A woman works from home as part of the growing hybrid-work trend highlighted by a Lords committee.

A new House of Lords report, is working from home working? suggests that home-based and hybrid work could support government aims to boost employment by enabling people who might not otherwise be able to work to participate. The findings come from the House of Lords Home-based Working Committee and highlight both the benefits and challenges of remote and hybrid arrangements.

Key points:

• Remote and hybrid work have become mainstream since the COVID-19 era, with the ONS estimating 13% of Great Britain’s workers are fully remote and another 26% hybrid.

• The UK is among the nations with high levels of homeworking.

• Hybrid work can offer the best of both worlds if implemented effectively, but access is unequal higher among professionals, graduates, and London residents.

• Some return to office mandates effectively formalise hybrid work rather than restoring full-time office attendance.

• Remote/hybrid work can aid recruitment and retention but may complicate collaboration and management.

• Changes to flexible working under the Employment Rights Bill could lead to significant tribunal litigation if not clearly defined.

• There is no universal answer to productivity in home working.

Committee recommendations for government:

• Clarify whether remote/hybrid work is part of broader schemes to reintegrate people with disabilities or long-term health conditions into work.

• Promote employer investments in management training to support remote/hybrid work, and reconsider cuts to leadership focused apprenticeship programmes.

• Review the 60% civil service office attendance policy and related office space reductions.

• Avoid heavy new regulation on home working; publish updated employer guidance instead.

• Implement flexible working changes with attention to tribunal impacts.

• Appoint ministers to oversee gathering more detailed data on remote/hybrid work.

• Consider broader investments in broadband, transport demand shifts from hybrid work, and future AI-related risks to remote roles.

Outlook:

The report notes potential inequalities in home working and warns that vague definitions of “reasonable” flexible-working requests could lead to tribunal disputes. It also emphasises that homeworking could help the government’s employment goals, but the government will publish a formal response next year.

Quotations:

Baroness Rosalind Scott, chair of the committee: “Without a clear definition, there is a risk of years of litigation.”