Work-Related or Not?
In a review of the literature conducted for the Virginia Department of Transportation, researcher Ken Winter concluded, “The most common legal liability [associated with telecommuting] seems to stem from workers’ compensation concerns and the fact that it is often unclear precisely when teleworkers are working, when are they preparing to work, and when they have temporarily stopped working.” When a teleworker has an injury at home, how do you determine whether it was work-related or not?

Requiring set hours may be a solution. Injuries that occur in this time period are assumed to be work-related, others are not. However, flexibility is one of the chief benefits of telecommuting. If you don’t want to set up rigid schedules for teleworkers, you can separate a teleworker’s work time from personal time by using some kind of log-in system. Teleworkers can call in to the office when beginning and ending their day, log in to the company’s network, use a logging device on their own computer or manually record their working hours.

It’s also important that employees who work from home have a designated work space and a defined scope of activities. Details like these will help confine potential workers comp injuries to certain functions, places and times.

If a work injury does occur at home, make sure teleworkers know what to do and stress the importance of prompt reporting.

We can help you minimize the risks posed by telecommuting employees. For more information, please contact the Insurance professionals of  EPIC’s PCOC Insurance Program. Call us at: 877.860.7378, or visit us at www.pcocinsuurance.com.