Hybrid work, homeworking and client sites

Identify what changed

A hybrid pattern change alone need not be reported, but changes to a main office or new client site can be. Entirely remote contractual homeworking is reportable under Part 3.

• Maintain the expected work pattern and actual principal locations.
• Ask managers to flag new client assignments, permanent homeworking and relocations before they begin.
• Review the role and contractual arrangements, not just the address field.

Make the arrangement auditable

Recommended practice: explain how supervision, attendance, duties and pay are evidenced across locations.

• Keep third-party site contacts and an agreed route for compliance access.
• Record who supervises the worker and who controls the work.
• Reconcile remote-work approvals with the CoS and any required report.

Suggested working-arrangement review

Ask the manager to describe the arrangement in ordinary terms: usual office, homeworking pattern, client locations, supervision and any expected change. Compare that description with the contract, assignment records and the person's account of their work. A broad label such as ‘hybrid’ can conceal a permanent move or a new client arrangement that deserves separate assessment.

Record the facts and the sponsor-review decision together. Give managers a simple route for raising proposed changes before commercial commitments and scheduling make them difficult to revisit.

• Identify the main locations and the basis of each assignment.
• Check who directs the work and who holds the supporting records.
• Keep proposed overseas working visible for an appropriate separate review.

Suggested evidence across locations

Use ordinary business evidence to show what the arrangement involves: approved work patterns, reporting lines, client assignment records and relevant output or attendance records. Keep the review proportionate to its purpose. Constant location tracking is not a substitute for understanding the employment arrangement and may create unnecessary personal-data concerns.

For client sites, agree how the sponsor team can obtain a factual explanation of duties, supervision and changes. Test the contact route before it is needed urgently. A contract naming a client may be insufficient if no one can explain where the worker actually works or how changes are communicated.

Fictional practice scenario

A fictional consultancy describes an employee as hybrid. A practice interview reveals that the employee now works entirely from home on a different client assignment, while the HR record still lists the original office-based pattern. The team records the actual arrangement and its history.

It routes the contractual, location and sponsorship questions for review and corrects the internal handover process. The example does not conclude that every homeworking day or client meeting needs an SMS report.