Growing evidence that remote and hybrid roles can help people with health conditions stay in work has prompted renewed calls for ministers to treat home working as part of the national back-to-work effort.
A House of Lords committee examining the long term effects of remote and hybrid working published its report on Thursday, concluding that flexible models could support people with disabilities and long-term health conditions into employment while also helping employers with recruitment and retention.
The committee’s chair, Baroness Scott of Needham Market, said the change that began during the pandemic had created lasting change across the labour market. “The extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic transformed working from home into a ‘new normal’ for many workers,” she said. “Our report represents a comprehensive examination of all aspects of home working based on a thorough consideration of the available evidence.
“The increased flexibility of remote and hybrid working can be especially beneficial to people with disabilities and to parents or carers, and may help them to work where they couldn’t previously. If the Government wants to encourage more people back into work, then it should look into the potential of remote and hybrid working alongside existing back to work initiatives.
“While we don’t expect the Government to legislate further on a subject that is best handled by employers and workers, it should provide relevant guidance and promote already existing guidance more widely. As it implements the Employment Rights Bill, it should ensure its changes to flexible working requests do not put undue pressure on the employment tribunal system.”
She said the committee viewed its proposals as realistic and expected ministers to respond, adding that departments needed to share better data so trends in remote and hybrid work could be analysed and used to shape policy.
WFH ‘now mainstream’
The report, titled Is working from home working?, notes that working from home has moved into the mainstream since the pandemic, with Office for National Statistics data showing that 13 percent of working adults now work from home all the time and a further 26 percent do so part of the week. The UK remains among the countries with the highest levels of home working.
Peers said hybrid roles could offer the “best of both worlds” if designed well but warned that access to home working was uneven. It was more common among professionals, those with degrees and people living in London. The committee also found that many corporate return to office policies simply formalised hybrid patterns rather than restoring full time office attendance.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, which represents HR professionals, gave evidence to the Lords committee and said home and hybrid roles could help employers draw from a wider pool of workers.
Claire McCartney, the institute’s policy and practice manager, said flexible arrangements could give people more control over managing health conditions and help them perform at their best.
“Home working can enable organisations to attract and retain from a broader pool of talent, supporting people to better manage health conditions while working, and enabling people to perform at their best. We welcome the committees’ recognition of the role that home and hybrid working can have in supporting people to access and remain in work, particularly disabled people and those with long-term health conditions.”
She said her team’s research showed that home working could reduce sickness absence and support performance, although she noted risks to mental and physical health that needed careful management. “However, there’s no one-size-fits-all model and organisations will need to decide what works for their business, teams and individuals.
“While our research shows that home working can deliver benefits like reduced sickness absence and improved performance, it does come with some potential mental and physical health risks, so employers must balance flexibility with opportunities for in-person connection. Training and support for line managers to effectively manage home and hybrid workers is also important, covering performance management and wellbeing.”
She stressed that some workers had no option to work remotely, especially in frontline roles. “It’s also important to recognise that many workers in frontline roles, like retail or the NHS, don’t have the option to work from home. Employers should consider a range of flexible options that can benefit their business and their staff, such as flexitime, compressed hours, job-sharing and term-time working.”
Policy questions for government
Peers made a series of recommendations for ministers, including clarifying whether remote and hybrid roles form part of disability and health related back to work initiatives. They called on the Government to promote employer investment in management training for overseeing hybrid teams and to reconsider planned cuts to apprenticeship programmes that support leadership skills.
The committee also said ministers should review how their 60 percent office attendance policy for civil servants fits with planned reductions in government office space. Other recommendations included improved guidance for employers, careful implementation of flexible working changes under the Employment Rights Bill and assigning ministerial oversight to gather better data on remote work.
Additional proposals covered broadband investment, transport planning to reflect altered commuter patterns and preparing for the risks artificial intelligence may pose to remote jobs.
An uneven landscape
Evidence gathered by the committee echoed concerns raised elsewhere, including the unequal access to remote opportunities and a gap between employer and employee preferences for time spent in the office. While most employers and staff were broadly supportive of hybrid patterns, many workers wanted to attend the workplace for two days a week, compared with three preferred by their employers.
Peers said the Government should encourage the spread of good practice rather than legislate heavily. Their report argues that flexibility will continue to evolve across different sectors, particularly as organisations learn what works for productivity, wellbeing and retention.
