The House of Lords has published its Home-based Working Committee’s report, Is Working from Home Working?.
The report identifies how remote working can enable people to work who might not otherwise be able to do so, due to a disability or sickness and support the Government’s plans to get back people back to work.
The report follows an investigation by the Committee into the effects and future development of remote and hybrid working in the UK.
Findings
The report found that many return-to-office mandates organisations have issued to their staff have amounted to the formalisation of hybrid working, rather than a return to full-time office attendance.
Done well, the report went on, hybrid working can be the “best of both worlds”, combining the benefits of fully remote and in-person work, benefitting an employer’s recruitment and retention efforts.
Home and hybrid working can, however, present challenges for collaboration and management; there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of working from home and productivity. Access to home working was also found to be unequal, with professionals, university graduates and those living in London tending to have easier access to it.
The report also highlights the Committee’s concerns with provisions under the Employment Rights Bill that will require employers to only reject flexible working requests where it is “reasonable” to do so, arguing that as yet it is unclear how “reasonable” will be defined and that if the Government doesn’t offer clarity on this, it could result in an increased risk of litigation for employers.
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Recommendations
The report makes several recommendations to the Government, including:
· setting out whether remote and hybrid working are being considered as part of existing initiatives to support people with disabilities and long-term health conditions back into work
· promoting and incentivising employer investment in management training to support effective remote and hybrid working
· avoid major further regulation or legislation on home working but publish updated guidance to help employers
· implement its changes to flexible working requests under the Employment Rights Bill in a way that considers the impact on employment tribunals.
The changes to flexible working in the Employment Rights Bill include the above mentioned requirement of employers to explain why it was reasonable to refuse a request under one of the eight statutory reasons, and setting out the process employers must follow when rejecting in regulations. These reforms are due to come into effect in 2027 under the Government’s Roadmap for Delivering Change.
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