Hybrid working policy

Use our policy to set out your hybrid working arrangements and what rights and responsibilities you and your staff have during such arrangements

What is hybrid working?

Hybrid working, also known as agile, blended or remote working, is a form of flexible working that allows an employee to split their working time between their workplace and an agreed remote working location, typically their home. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, homeworking has become the norm, rather than the exception, for many employees. As offices re-open, many employers are looking to implement hybrid working as their “new normal”, at least in the short to medium term, and this is the purpose of our Hybrid Working Policy.

Policy contents

Our policy covers the eligibility criteria for requesting hybrid working, how to make a request and the hybrid working split between the workplace and remote working. It also covers such issues as caring commitments, health and safety, employer visits, the provision of equipment for remote working, telephone and internet accounts, security and confidentiality, insurance and terminating the hybrid working arrangement. You’ll need to adapt our provisions on these issues to suit the needs of your business. Importantly, our policy is clear that it’s intended to operate on a non-contractual, informal and flexible basis and so it’s at your discretion whether to agree to hybrid working and, even if agreed, the arrangement can later be terminated. As such, there’s no change to the employee’s place of work in their employment contract - it remains their usual workplace, and the agreed remote working location only applies for the duration of the hybrid working arrangement. Be aware though of the possibility that, depending on its nature and duration, over time the arrangement may nevertheless become an implied term of the employment contract.

Flexible working

If the employee is looking for a permanent homeworking arrangement, which involves a variation to the terms of their employment contract, they’re advised to make a formal statutory flexible working request instead - see our Flexible Working Policy and Homeworking Policy. However, putting in place our policy should help to reduce the number of statutory requests that you do have to deal with.