Legal requirements to consider when making a workspace at home

The fact that you are working from home doesn’t mean there are no rules governing your activities. You will save yourself a lot of inconvenience and expense if you check out the following areas before setting up your home office.

Mortgage provider or landlord

If you own your home and intend to run a business from it, you should check your title deeds in case there are any restrictive covenants relating to commercial use. You should also tell your mortgage company that you are planning to work from home. If you rent your home, you need to check your tenancy agreement as the tenancy may be for residential use only. Landlords generally don’t object if you are working from home rather than running a business, but are likely to object to the use of the house for anything other than admin. work. This means that you will not be able to have business visitors at home.

Insurance

Remember to tell your insurance company that you are going to be working from home or your policies for buildings and contents insurance may become invalid and not pay out if you claim. Normally the company will want to know whether you will be having frequent visitors or if you will be keeping valuable stock and equipment on the premises. If not, they may simply alter the wording of your policy and not charge any extra premium. If you do use expensive tools or materials, insurance is one of the first things you should consider when setting up at home.

Health and safety

Even if you are working alone, you still have a duty to keep yourself safe, so don’t forget all those office rules about trip hazards like trailing cables, sticking-out drawers and fraying carpets. If you have visitors to your home office or people working with you, you should carry out a risk assessment of your activities, which means you should identify all the risks inherent in carrying out the work you do, and take practical measures to prevent them happening.

If you are an employee your employer will probably ask you to carry out your own risk assessment and arrange for Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) for your computer and any other electrical appliances you use. Each appliance must be certified every year.

Planning permission

If building work is required to accommodate your new workspace in the house or out in the garden, remember to check what permissions are needed from your local authority before starting work. If you are running a business rather than just working from home, you should also check with the local authority that you are allowed to do so in a residential area, particularly if the business will make any noise, smells or have visiting traffic. Don’t assume that you can just go ahead on the quiet; many a business has been closed down following a complaint by a disgruntled neighbour to the council. If your business involves the preparation of food you must inform the environmental health department of your local authority.

What should I tell my neighbours?

You may not be generating any noise or other antisocial side-effect but it’s wise to tell the neighbours about your plans now rather than have your work life disrupted later if they are unhappy. Neighbours tend to get most agitated about visitors taking up precious parking spaces, but they may also be delighted that you are going to be in all day and so enhancing the security of the neighbourhood.

How much room will I need?

You will need enough room for at least a desk, chair, storage and whatever area your work demands, not forgetting to leave enough space for you to open drawers, gain easy access to sockets, change supplies in your printer, and so on. If you are starting a business it’s a good idea to think positive and allow room for expansion – storage of files, extra equipment – so that you won’t have to make major changes again in a few months.

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