homeworkers rate

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Homeworkers

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Homeworkers are employees who do paid work out of their own homes for an employer (for example, online research, preparing food for resale, sewing, telephone soliciting, manufacturing, word processing).

Independent contractors are not homeworkers under the Employment Standards Act ( ESA ).

The difference between homeworkers and domestic workers

Homeworkers are not the same as domestic workers.

Homeworkers do paid work out of their own homes for an employer.

Domestic workers work in a private home directly for the person who owns or rents the home. They do things such as housekeeping and cooking, or provide care, supervision or personal assistance to children or people who are elderly, ill or disabled.

For example, employees who prepare food at home for resale by their employer are homeworkers, but employees who prepare food in a private residence for the people living there to eat are domestic workers.

Rights under the ESA

Homeworkers are eligible for:

• minimum wage
• regular payment of wages (wages are paid on a recurring pay period on a recurring pay day, and written wage statements are provided for each pay)
• wages are paid on a recurring pay period on a recurring pay day, and
• written wage statements are provided for each pay
• written job details
• hours of work protections (for example, maximum hours of work, and daily and weekly/bi-weekly rest periods)
• overtime pay
• vacation with pay
• public holidays
• pregnancy and parental leave
• family responsibility leave
• bereavement leave
• family caregiver leave
• family medical leave
• critical illness leave
• organ donor leave
• reservist leave
• crime-related child disappearance leave
• child death leave
• domestic or sexual violence leave
• notice of termination
• notice of termination of assignment (applies to assignment employees of a temporary help agency)
• severance pay
• equal pay for equal work

Employers are required to provide their employees with a copy of the ministry's Employment Standards Poster within 30 days of the date anyone becomes an employee.

If an employee requests a copy of the poster in a language other than English and the ministry has published a version in that language, the employer must provide the translated version in addition to the English copy.

Learn more about special rules or exemptions for homeworkers .

Minimum wage rate

Minimum wage is the lowest hourly wage an employer can pay employees. The general minimum wage rate is $16.55 per hour (as of October 1, 2023).

There is a special minimum wage rate for homeworkers that is higher than the general minimum wage rate. A homeworker is entitled to a minimum wage rate of $18.20 per hour (as of October 1, 2023).

Full-time and part-time homeworkers are entitled to this rate. Students of any age who are employed as homeworkers must also be paid the homeworker's minimum wage.

Calculating minimum wage for homeworkers who are being paid piece-work rate

The amount that a homeworker is paid must be at least equal to minimum wage. Homeworkers who are paid on a piece-work rate (a way of calculating pay that is based on the amount of work an employee completes, and not on the hours worked) can calculate whether they are being paid at least the minimum wage in the following way:

• Take the total amount earned over the pay period and divide it by the number of hours worked in the same period. This is their average hourly rate.
• Compare that average hourly rate to the homeworkers’ minimum wage rate in effect over that same pay period. (If overtime hours were worked, the calculation is more complicated.)

A homeworker received $350 as piece-work pay for the pay period October 4 to October 10, 2023 as payment for 25 hours of work in that pay period. The homeworker received the equivalent of $14 an hour in that pay period, but the homeworkers' minimum wage rate in effect from October 1, 2023 was $18.20.

Based on the homeworkers' minimum wage, the employee should have earned $455.

Result: The employer must therefore pay an additional $105 to the employee ($455 minus $350).

Written job details an employer must give a homeworker

Employers must advise homeworkers in writing of:

• the type of work they are being employed to do
• the amount to be paid for an hour of work in a regular work week if the homeworker is being paid by the number of hours worked
• the amount to be paid for each article or thing manufactured in a regular work week
• the number of articles or things to be completed by a certain date or time if the employer requires a certain number to be completed by a certain date or time
• an explanation of how pay will be determined when the homeworker is being paid on some other basis

Employers must keep detailed records of hours worked, wages and deductions. They must give all employees a written wage statement with each pay that shows the full details of the pay period.

The written wage statement must set out the:

• pay period for which the wages are being paid
• wage rate, if there is one
• gross amount of wages and unless the employee is given the information in some other manner, such as in an employment contract how the gross wages were calculated
• amount and purpose of each deduction from the wages
• net amount of wages

Information and records employers must keep

Employers who employ homeworkers are required to keep a register containing the name, address and wage rate(s) of the homeworker. This must be kept for three years after the homeworker has stopped working for the employer.

