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Homeworking

A homeworker is anyone who only works from home. Many homeworkers in the UK are employed in manufacturing, making a wide range of items from footwear to car components.

Employment rights

As a homeworker, your employment rights depend on your legal status. There are three main categories: 'workers', 'employees' and 'self employed'. You should be aware that this isn't always the same as your tax status (so you can be self employed for tax purposes but be a 'worker' for employment rights purposes).

• Help with finding out if you are a 'worker', 'employee' or 'self employed'

The National Minimum Wage

If you are a worker or employee, you will normally be entitled to the national minimum wage. Your employer may pay you by the amount of work you do, rather than by the hour ('piece work'). In that case you're entitled to the minimum wage rate either for all the hours you work or, if the 'fair piece rate' system is in operation, for 120 per cent of the hours that the average worker working for your employer would take to do the work you do. The effect of the system is that all except workers who are much slower than average earn at least the minimum wage rate for the hours they actually put in.

• Find out more about the National Minimum Wage

Health and safety

If you're an employee working from home, your employer must make sure you're safe. They should carry out a risk assessment of where you work, identify any health and safety risks and take steps to reduce them.

Homeworkers must be careful when:

All homeworkers, whether self-employed or employed (especially new and expectant mothers), should take care if working on their own for long periods.

• Guidance on employees' health and safety responsibilities
• More about working when pregnant

Bogus job offers

Some adverts for homeworking jobs are scams. Real jobs don't come with a fee, so never send money up front to people or companies who claim they can give you work at home.

A common scam involves adverts about addressing and stuffing envelopes which ask for a registration fee. If you pay the fee, you get advice to place adverts like the one you saw, but no actual work. Another asks for money for home assembly kits and promises your money back and payment for completed kits. However, the advertiser will pocket any money you send, claiming the kit you assembled didn't meet the required standard.

If you've been the victim of a homeworking scam, contact your local Trading Standards Department.

• Find your local Trading Standards Department
• More on Homeworking scams from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) Opens new window

Teleworking

The main difference between 'homeworking' and 'teleworking' is that teleworkers, who may work full-time from home, are usually doing office work rather than practical work and frequently make use of computers and other electronic devices to do their work and communicate directly with their office base. Some teleworkers spend part of their week working in the office and part working at home. As with homeworking, your rights will depend on your employment status, if you are an 'employee' you will have the same rights as any other 'employee'.

• More about employment status

Pros and cons of teleworking

Benefits include:

Drawbacks include:

Security risks

Data security may be at risk if you use a personal computer, so your employer may provide you with one.

You will have to make sure that any visitors to your house don’t see any sensitive material you’re working with.

What to do next

If you want to work from home

Speak to your employer. The law says employers must consider requests from parents of young or disabled children and there's often a good case for allowing employees to vary their work patterns. However, unless it says so in your contract, your employer doesn't have to agree.

• More about flexible working and work-life balance

If you don't want to work from home

Unless your contract says you're required to work from home, your employer can't make you - note that your contract may be partly in writing and partly verbal. Nor can they make you take work home with you after a day in the office. Your working hours should be set out in your contract and mustn't exceed the limits set out in the Working Time Regulations. 

• Find out more about the Working Time Regulations
• More information on contracts of employment

Where to get help

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues. You can call the Acas helpline on 08457 47 47 47 from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday

• Acas Opens new window

The Labour Relations Agency (LRA) offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues for residents of Northern Ireland. You can contact the LRA on 028 9032 1442 from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday to Friday.

• Labour Relations Agency Opens new window

Your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) can provide free and impartial advice. You can find your local CAB office in the phone book or online.

• Find your local Citizens Advice Bureau Opens new window

If you are a member of a trade union, you can get help, advice and support from them.

• Introduction to trade unions

More useful links

• Detailed guidance on homeworking from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) Opens new window
• More on homeworking from the National Group on Homeworking Opens new window
• Advice for your employer on employees working from home from Business Link Opens new window
• Advice for employers in Northern Ireland on employees working from home from nibusinessinfo Opens new window