Your legal rights as a remote or hybrid employee

Remote working (where you work from home) and hybrid working (where you split your time between home and a place of business) are now a permanent feature of British employment.  Many contracts include home working as standard, and employees expect flexibility around where and when they work.

But greater flexibility also raises new questions. Can your employer insist you return to the office? Are they required to cover your home-working costs? What protections do you have if you’re overlooked for promotions because you’re not physically present?  Unsurprisingly, Tribunal cases relating to flexible working are on the rise.

British employment law has adapted to the trend in flexible working. Employees have defined rights around flexible working, health and safety at home, fair treatment, and protection from discrimination.

This guide sets out your legal rights as a remote or hybrid employee, and explains what to do if those rights aren’t respected.

The Right to Request Flexible Working

Since April 2024, all employees in Great Britain have had the right to request flexible working from day one of employment. Flexible working means making a change to the hours, times or location of your work. 

What this means for you

• You can make a formal request for flexible working.
• Employers must consider your request carefully, consult with you and give you a decision within two months.
• Your employer can only refuse your request for 8 specific business reasons, including:
  
  
  • Extra costs the business can’t afford.
    
    
  • Negative impact on performance or quality.
    
    
  • Inability to reorganise work among staff.
    
    
  • Problems meeting customer demand.
    
    

Key protections

• You don’t need to wait 26 weeks to make a request (as was required before 2024).
• You can make two requests per year if your circumstances change.
• Employers must consult with you before refusing and explain their decision clearly.
  
  

Tip: If your request is refused unfairly, you may be able to challenge it — especially if it indirectly discriminates against you because of your sex, disability, or other protected characteristic.

Employment Contracts and Location Clauses

Where you work isn’t just a practical issue — it’s a contractual one. Your employment contract should make clear whether your main place of work is the office, your home, or a combination of both.

What to look for in your contract

• Place of work clause: This sets out where you are expected to work. Many contracts now include “hybrid” or “remote” as standard options.
• Mobility clauses: Some contracts allow employers to change your work location (e.g. from home to office) with notice. These must be applied reasonably and not in a way that discriminates.
• Changes to your contract: If home or hybrid working has become an agreed part of your contract, your employer generally cannot change it without consulting you and getting your agreement. If your contract still lists the office as your main place of work and home-working was temporary or discretionary, your employer may be able to require a return to the office – but they must still act reasonably and in a non-discriminatory way.

Your rights if your employer wants changes

• Consultation: Employers should discuss changes with you first.
• Consent: Forcing a change without your agreement may be a breach of contract or constructive dismissal.
• Fair treatment: You can’t be singled out for different treatment based on protected characteristics (e.g. only parents or disabled employees are pressured to return to the office).
  
  

Key point: Always check your contract — your rights to work remotely or in a hybrid pattern may already be protected in writing.

Tip: If your employer accepts your flexible working request, make sure your employment contract is updated to reflect the new arrangement. This will be important if your employer tries to make changes in the future. If your contract doesn’t need to be updated (because it already allows for flexible working), you should still request a written copy of the agreement.

Health and Safety for Remote Employees

Even if you work from home or split your time between locations, your employer still has a duty of care for your health, safety, and wellbeing. This duty extends beyond the office walls.

Risk assessments

Employers should carry out assessments of your home or remote working setup. This doesn’t always mean a home visit — it can be done via self-assessment forms, photos, or video calls.The focus is on safe workstations, ergonomics, and preventing long-term strain or injury.

Mental health and wellbeing

Employers must also consider risks like isolation, overwork, or burnout.
Reasonable steps might include regular check-ins, access to mental health support, or setting clear boundaries on working hours.

Equipment and adjustments

If your role requires specialist equipment (like ergonomic chairs, screens, or software), your employer may need to provide it. The  rules on reasonable adjustments for disabled employees apply whether you’re remote or in the office.

Key takeaway: Health and safety law applies wherever you work. Employers cannot ignore their responsibilities just because you’re working from home.

Tip: If you’re working from home, you have a shared responsibility to take care of your own health and safety. Make sure you follow any health and safety guidance issued by your employer and report any potential risks.

