Q&A with The Workplace Advisors – September 2024
Print this Article | Send to Colleague
Question: We have some employees who work remotely. We established requirements such as they need to have proper and secure internet access, they need to be able to protect the information of the company and our clients, and they need to be available during certain hours. We found out that an employee has been working from another location for the past month without our approval. What is the exposure and what are our options?
Answer: Allowing employees the flexibility of a remote work arrangement is a rapidly increasing reality that is welcome by most employees. When creating the option, you should establish criteria (i.e., advanced approval, job duties that can be performed remotely, good job performance, etc.) and expectations (i.e., required hours of availability, performance standards, dependable and secure internet, video, and phone connections, a quiet and secure place to work, etc.). Explain these to the employee and make sure they understand them as well as the repercussions if they fail to maintain them.
When an employee is no longer meeting those criteria and/or expectations, then you will need to reassess the situation to decide if it is still a feasible option.
For example, if an employee needs to work from another location for a short period (i.e., a week), you should verify if they will be able to perform their tasks. However, if they want to work from a different location for longer (i.e., 3 months while traveling) then you also need to consider bigger issues such as different state taxes, Workers' Comp, employment laws, etc. Even if an employee is working from a different location for an afternoon (i.e., from a Starbucks), you need to ensure their internet access will be secure to protect your data and network
You should also leave yourself the option to rescind or revise any work arrangement, including remote. If an employee is no longer meeting the criteria and/or expectations, then review the arrangement, explain your concerns, and what will happen if they cannot abide by the agreement. This becomes even more urgent if operations suffer, data integrity is compromised, or legal exposure is increased.
hello@TheWorkplaceAdvisors.com
www.TheWorkplaceAdvisors.com
877-660-6400
