Whether you do practical work or administrative work, if you work from home in the UK then you are likely to be classified as a home worker. A great number of home workers in the UK are employed in the manufacturing industry, while others are teleworkers who deal with office based tasks. No matter what type of work it is you do, you will have a certain number of statutory rights. Depending on what legal status you have you may have a number of additional rights afforded to you, as well as a number of tax obligations.

Whether your legal status is as a worker, an employee, or self-employed, you are entitled to earn National Minimum Wage or an equivalent if you are paid by “piece work”. Piece work is where you are paid by results, perhaps based on how many items you are able to manufacture with “output work” or by the general volume of work you complete. In any case, you should be able to earn as much as you would be entitled to if you were on an hourly rate doing the same job.

How much Minimum Wage you are entitled to earn depends on both your age and on the circumstances of your employment (such as whether you were participating in an apprenticeship scheme while you were working). The safety of employees working from home is the responsibility of the employer when work based activities are involved, so they must take steps to ensure that you are safe when doing your job. When dealing with hazardous materials or dangerous equipment you should be safe to do so.

You need to be wary of bogus work from home job offers, as there are many about. Common scams include “envelope stuffing” and “home assembly kit” schemes, and will usually require you to forward “registration fees” or “deposits”. A genuine job offer will rarely involve you paying your employer, so you should keep this in mind when looking for work. Before you begin working for anyone, it is a good idea to check out your prospective employer to make sure the work is legitimate.

Teleworking might involve the use of office equipment like computers and telephones, and you may depend on the internet to do your job. When working with Visual Display Units (VDUs) like computer screens, you should be aware of the health and safety advice to make sure you stay safe. This is likely to be another of your employer’s responsibilities. When you work from home, you may need to check with your home insurer to make sure you have valid working from home insurance.