Pitfalls of working for present employer from home?

[hoolagirl]

When i returned from maternity leave i went back for only 16 hours per week. My work is very far away with almost the same again in travelling time.
Anyhow, decided i was just going to hand my notice in at the end of the month and be a sahm although i would be skint on benefits and am a single parent.
A job has come up within the company and I have been offered it, as I told them I was intending handing my notice in (they are really good to work for) which is for 35 hours per week (flexible, but with some core hours over day, evenings and 1 weekend in 3). I am delighted at this, but before I get too carried away with myself, is there any pitfalls that I should be aware of, I am having a meeting next week to discuss the finer arrangements, so any advice prior to then, or just any advice about pitfall about home working would be appreciated

Good on your employer.

As with any job, there are benefits and compromises about working at home. Have a look here for the basics

As a general guide, make sure you discuss:
What/how contact betwen you and employer will be outside of core hours
How work will be distributed and assessed
What about time in excess of standard week
Illness/Time off etc
How often and when you will be expected to be in office
Cost of working from home - e.g. will you get a company mobile or can you reclaim phone call costs
Health and Safety assessment of your home.
t is all pretty common sense stuff, but as with most things, you need to think in terms of what you need to know in cases of dispute - and get written confirmation rather than just verbal agreemment. Both sides can be reasonable in what they want and should feel more secure with firm guidelines about what is expected on both sides.

Hope this helps - good luck

Hi thanks for your advice.
There will be no contact outside my 'core' hours or on days that i'm not working.
The work basically doesn't need to be assessed as its so straightforward (step down from present position) but i'm a trustworthy dude !
There will be no excess time to do - ever !
I will not be expected to go to the office at all !! I suppose I may pop up every one or two months to see everyone though !
The company are putting in a seperate phone line for me and broadband, supply another computer etc for which they pay all bills etc.
Have no idea about the health and safety bit, I will basically be phoning client's, getting various details off them and then printing off the initial letters to start things off, thereafter the claims handlers in the office will take over, when i print the letters they will be printed in the office and not in my house !!
So can I get excited yet?

I used to work from home and it worked well for that time in my life but I did miss the social side and I never quite felt 'off duty'. Had to get used to shutting my eyes to all the housework that needed doing while I was working. But it certainly has its up side. Go for it I say.

Glad you have raised this as I am due to start working from home f/t once I return from Maternity Leave too............we already have people working from home so i know it works but I am a bit concerned about the lack of a social side of things I have to admit.

We all use MSN messenger here though so I will use that to still feel part of the office.....very useful tool if you are able to use it.