In addition, all employers in Ontario, including anyone who employs homeworkers, must keep written records about each person they hire.

Exception for hours of work records

If an employee receives a fixed salary for each pay period, and the salary does not change unless the employee works overtime, the employer is only required to record the:

• employee's hours in excess of those hours in the employee's regular work week, and
• number of hours in excess of eight per day—or in excess of the hours in the employee's regular work day, if that's more than eight hours.

Working from home: From invisibility to decent work

Home work: an invisible form of production, the covid-19 pandemic and the rise of working from home, gender and home work.

• Women’s participation in home work

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being a homeworker?

Why do enterprises use homeworkers what are their responsibilities.

• Increasing productivity through telework

Ensuring fair pay and working conditions

Towards decent work for homeworkers, from invisibility to decent work.

Published in November 2021

With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, many workers around the world shifted to working from home, joining the hundreds of millions of other workers who had already been working from home for decades.

Yet the laws and policies that govern the labour market have not been designed with the home as a workplace in mind.

Explore this InfoStory to find out what working from home means for workers, employers and societies across the globe.

A homeworker is someone who works for pay and who produces a product or service according to the specifications of the employer. 

Home work has always existed, but because it takes place in someone’s private home, it has long been invisible. It encompasses a range of activities – from sewing, embroidery and assembly in goods production, to a wide range of clerical and professional services that can be performed remotely using technology, including telework.

In the developing world, particularly in Asia, homeworking is often part of global or local supply chains in the apparel, electronics and houseware industries. In rich countries, most homeworkers are teleworkers, though some of them are industrial homeworkers. Home-based digital platform workers can be found throughout the world.

• Industrial homeworkers
• Teleworkers
• Home-based digital platform work

Types of home work: Industrial homeworkers

Homeworkers that are engaged in the production of manufactured goods, often in the final stage of production. This can also include artisanal production, such as the making of handicrafts.

What does it look like? Anchara's story

Anchara has been weaving fishing nets from her home in Thailand for 12 years. This allows her to keep a paid job while taking care of her children. However, due to the low piece rate, she earns less than the prevailing minimum wage despite her agility at weaving large nets.

As she is operating in the informal economy, she does not enjoy most labour rights established in the labour legislation, and hopes to have soon the opportunity to get a formal job.

Types of home work: Teleworkers

Teleworkers are employees who use computers and other technology to perform their work remotely from their homes.

What does it look like? Samuel and Jessica's stories

Samuel never liked his long commute to work or office politics. He was happy when he found a job that allowed him to work remotely from home. However, even though he has the same salary and benefits as his office colleagues, he feels isolated and worries that he has been overlooked for promotions.

Jessica shifted to working from home during the COVID-19 lockdowns. While she appreciates not having to commute and seeing her children more, she has also noticed that her working hours have seeped into her family time.

Types of home work: Home-based digital platform work

Many service-sector tasks are performed on online digital platforms, ranging from labelling photographs, writing text for a website to overseeing a Twitter account. The platform or client specifies how the tasks should be carried out and rates the worker’s performance. These workers are often considered to be independent contractors, even when they are not really autonomous or economically independent.

What does it look like? Sameer's story

Sameer has been working on micro-task platforms for five years. When he logs onto the platforms, he selects an available task to complete. The client sets the pay rate, which is usually modest. If the work that he submits is accepted, he will receive a payment in his bank account. However, he spends many unpaid hours looking for available tasks.

There were approximately 260 million home-based workers in the world in 2019 – prior to the COVID-19 pandemic – amounting to 7.9% of total employment.

Most home-based workers were own-account workers and lived in developing countries, while some of them were teleworkers, especially in richer countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic reverted this pattern. Indeed, the ILO estimates that almost  560 million people were working from home in 2020, during the height of the pandemic.

Most were teleworkers who were previously working in an office. Teleworkers were present in all regions of the world, though more in richer countries.

• Working from home prior to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic

For many workers, but particularly women – who overwhelmingly shoulder the burden of domestic and care responsibilities – home work is a means to participate in paid work, without having to leave home.

In certain countries, women also face social norms that prevent them from working outside the home, and home work is their only access to the labour market.

