Jobs suited to homeworking

Thanks to technological developments many roles are now suitable for homeworking at least for part of the week if not all.

Key factors to consider:

• can the job been done as well at home as at work: Will quality be maintained?

• will other members of staff be affected? Will their workload increase?

• will the privacy of the homeworker be affected?

• can the job be done without face to face contact with colleagues?

• will the homeworker be able to work without easy access to administrative or IT support?

• will it be possible to assess how the homeworker is doing? Can their productivity be measured?

The policy at Ryedale District Council says: “Jobs that involve project work or identifiable output, or those which provide services across the District may particularly lend themselves to this type of work”.

At Uttlesford District Council, the policy favours information-gathering and processing roles, rather than manual work; a limited requirement to be in designated places; minimal need for supervision; work that can be measured by defined objectives, milestones and outputs; work that requires high levels of concentration; and work that doesn’t need any large business equipment. Managers should: “Keep an open mind and only refuse a request if there are objective business or health and safety reasons to do so.”