{"id":20797,"date":"2020-05-04T11:37:26","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T10:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/?p=20797"},"modified":"2025-07-17T12:01:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T11:01:58","slug":"remote-working-tips-for-your-business-and-your-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.policybee.co.uk\/blog\/remote-working-tips-for-your-business-and-your-insurance","title":{"rendered":"How to get remote working right and protect your business"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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\"Getting<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

With lockdown, our normal everyday lives disappeared as quickly as you can say \u2018COVID-19\u2019, and a new way of working was born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the quest to keep trading, thousands of businesses sent their workforce home to continue doing their jobs remotely. A few weeks later they\u2019re still there, communicating by email and video conferencing apps, and finding different ways of doing things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But moving your workforce out of your usual premises has more implications than just a temporary change of address. And at this moment in time, who knows just how long \u2018temporary\u2019 may mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you\u2019ve managed to adapt your business and now have employees working from home, that\u2019s great news. But there are things you need to do by law to keep them safe and well. And there are boxes you need to tick to make sure your business stays protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some key remote working tips to help you get it right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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6 top remote working tips:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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1. Make sure staff are safe<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

No matter where your staff are based, you a have a duty of care<\/a> to them. That means you\u2019re obliged to look after their welfare and to make sure they have a safe working environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, if you\u2019ve got people working from home, you need to ensure that they can do what\u2019s expected of them safely. What you don\u2019t want is computer leads trailing across electric fires. Or kids playing with shredders. That sort of thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Health & Safety Act 1974<\/a> sets out what your general duties are towards your employees. And while it\u2019s not all one-way traffic, because there\u2019s also an expectation that staff will take reasonable care of their own health and safety, the onus falls on you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Normally you\u2019re expected to do a risk assessment before giving the green light to remote working. And although social distancing means visiting staff at home just isn\u2019t viable, it\u2019s still possible to run through a health and safety checklist with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get things wrong and you could find yourself facing a criminal prosecution or being sued by your own employees. Maybe both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Make sure people have the right equipment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You need the right tools for the job wherever you\u2019re working. So you need to make sure your remote workers have equipment that\u2019s appropriate for what they do. Failing that, you need to provide it for them. You also need to check it’s set up properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, say a member of staff is working from home doing general admin using their kitchen table. The responsibility lies with you to ensure that, if at all possible, the table they sit at is at a suitable height, they have an ergonomic screen and keyboard, and that their chair is adjustable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What you don\u2019t want is people developing conditions like repetitive strain injury (RSI) or sciatica because their workstation wasn\u2019t up to the job. That way lies claims for compensation. So you need to be proactive and provide staff with information about best practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The HSE provides a good display screen equipment (DSE) workstation checklist<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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3. Make sure staff are happy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Working from home can be confusing and isolating. There\u2019s a whole new way of doing things to get used to, the everyday chats around the water cooler have dried up, and communication in general can be much more difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That can put more stress on staff and make doing their jobs more difficult. As part of your duty of care to them, you need to make clear the reporting structure while people are remote working, and keep communication channels open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employees need to be sure about who\u2019s responsible for what, and who they can contact if they\u2019re finding things hard. Also if the adapted way of working is making it more difficult for them to perform their role, or if they have any other worries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. Document everything<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re doing business, it\u2019s always best to have a paper trail \u2013 a contract, agreed terms and conditions, email acknowledgment if anything changes, that kind of thing. It\u2019s concrete evidence that can help fight your corner if things go wrong or there\u2019s an accusation against you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the same where remote working is concerned. You need the proof that you did everything by the book if a staff member says setting them up to work from home wasn\u2019t done properly, and they suffered because of it. Or if there\u2019s a data breach and questions are asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, keep records of everything you do, including your reasons and the date you did them. It\u2019s also important to have a home working policy that your staff can read and acknowledge. That way it\u2019s clear what\u2019s expected of them \u2013 and what they can expect from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home working policies should cover key areas including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n