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What remote work means
Remote work describes arrangements in which an employee performs some or all of their duties away from a traditional workplace — often from home or another agreed location. It can be full-time, occasional or part of a hybrid pattern that mixes remote and on-site work.
Although the location changes, the employment relationship and its core rules generally remain. Remote work brings its own considerations around communication, equipment, working time, health and safety, and how performance is managed at a distance.
Key concepts
- Remote and hybrid: fully remote versus a mix of remote and on-site.
- Place of work: the agreed location or locations for duties.
- Equipment and tools: what is provided and how it is supported.
- Working time: how hours and availability are managed remotely.
- Communication: keeping connected with the team and manager.
- Health and safety: extending duty of care to the remote setting.
- Data and security: protecting information away from the office.
The employer perspective
- Set clear expectations on location, hours and availability.
- Provide or support the equipment and tools needed to work remotely.
- Consider health, safety and wellbeing in the remote setting.
- Address data security and how information is handled.
- Manage performance and communication consistently across the team.
The employee perspective
- Understand the agreed working pattern and place of work.
- Set up a suitable, safe space for working remotely.
- Keep clear about working hours and availability.
- Stay connected and communicate proactively with your team.
- Follow the data-security and equipment rules that apply.
How this varies
Whether remote work can be requested, how it affects working time and safety duties, and how cross-border arrangements are treated differ between countries and can change over time. Working remotely from another country can raise additional considerations.
Because these specifics vary and are updated, confirm the current rules with the official labour authority or a qualified adviser in the relevant country before relying on any particular arrangement.
Common misunderstandings
- Assuming employment rules no longer apply when working remotely.
- Overlooking health and safety duties in the home setting.
- Treating cross-border remote work as straightforward in every case.
- Leaving working hours and availability undefined.
- Forgetting data-security obligations away from the office.
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