The TUC defines a home-worker as being “any person doing work in the home for another person”.
The employment of home workers is subject to various statutory provisions relating to:
Employees who work from home should be engaged and dealt with by the employer on the same terms as workers employed elsewhere – such as an office, shop, factory, etc. care should be taken not to deal with a home-worker differently, in the same circumstances, as a full-time work-based employee. Such a situation could leave the employer open to claims of discrimination.
A risk assessment should be carried out on the work/worker/workplace, and the findings brought to the attention of the employee. The assessment must be revised when necessary.
Care should be taken to ensure that all equipment is safe to use and that safe working procedures are laid down and necessary PPE is supplied.
Safe working procedure should be monitored and amended where necessary.