techUK recommendations adopted by House of Lords Home Working Committee

Last week, the House of Lords Committee on Home Working published Is Working from Home Working? And we are delighted that techUK’s main arguments have been accepted by the report, and that techUK has been quoted extensively throughout.

In April, techUK submitted a written response to the Committee’s call for evidence and in June, techUK’s Deputy CEO Antony Walker gave oral evidence to the Committee.

In our evidence, we put forward the view that what matters most when deciding on a remote, hybrid or in-office work setting is good management that seeks to maximise the benefits of each working environment, while combatting any negatives. Therefore, employers and employees need to be empowered to ensure they can do what works best for them.

We also made it clear that hybrid and remote working are impossible without digital infrastructure and business digitisation. Remote working requires suitable connectivity infrastructure, for employer and employee, as well as devices adequate for accessing this connective infrastructure. It also requires systems that allow employees to access essential work remotely, communicate with colleagues, collaborate on projects, and remain cybersecure.

This digitisation though allows businesses and employees to find working practices and environments that work best for them, and shows the great opportunity that lies in increasing workplace digitsation.

We also suggested that certain workers, such as disabled workers or parents, may benefit from the flexibility of home and remote working, and that employers and employees should have the freedom to negotiate beneficial working patterns for them according to their circumstances. As part of this, we also called for more research into how disabled workers use remote working as part of a flexible working toolkit, alongside a more general reiteration of our support for the right to request flexible working from day one where reasonable.

What did the report say?

The report agreed with techUK that good management was an essential part of making a work environment a success, and that any working pattern had both advantages and disadvantages.

As part of this, the report followed techUK’s recommendation that Government not pass any legislation mandating home, hybrid or in-office working, but instead publish guidance that empowers employers and employees to make decisions on their working environment for themselves.

The report also recognised the transformative and beneficial role of technology in facilitating more productive working in both remote and office environments. The report did not just recommend greater long-term investment in digital infrastructure, but also that digital skills training should be improved and that digital inclusion schemes should inform individuals and communities of the potential for remote work opened up by digital skills. The report also supported techUK’s recommendation that with proper cyber security systems and training, remote work is cyber secure, and that the NCSC should address this in its guidance.

Alongside these, the report agreed with techUK that there needed to be better demographic research to show how different demographic groups benefit from home and hybrid working, and cited techUK’s recommendation for ‘Connected Hubs’ on the Irish model to enable community-based remote work.

techUK is delighted to see so many of our recommendations and so much of our oral and written testimony quoted and reflected in the report.

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techUK recommendations adopted by House of Lords Home Working Committee

What did the report say?