Working from home during the COVID 19 pandemic, or at any other time!

Whilst you may think it is an easy solution to say to your staff that they are all working from home whilst you weather the storm of COVID 19, you may not actually be able to impose working from home unless you have mobility clauses in your employees’ contracts.

However whether you do or don’t have this kind of clause in your contracts the decision to allow people to work from home will be always be subject to being a reasonable and lawful order. You can probably rest assured that COVID 19 will constitute a reasonable circumstance in which to order your employees to work from home. However, you can never be too sure so drop us a line if you want to talk about whether this is appropriate for your business and employees!

Working from home is such a topical issue at the moment but if you’re unsure about whether allowing your employees to work from home is right for you and your business you might want to start by thinking about three core issues;

1. Health and safety – employers have an obligation to ensure the health and safety of its staff so this is something to keep in mind.
2. Providing equipment so that your staff can work from home.
3. Monitoring staff and their productivity.
4. What happens next – if people work from home now, will it amount to a change in their contracts so that they can insist on working from home in the future.

These are just some key considerations when approaching this decision. If you would like some full and frank advice which is more tailored to your business please contact us at caoimhe@kleymansolicitors.com and one of our friendly and experienced team will be happy to have a chat over the phone!

Kleyman & Co Solicitors. The full service law firm. Here for you even in a pandemic!