These guidelines lay out the expectations from remote workers and has some helpful advice and tips surrounding remote working.
Your contract of employment will specify whether you are a remote worker.
A remote worker is defined as someone who is employed in a role with no fixed work location.
KGH has the following expectations from all remote workers:
Establish standard working hours in line with KGH’s core business hours
You should be contactable during agreed-upon working hours
Notify your Line Manager if you are unavailable during your contracted hours of work
Stay in touch with what is happening within the Company
Travel to locations as required by the Company
Manage and organise your own workload
You should not use remote working as a substitute or an opportunity to care for a dependant.
There are many locations across the Kew Green estate where remote workers can work from and the Company encourages you to do so. Should you decide to work from home, it is your responsibility to ensure the area you are working is fit for purpose and you can work productively.
As a remote worker, you remain subject to all of the Company’s policies and procedures, including reporting procedures in the event of sickness absence, medical appointments and annual leave requests. You are also expected to comply with the Health & Safety legislation and the Company recognises and understands its role to ensure you are sufficiently knowledgeable about health and safety.
The following standards are mandatory and must be adhered to:
The area in your home office should be on a secure premises, large enough for you to work in and free of any obstacles
All equipment used should be fit for purpose
Lighting, ventilation and temperature levels should be maintained at appropriate levels
Cables should be neatly organised and stored and not left exposed causing a risk of trips and falls
“Daisy chaining” of extension leads is strictly forbidden
All company equipment must be turned off when not in use
Electrical sockets and other parts of the domestic electrical system are your responsibility.
KGH will provide a self-assessment form to complete which requires you to assess your home office and indicate any potential issues of which the Company needs to be aware.
If you move house or change any aspect of your home working arrangement, a new risk assessment will be required.
As a remote worker, you will be provided with a laptop and if necessary a mobile phone.
The Company will not provide or pay for telephone and/or internet connections, associated equipment or usage fees.
As your home workspace is an extension of the Company’s workspace, the equipment which is owned by KGH is covered by the Company’s existing insurance policy, however you must disclose to your own insurers that you will be using your home for business purposes.
You are responsible for checking that all home and contents insurance policies provide adequate cover for the fact that you work from home. The Company will not pay for any necessary uplift in insurance premiums for home working.
Any postage or stationary costs incurred in the course of your normal work duties may be reclaimed in the normal way using the monthly expenses claim system.
KGH recommend the following tips to ensure you look after yourself in a home office environment:
Maintain a good posture sitting at your desk
Sit upright in an office chair, with your back against the back rest
Ensure your feet are flat on the floor with arms parallel to the floor and resting on arm supports
Sit at a comfortable distance from the computer screen, and ensure your eye level is in line with the top of the monitor
Take regular breaks making sure you leave your chair and move away from your computer
Where possible, contact colleagues and clients/customers by telephone rather than email to increase levels of social interaction
Set up a comfortable working environment to feel productive
As a Remote Worker, you must understand and accept your obligation to protect Company information and equipment, and exercise the same precautions regarding the protection of information when you work from home or any other remote location as you would in our office locations. This includes:
Using caution when discussing customer-specific or Company propriety information over the phone so as not to be overheard by someone who does not have a “need to know”
Reporting losses or compromises of confidential information, equipment and/or hard copy documents immediately to your Line Manager
Personal computing equipment must not be used to store Company documents or information;
Disposing of proprietary information properly when finished with it. Documents should be brought to the office to be discarded in the shredding bins;
Other parties are not permitted to have access to view any Company information or use any Company property at any time. It is your responsibility to ensure this is adhered to.
Under no circumstances are arrangements to be made for clients or other parties to meet at your home. All such meetings should be carried out in locations away from the home office in order to maintain confidentiality and a necessary level of professionalism. In addition, you are advised not to provide your personal phone number, addresses etc. to clients or other parties.
You should also familiarise yourself with your obligations under the Company’s Electronic Communications Policy.