Under the Employment Act 2002, employees with more than 26 weeks' service have a right to request that their terms and conditions of employment be varied in respect of being able to work from home.

This right applies to employees with children under the age of six (18 for a disabled child) and to adult carers. From April 2009, the right will extend to those with parental responsibility for children under the age of 16.

Although employers are not obliged to accommodate all requests for flexible homeworking, any requests received must be taken seriously following a statutory procedure and can only be refused if one of nine statutory defences apply.

If a female employee is refused a request for "homeworking" she may argue she is being subjected to a practice that puts her at a disadvantage compared with men and, as such, is a victim of indirect sex discrimination

Although following the statutory procedures will alleviate the risk of a claim for women with children under six, the sex discrimination legislation applies across the board to all employees and contract workers and employers may find themselves having to objectively justify refusals.

If a disabled employee needs to work from home and this is not accommodated, the employer may be guilty of treating a disabled person less favourably for a reason related to his or her disability.

Further, if an employer fails to consider "homeworking" as a reasonable adjustment for a disabled employee in circumstances where it would be sensible to do so, the employee may make a claim for failing to make reasonable adjustments, for which there can be no objective justification.

Allowing employees to work from home also raises the risk of confidentiality and data-protection issues.

The employer will need to take appropriate steps to protect against the unlawful processing or accidental loss of any personal data to which the employee may have access at home. All employees who will be conducting work from home should be given training against these risks. Employers should also carry out an assessment of any data security implications that will then need managing.

The Health and Safety at Work Act will apply to employees who work from home. A risk assessment should, therefore, be undertaken to ensure that the office/work space the employee is using is suitable and has suitable equipment.

As a final point, employees should be aware that any part of their home which is used as an office may not be exempt from capital gains tax.

Although it seems that there are a number of potential legal issues with "homeworking", the risks can be allayed by forward planning, careful consideration and by following proper procedures at all times.