Equipment, Expenses, and Pay

Remote and hybrid work often raise questions about who pays for what.  Clearer expectations have developed around equipment, expenses, and fairness in pay.

Equipment

• The home risk assessment will identify the equipment you need to safely and effectively carry out your work from home. In practice, most employers provide the equipment you need to do your job safely and effectively – for example laptops, monitors and software.  The flexible working agreement should clearly set out who will provide, and pay for, the equipment you need.
  
  
• If you need adjustments due to disability, your employer has a legal duty to provide suitable equipment as part of their obligation to make reasonable adjustments.
  
  

Expenses

• Employers are not automatically required to pay for everyday costs like heating, electricity, or broadband — unless your contract says so. For lower-paid staff, employers must also be careful that any expenses the employee has to cover to do their job do not bring their pay below the National Minimum Wage.
  
  
• Some employers offer allowances or reimbursements for home-working costs as part of company policy.
  
  
• You may be entitled to tax relief for additional costs incurred working from home, so check the latest HMRC guidance.
  
  

Pay

• Remote and hybrid employees must not be paid less in a way that breaches equality law or their contract..  
  
  
• Pay differences may only be lawful if based on clear, fair factors (for example, regional pay structures written into contracts).
  
  

Tip: Always check your contract or company policy to see what your employer is obliged to cover — and don’t be afraid to ask if you think you’re being treated unfairly.

Equality and Discrimination Risks

Remote and hybrid working offers flexibility. But there is a risk that employees who don’t spend as much time in the workplace will be treated unfairly - let’s take a look at why.    

Proximity bias

Proximity bias is when a manager unconsciously favours an employee who spends more time in the office,  leading to preferential treatment for promotions, training, or opportunities. This is fed by a dated misconception that an employee who is ‘seen’ in the workplace is more productive and committed.

Your employer must establish objective criteria for promotions or pay increases to ensure these are not awarded based upon location. Your employer should also promote awareness of proximity bias through training and open conversation.
Access to opportunities; a lack of communication

Remote employees must have the same access to training, development, and career progression as office-based staff - ‘you weren’t here’ isn’t a valid excuse. Employers should prioritise digital communication so that remote employees are kept informed and able to participate in workplace discussions.
Protected characteristics

The Equality Act 2010 protects someone from being treated unfairly because they possess one or more of the nine protected characteristics. This protection applies to all employees, no matter where they’re based. Remote or hybrid arrangements often intersect with protected characteristics. For example:

• Parents (often women) needing hybrid arrangements for childcare.
  
  
• Disabled employees requiring home-based adjustments.
  
  
• Religious observances that may affect location flexibility.

If you’re being mis-treated because you work from home, it could be indirect discrimination.

Key takeaway: Employers must ensure remote and hybrid policies are fair and inclusive. If you’re disadvantaged because of remote working and can link this to a protected characteristic, it could amount to discrimination.

Data Protection and Monitoring

Remote and hybrid working has led more employers to use monitoring tools to track productivity, but there are strict limits on what they can do.

What employers can monitor

• Work emails, messages, and log-in activity.
• Use of company systems, including software and cloud platforms.
• In some cases, keystroke logging or webcam monitoring — but only with strong justification.
  
  

Legal limits

• Monitoring must comply with GDPR and privacy laws.
• Employers must have a lawful reason for monitoring, such as protecting data security or ensuring fair use of company systems.
• Monitoring must be proportionate — no more intrusive than necessary.
  
  

Transparency requirements

• Employers should inform you if they’re monitoring, how it works, and why.
• Secret monitoring is only lawful in exceptional cases (e.g., suspected criminal activity).
  
  

Tip: If you feel monitoring crosses the line into invasion of privacy, you may have grounds to challenge it with HR or raise a grievance.

Redundancy and Remote Employees

Remote and hybrid staff have the same legal protections as office-based employees when it comes to redundancy. Employers cannot lawfully target people for redundancy just because they work from home.

• Employers must use fair and objective criteria when deciding who is at risk.
  
  
• Basing decisions on visibility (e.g., “we don’t see you in the office enough”) could be discriminatory, especially if linked to childcare, disability, or other protected characteristics.
  
