difficulties. Indeed, such caring tasks would be likely to make homeworking both inefficient and inappropriate. (Homeworkers will continue to qualify for childcare vouchers.)

9. If regular homeworking is approved, it will be subject to a trial period of at least one month and be regularly reviewed by the Head of Office and line manager. It may be withdrawn at management's discretion.

Prior conditions and understandings

10. Where regular homeworking is approved, the following must be agreed before it begins:

Hours of work when the employee is working at home.

Contact details.

Work output. A summary of work progress should be submitted to the line manager on a regular and agreed basis. Clear objectives must be agreed and regularly reviewed.

Arrangements for communication of departmental information.

The duration of any trial period together with the timing of review meetings and the overall assessment of the trial period.

11. Management may also seek the homeworker's prior agreement on:

Availability for training and flexibility in respect of such days
Suitability of the home environment for work and the availability of office equipment, pc
Conditions relating to the loan of any office IT equipment
Method of reimbursement of any telephone, copying or postage costs. (No reimbursement will be made for heat, light, wear and tear.)
Security issues (where relevant), including data protection
Disposals of and security of any personal IT equipment used for work purposes
Reporting of accidents and days of sickness

Health and Safety

12. Staff working at home on a regular basis must show responsibility for their own health and safety by attending the usual office health and safety courses, by reading the "Homeworker's Guide to Health and Safety" and undertaking to use equipment safely. In the unlikely event of approval being given for homeworking of 3 or more days per week, the home would be considered the primary workplace and the Health and Safety at Work Guidelines must be observed. The relevant guidance notes must be read and necessary form completed and a home visit by OHSWS will be necessary.

Annual appraisal and development reviews for employees regularly working at home

13. The same standard of performance applies to all employees working from home as to staff working in the office environment and the usual annual appraisal and development review procedures will apply. If any employee who works at home receives an unsatisfactory box marking in their annual appraisal report, the homeworking agreement is immediately suspended.

Disability and flexible working

14. Homeworking can, in certain circumstances, be applied in respect of disability (reasonable adjustments) or applications for flexible working (see para 1.12 and 6.24 and 6.25 of Staff Handbook).