Remote Work Policy Template
Who may work remotely, on what pattern, with what equipment and security.
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| Applies to | [who it applies to] |
| Owner | [owner] |
| Effective from | October 14, 2026 |
| Next review | [date] |
1. Who this is open to
[which roles, and who decides]. Remote working is an arrangement, not an entitlement, and can be varied with reasonable notice where the work requires it.
2. Pattern and hours
[days, notice, core hours]
3. Equipment and costs
[what is provided and what is not]
4. Your working space
[what is expected of the space]
5. Security
[the rules for handling company and customer data away from the office]
6. Working from another country
Working from outside the country you are employed in can create tax, immigration and insurance obligations for you and for the organization. It needs written approval in advance, every time, whatever the length of stay.
What is a Remote Work Policy?
A remote work policy says who may work away from the office, on what pattern, with what equipment, and under what security and health and safety expectations. It turns an arrangement made in a manager's head into something the organisation can apply consistently. Without it, remote work is granted by whoever asks most persistently and withdrawn by whoever happens to manage them next.
Employers write these when informal home working has outgrown case-by-case approvals: when the same questions keep arriving about core hours, when a client security questionnaire asks for a written policy, when an insurer or auditor requires one, or when a new office lease forces a decision about attendance. It covers fully remote employees, hybrid staff on fixed days, and occasional home working. Managers use it to answer requests without inventing precedent; employees use it to know what they can actually rely on.
The legal frame differs. The UK's flexible working regime governs requests rather than the policy itself; Australia's Fair Work framework gives defined groups a right to request; several EU member states have telework legislation covering equipment costs, the right to disconnect and employer obligations, with Belgium, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands each treating it differently. Health and safety duties usually follow the worker home in some form, and data protection obligations under the GDPR, the DPDP Act or state privacy laws apply wherever the data is processed. Check the position in each country you employ in.
The policy sets expectations; it does not vary individual contracts on its own. If someone's contractual place of work is the office, moving them permanently is a contract variation, not a policy update. It does not authorise working from another country, which brings tax, social security and immigration questions the policy should explicitly exclude or control. It is not a performance management tool, and it does not replace the flexible working process where a statutory one exists — an employee can still make a formal request that must be handled under those rules.
What to put in a Remote Work Policy
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Issuing organisation | For example: Maple Grove Homeowners Association |
| Organisation address | For example: 1420 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
| Who this applies to | For example: All employees, contractors and anyone posting on a company account |
| Policy owner | For example: Head of People |
| Next review | Free text |
| Who may work remotely | For example: Roles that do not require presence at the counter or in the yard, with the line manager’s… |
| Pattern | For example: Up to two days a week remote, agreed in advance with the line manager and recorded in the… |
| Equipment and expenses | For example: The company provides a laptop and, on request, a monitor and chair. It does not pay for… |
| Security when working away | For example: Lock the screen when you step away, work on the company laptop and not a personal… |
| Your working space | For example: You are responsible for a safe working space: a proper chair and desk, adequate light,… |
| If the policy is not followed optional | For example: Unapproved absence may be treated as unauthorised and dealt with under the disciplinary… |
How to write a Remote Work Policy
State who is eligible and who decides
Set eligibility by what the role requires rather than by seniority: roles needing physical presence, handling restricted material, or supervising on-site work may be excluded, and saying so up front prevents the argument. Name the approver — usually the line manager, with HR review — and say whether people on probation are eligible. Vagueness here is what produces inconsistent decisions between two teams doing the same work.
Fix the pattern, hours and availability
Define the default: how many office days, whether they are fixed or chosen, and any anchor day when the whole team is in. State core hours when people must be contactable, expected response times, and how to log time off or a change of location. If your jurisdiction recognises a right to disconnect, reflect it. ‘Be broadly available during the working day’ will not settle a dispute.
Set out equipment, costs and insurance
Say what the organisation provides — laptop, monitor, phone, chair — what it will not fund, and how anything reimbursable is claimed. Address broadband and utilities explicitly, because in some jurisdictions employers must contribute. Confirm who owns the equipment and how it is returned. Tell employees to check that home insurance and any tenancy or mortgage terms permit working from the property.
Cover security and data handling
Require device encryption, multi-factor authentication, company-managed devices or a defined bring-your-own standard, locked screens, no shared family accounts, and no printing of restricted material at home. Say how paper records and confidential calls are handled in a shared house. Reference your information security and data protection policies rather than restating them, and name the route for reporting a lost device or suspected breach, with a deadline.
Define review, withdrawal and safety
State that arrangements are reviewed at a set interval, the grounds on which one may be withdrawn, and the notice given before it changes — an arrangement that can vanish overnight will be treated as unreliable, and one that can never be withdrawn will be resisted by managers. Include a home workstation self-assessment, and say who employees report an injury or a display screen problem to.
Common mistakes
- Applying one policy across several countries, so equipment cost rules, telework legislation and right-to-disconnect requirements are wrong in most of them.
- Leaving working from abroad unaddressed, so an employee spends three months overseas and creates a tax, payroll and immigration problem nobody approved.
- Setting eligibility by job title instead of by what the work actually requires, which produces obviously unfair outcomes between two people doing the same tasks.
- Omitting a withdrawal process, so ending an arrangement that is not working becomes a dispute with no agreed grounds and no agreed notice.
- Saying nothing about home workstations and injuries, leaving the employer with health and safety duties it has never assessed or documented.
Frequently asked questions
How many days in the office should a hybrid policy require?
There is no correct number, and it should follow the work rather than a benchmark. Decide what genuinely needs people together — onboarding, workshops, client visits, supervision of juniors — set the minimum that supports it, and say whether the days are fixed or chosen. A number picked without a reason is the one employees challenge first and managers apply least consistently.
Do we have to pay for employees' broadband and electricity?
It depends where they work. Some jurisdictions require employers to cover or contribute to necessary remote working costs, and some tax systems provide an allowance or a deduction instead. Others leave it entirely to the employer. Check the current rule in each country you employ in, decide a position, and state it in the policy rather than handling claims case by case.
Can we require employees to return to the office?
Where the contractual place of work is the office and remote working was a policy arrangement, usually yes, with reasonable notice and subject to any flexible working agreement or adjustment already in place. Where remote working has become a contractual term, or a statutory flexible working request was approved, changing it is a variation. Take advice before announcing a broad mandate.
Should the policy allow working from another country?
Most policies exclude it by default and require written approval, because even short overseas stays can trigger tax residence, social security registration, permanent establishment risk for the employer and immigration issues. If you allow it at all, set a maximum number of days, a list of approved countries, and a requirement to seek approval before any travel is booked.
Does a remote work policy need employees to sign it?
A signature is not usually required for a non-contractual policy, but recording acknowledgement is worth doing, particularly for the security and equipment sections. Where an individual arrangement changes someone's normal place of work, document that separately in writing and have it accepted. Keep a record of who acknowledged which version, since that is what you will be asked for later.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.