How To Create Your Telecommuting Policy

Many employers recognize that offering flexible work arrangements, such as telecommuting, can improve employee retention, reduce absenteeism, and lower office expenses. It can also serve as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA. Clear requirements and guidelines can help prevent miscommunication and potential abuse.

Types of Flexible Work

When you develop a work-from-home policy, start by deciding what expectations you want for your workplace. Things have changed since the early days of the internet, when only computer-savvy people could use computers for long-distance work. Today, just about anyone can have a home computer and do office work wherever they please.

Not all jobs lend themselves to telecommuting. Many fit into one or more of these alternate business formats.

Work Location Models

Unless you require all employees to be onsite, here are some alternative workplace options.

• Telecommuting: Telecommuters work outside the employer’s physical workspace. They may work from home, another office, or in the field.
• Remote: Remote is sometimes used as a synonym for telecommuting, though not always. Remote employees may live in another state or country and rarely, if ever, come to the physical office.
• Hybrid: This system is a favorite of employees. It combines telecommuting and on-site work. Employees might work from home two days and come to the office three days.

Having an established remote work policy template can reduce confusion.

Work Schedule Models

In addition to workspaces, companies can offer schedule flexibility to employees. Options include:

• Condensed workweek: The four-day workweek has gained popularity recently as employees try to create the ideal work-life balance. Many workers prefer a 10-hour workday and a longer weekend.
• Flextime: Business owners are used to employees who need Friday afternoons off to pick up their kids from school or who are never on time because of commuting difficulties. Flextime accommodates employees by letting them adjust their schedules as long as they work the required number of hours each week. Flextime works well with other optional job arrangements.
• Part-time, shift work, and job sharing: Employers can combine these methods with the above systems to create an alternative work-from-home policy. For instance, two part-time workers could share a 40-hour shift so the remaining employees could keep their current schedules. A part-time weekend worker could cover a shift for a worker who wants a condensed workweek.

Employers should consider their business needs when devising a telecommuting policy. Human resources professionals note that not all employees do well with remote work, and some businesses are unsuitable for telecommuting. Still, if your company can manage flexible work systems, they can be a powerful tool for attracting talent and boosting morale.

Legal Considerations for Telecommuting

No federal laws directly address remote work. When you implement a telecommuting policy, keep the following ADA and FLSA rules in mind.

The Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires businesses with 15 or more employees to discuss reasonable accommodations with disabled employees. Telecommuting can be a reasonable accommodation.

In Mobley v. St. Luke Health System, the Eighth Circuit established that an employer’s preference for on-site work does not make a remote work request unreasonable. If an employer already allows workers to successfully work from home, that’s strong evidence of a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.

Wage and Benefits

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must keep records of hours worked and pay covered nonexempt employees overtime. Mandatory meal and rest breaks are governed by state or municipal laws. Some states offer stronger protections, so check state and local laws.

Telecommuting employees should receive the same benefits and time off as on-site employees. Your workers’ compensation policy may cover an employee who suffers an injury at home while working.

Home offices may have tax implications for the worker and the business owner. Discuss these issues with a business law attorney or financial advisor when setting up your telecommuting policy.

Creating Your Telecommuting Policy

The best company remote work agreements often come from employers and employees developing them together. If you have an HR team, they can help you develop your policy. The following template helps create a remote workforce policy acceptable to both sides.

Step 1: Identify Eligible Roles and Employees

Some employees like working in the office, while others who prefer a remote location need regular supervision. Review the new HR policy with all team members to determine who is eligible for off-site work and who would do better with alternatives.

Some jobs in your business may not be suitable for a remote working arrangement. If you’re doing a business-wide overhaul, other positions may get new equipment or upgrades instead of a remote option. When creating a remote work policy, develop eligibility criteria for job responsibilities that can be done from home.

Step 2: Define Expectations and Performance Metrics

Create performance expectations and communicate them to your remote employees. In-person management may not be possible, but software apps can provide online monitoring. Since you can’t watch your workers, explain which job responsibilities you expect them to complete daily and weekly.

You may need to adjust disciplinary techniques. Are remote workers required to sit at their desks all day? Can they take breaks during work hours, and do they need to clock out? Will there be required response times? Review your company policy and employee handbook and consider how to treat telecommuters under those policies.

Step 3: Determine Equipment and Security Protocols

When employees work from home, employers need to provide the tools and equipment they need. Employees may use their own internet connections, but security remains a concern. Be sure to consider some of these options:

• A business-provided laptop pre-loaded with company software: Allows you to have antivirus protection and technical support for any business management systems installed on your workers’ computers
• Existing equipment and a virtual private network (VPN) to access the company’s business system: Cloud-based systems like Google Docs operate through VPNs to ensure data security and protection of confidential information from a data breach
• Two-factor authentication: Two-step or multi-step authentication prevents anyone but authorized employees from accessing open systems
• Communication tools: Determines the programs, such as “Teams” or “Slack,” that employees can use for instant messaging and video conferencing

This is not an exhaustive list. Your situation will dictate which policies are most effective for your telecommuting agreement.

Step 4: Plan the Rollout and Review Period

Don’t jump headfirst into a telework policy. Most HR professionals suggest a six-month to one-year pilot to assess and evaluate your flexible work arrangements. Check with your remote team regularly during the program’s first few months. Your policy should include weekly or bi-weekly updates.

Meet with all team members at the end of the trial period and review the entire program. Determine what worked and what needs changing. Decide whether to expand the program or close it down.

Get Legal Advice

A telecommuting policy may raise legal and other issues. Clearly defined requirements and guidelines can reduce problems with a work-from-home system. Anticipating and understanding every aspect involved can be challenging, so consider speaking with a business law attorney when developing a new policy. The changes to your company culture and communication expectations are more easily handled when a legal expert has helped in the policy’s creation.