Telecommuting/working outside the central workplace
Description
Eligibility
What employees should know or do
What employers should know or do
Description
Telecommuting is a workplace initiative that allows employees to work from home or outside of the central workplace using their own or the organisation's equipment. Telecommuting can be done on a full-time or part-time basis, with the employee often spending some part of the week working in the central workplace office.
Eligibility
Telecommuting is not provided for under the Industrial Relations Act 1999 (PDF, 1.9 MB), and is generally not provided for in awards (with some exceptions). This means that a telecommuting arrangement must be negotiated with the employer, who may approve it.
Where there are no provisions under the Industrial Relations Act 1999 or awards, employers and employees may negotiate an informal arrangement, a formal policy or a formal agreement registered or approved by an authority or tribunal. Employees should contact their human resource department or employer to find out what provisions may already be available through any such arrangement.
What employees should know or do
Sometimes jobs are not compatible with a telecommuting arrangement.
These may include:
- jobs where the employee’s performance can only be measured by their presence in the workplace
- jobs where the employee may need to be consulted by other employees on a regular basis or involve a high level of collaboration
- jobs that require certain equipment unsuitable for the home environment (e.g. production line work)
Working from home may entitle an employee to claim certain tax deductions for work related expenses such as:
- for heating, air conditioning, lighting
- for increased home contents and public liability insurance cover
- for other expenses, such as improving home security to ensure the organisation’s property (e.g. equipment, documents) is secure
The telecommuter should obtain independent advice from a professional tax advisor regarding deductions and other issues of taxation applicable to telecommuting.
What employers should know or do
When establishing a telecommuting arrangement, there are a number of issues that need to be discussed and negotiated:
Who will provide the equipment needed to perform the work?
How much are the set-up costs?
How will work related expenses be reimbursed?
Award and agreement obligations
Workplace health and safety requirements
Insurance issues
Monitoring performance and productivity
Communication with management and colleagues
Letter of agreement between employer and telecommuter
Who will provide the equipment needed to perform the work?
Normally, the organisation is responsible for the provision and maintenance of equipment, furniture and supplies, although the employer and the telecommuter may agree on alternative arrangements if appropriate. An agreed equipment and assets list should also be included in a letter of agreement between employer and employee.
How much are the set-up costs?
Equipment requirements for each telecommuting arrangement are determined by the activities to be undertaken. Therefore the set up and ongoing costs vary from one telecommuting arrangement to the next. Purchasing new equipment and furniture could range from $5,000 to $8,000. However, an employer can minimise such costs by allocating existing surplus furniture, or hiring equipment (depending on the duration of the telecommuting arrangement).
In some cases the employee can provide their own office furniture or equipment, which would decrease the costs for setting up the office.
Additional ongoing costs are generally for telephone and communication charges, such as additional phone line(s) and equipment rental charges and remote access charges (Internet). These costs are generally minimal.
How will work related expenses be reimbursed?
A "no-disadvantage" test can be applied, on a case by case basis, which balances the expenses incurred by the individual telecommuter as a result of telecommuting against the benefits gained by the individual. The employer may reimburse employees under certain circumstances where the costs incurred are rather high, for example, where employees regularly need to make long distance or overseas calls as part of their work activities.
Working from home may entitle an employee to claim certain tax deductions for work related expenses such as:
- For heating, air conditioning, lighting
- For increased home contents and public liability insurance cover
- For other expenses, such as improving home security to ensure the organisation’s property (e.g. equipment, documents) is secure
The telecommuter should obtain independent advice from a professional tax advisor regarding deductions and other issues of taxation applicable to telecommuting.
Award and agreement obligations
When developing a telecommuting arrangement, the employer must take into account the relevant provisions of any applicable industrial instrument such as an award, certified agreement or individual agreement. This arrangement may be introduced where the applicable industrial instruments accommodate such an employment arrangement. If such an arrangement is not accommodated, organisations may have facilitative provisions available within their relevant industrial instruments that provide for alterations where agreement is reached between management and the majority of employees affected.
Workplace health and safety requirements
Workplace health and safety responsibilities for both the employer and individual telecommuter apply as at the central workplace. This should include a workplace health and safety audit being completed on the designated telecommuter workplace, ongoing audit/inspection access as required and the designated workplace being maintained by the telecommuter to a safe standard as required by existing legislation and regulations. The telecommuter should notify the organisation of any work related incident, accident, injury, or illness while telecommuting.
Insurance issues
Workers' compensation insurance only applies to the actual worker. Any accidents occurring at the designated office (which has become the workplace during certain hours) that involve other people who are not workers at the organisation are not covered by workers compensation.
For the safety of the employee and the security of the employer’s property, it is recommended that clients are not invited to the designated office, but rather meetings be arranged at the central workplace. However, if it is necessary to see clients at the designated office, public liability insurance is important. There are two options here for employers, including:
- Organisations should have public liability in their workplace, so they could discuss with their insurer how they could extend this to the telecommuting arrangement
- Have the employee take out public liability insurance naming the employer as co-insured. If the employee already has public liability insurance relating to their home, the employee must check with their insurance provider to determine whether their policy is still valid under telecommuting arrangements. The employee should maintain the policy for the duration of the telecommuting arrangement
A higher premium may be required by the insurance company to cover such circumstances. Payment of any costs should be discussed between the employer and telecommuter.
Monitoring performance and productivity
Management of outputs, outcomes, and results measurement should be agreed and documented on a regular basis by the employer and telecommuter in line with agreed performance indicators.
Communication with management and colleagues
The decreased physical access to the workplace may result in the employee experiencing feelings of isolation. Regular contact with the workplace needs to be maintained to ensure that the employee is kept " in the loop" and actively involved with developments in the workplace to ensure they continue to have access to career and development opportunities.
If an employee will be working from home, or other designated place outside the central workplace on an ongoing basis, arrangements could be made for the employee to come into the office for at least a few hours each week or fortnight for staff meetings or progress meetings with supervisors. Alternatively supervisors can regularly meet with the employee in their homes.
Letter of agreement between employer and telecommuter
The terms of the agreement, including all working arrangements/conditions and the issues outlined above, should be detailed in a letter of agreement signed by both the telecommuter and their manager before the arrangement commences.
Employee benefits and conditions, including pay, leave, employment security, training and career development activities and the provision of relevant organisational information, must be maintained for telecommuters in a non-discriminatory manner.
Last updated 21 July 2009
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