  

• Remote employees are entitled to the same consultation process as office employees.
  
  
• Employers must communicate clearly, give enough time for responses, and allow remote attendance at meetings if needed.
  
  

• If suitable alternative roles exist, these must be offered fairly to remote employees too.
  
  
• Pregnant employees and those on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave have special priority rights if their role is made redundant – in many cases this now extends from pregnancy until up to 18 months after the child’s birth or placement, regardless of where they work.
  
  

Key point: Working remotely doesn’t make you more vulnerable to redundancy — and if it’s used as the reason, you may have a strong claim for unfair dismissal or discrimination.

Employment Law Updates in 2026

The Employment Rights Bill is currently going through Parliament and is expected to become law in late 2025 or early 2026. If it passes in its current form, it will make important changes to the law on flexible working requests, likely coming into force during 2026–2027. 

Key Changes

The new legislation (as the Bill stands now) introduces a ‘reasonableness test’. At the moment, an employer’s decision to refuse a flexible working request is valid if:

• they cite one of the eight business reasons
• follow the correct process
• and the decision is based on correct facts. 

It doesn’t matter if the decision itself is unreasonable. 

Under the new law, employers will only be able to rely on one of the eight grounds for refusal if it is reasonable to do so. The employer must explain to the employee why it is reasonable to select that ground as a reason for refusal. 

In addition, the procedure for consultation with the employee is expected to be more clearly defined. 

These changes will make it harder for an employer to refuse a request for flexible working. The law is continuing to adapt to the flexible working arrangements which employees expect.

What To Do If Your Rights Are Breached

If you believe your employer isn’t respecting your rights as a remote or hybrid employee, there are clear steps you can take.

1. Keep records

• Save emails, policies, and meeting notes that show how you’ve been treated.
• Document specific examples — e.g., being excluded from meetings, denied equipment, or unfairly refused flexible working.
  
  

2. Raise the issue informally

• If you feel comfortable, speak to your manager or HR.
• Sometimes issues stem from misunderstandings or outdated policies that can be corrected quickly.

3. Appeal the decision

• Check your employer’s flexible working policy. Many policies give you a right to appeal a flexible working decision.
• In your appeal, explain why you disagree with the reasons for refusal, and set out any facts your employer has misunderstood.
  
  

4. Submit a formal grievance

• If the problem continues, use your employer’s grievance procedure.
• A written complaint creates a formal record and gives your employer the chance to put things right.
  
  

5. Seek external support

• Contact ACAS for free advice and Early Conciliation if you’re considering a tribunal claim.
• Reach out to Citizens Advice or a trade union if you’re a member.
• Platforms like Valla can help with templates and coaching support to strengthen your case.
  
  

6. Consider an Employment Tribunal

• If your rights are still being ignored, you may bring a claim.
• Remember the time limit: usually 3 months less one day from the last breach, which is extended when you enter into the Early Conciliation process.
  
  

Tip: Don’t wait until the problem escalates — acting early gives you more options and stronger evidence.

Key Takeaways

• Remote and hybrid employees in Great Britain have the same core employment rights as office-based staff.
• You can request flexible working from day one, and employers must handle requests fairly.
• Your contract should set out your place of work — employers can’t change this without consultation and consent.
• Employers still have a duty of care for your health, safety, and wellbeing, even when you work from home.
• Equipment and expenses may or may not be covered — check your contract and company policies.
• Remote employees must not be disadvantaged in promotions, pay, or redundancy processes — discrimination laws apply.
• Monitoring is allowed only if it’s proportionate, transparent, and lawful under GDPR.
  
  

Bottom line: Remote and hybrid work doesn’t weaken your rights — in many ways, the law is catching up to strengthen them.

Next Steps

Remote and hybrid working may feel different, but your legal rights stay the same whether you are at home or in the office. If you feel your employer is not following the correct process, acting early can make all the difference.

If you are unsure where you stand, Valla’s Case Assessment can help you understand whether your employment rights may have been breached and what steps to take next. It is a simple way to get clarity before the situation escalates.

Start your case assessment here.