Information about teleworking and flexible working for employers
The Telework Association recognises that some employers are nervous of introducing a telework programme in their organisation. They have concerns about some of the practical issues in getting work done remotely and are not sure how they will be able to manage a distributed workforce. However there is a wealth of evidence that teleworking is a very effective way of getting results from employees and the Telework Association has case study examples and an advisory service to help.
Corporate membership of the association provides employers with support in the form of the Teleworking Handbook and a series of webinars plus further email based advice. This community of employers is able to share information in the discussion forum and benefit from the experiences of other managers. The Association can provide information on the business benefits of telework which may be helpful in putting a case to senior management.
Barriers
Inevitably there are reservations in many managers' minds when faced with the prospect of allowing people to work from home. Will the employees spend all day watching TV or never come back from the pub at lunchtime? How will we get people working together as a team if they are never in the office at the same time? Will employees become isolated and lose contact with the organisation?
When faced with these uncertainties it is easy for managers to play safe and stick with the work patterns they know. But now that a significant number of people have a legal right to request flexible working, including telework, managers are forced to take this more seriously and only refuse if there is a good reason to do so. The Telework Association can provide practical help, via its corporate membership, to enable employers to overcome the potential barriers and have a successful implementation.
Legislation
A concern when introducing telework is that there are legal and procedural problems which generate a variety of questions. What has to be done to an employment contract, what are the health and safety implications, how do we cope with confidentiality and security, how will it affect insurance and what about rates and covenants? Can we pay an allowance for people working from home and what are the tax implications? Fortunately there are answers to all these problems and corporate members of the Telework Association have access to the FAQ’s and the advisory service to find them.