This can come at a cost for women. While it allows women to combine paid work with domestic responsibilities, it also reinforces the outdated notion that such responsibilities are solely the purview of women. It thus risks creating a pool of workers that are not able to compete on an equal footing with persons who work outside the home.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, women’s participation in home work was double that of men’s, despite their overall lower participation in the labour market. 

In 2019, 147 million women and 113 million men worked from home. This amounted to 11.5% of all female workers and 5.6% of all male workers.

During the pandemic, as office workers across the world switched to working from home, the number of men working from home increased substantially.

Access to paid work

Working hours, safety at work, social security, representation.

Working from home can provide access to opportunities for some workers who otherwise would not be able to undertake paid work. Some workers, mainly women, have difficulty leaving the home because of care responsibilities or social norms. Others may have a disability that makes it difficult for them to have a job outside their home. 

However, there is an important risk of informality, particularly in the case of industrial home work. In low- and middle-income countries for instance, 90% of all home-based workers work informally.

There are wage penalties associated with working from home. Statistical analysis reveals that when attributes such as age, sex or education are taken into account, all types of homeworkers earn less than their counterparts who work in an office or factory.

Teleworkers appreciate having the flexibility to organize their paid work around their domestic and family responsibilities. But working from home can also lead to a blurring between work and private life.

In industrial homework and online digital labour platforms, there are often periods of intense work, with tight deadlines, followed by periods of little or no work. In consequence, only 34% home-based workers work “normal hours” between 35 and 48 hours per week, against 42% of those who work outside the home.

Even with home work, the responsibility of creating a safe work environment rests on the employer. Yet the homeworker’s lack of knowledge about safe practices and improper equipment can lead to safety and health risks. In work involving chemicals, explosives or other hazardous materials, important risks exist for other family members and sometimes even for the local community.

Teleworkers may also face physical risks, due to the lack of ergonomy of their work environment, possible intensifications in the workload and excessive working hours. There are also psychosocial risks due to the blurring of work-personal boundaries and social isolation.

All these risks lead to higher occupational safety and health risks among homeworkers. In the United Kingdom, for example, homeworkers miss 50% more days of work due to illness than those who work outside the home.

Many homeworkers lack adequate social security, and only have access to benefits if a non-contributory system, such as a universal health protection scheme, exists in their country.

Industrial homeworkers and home-based digital platform workers are often classified as independent contractors and thus do not benefit from employer contributions into social security. Some industrial homeworkers are not even formally recognized as workers.

Homeworkers often face barriers – in law or in practice – to establishing or joining a union and are not always covered by collective bargaining agreements. Lack of representation makes it more difficult for them to access other rights at work. 

For example, union density in the United Kingdom was 24% for employees who did not work from home, whereas for homeworkers it was far less, 13.2%. In Indonesia, the numbers were even more dramatic: less than 1% for homeworkers as compared with almost 13% for other employees.

The right to join a trade union and to negotiate collectively is a fundamental right at work – all workers regardless of where they work should be able to exercise this right.

People call my factory big not because I have 20-some workers. It is because I can manage to produce 20,000 pieces of jewellery boxes every month by using others’ labour Factory owner, Taiwan, China

Firms use home work for various reasons. For industrial home work and online digital platform work, homeworking can be a way for enterprises to have greater flexibility in responding to fluctuations in demand for their products, including seasonal variations. Using homeworkers can also be a source of cost savings.

• Engaging industrial workers: The experience from Indonesia

Telework can be a means for enterprises to retain talented employees by offering them greater flexibility in their working time to better balance work and family life, while eliminating commuting time. Telework can also enable firms to save on the cost of office space.

Productivity benefits

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, most teleworking was occasional and often in addition to the hours already worked on site, serving to extend working hours. Enterprises that allowed employees to telework on a permanent basis often used it as a perk to attract and retain workers, while remaining unsure about the productivity benefits.

Yet there have been convincing studies published about the productivity benefits of home work and teleworking.

• Productivity increases: A case-study from China

Many companies strive to treat their homeworkers fairly. The ILO has been supporting governments and employers in designing good practice guidelines for the employment of homeworkers.

As many industrial homeworkers and digital platform workers are paid by the piece (or task), it is also important to ensure that they earn at least the minimum wage and are not paid less than similar workers paid per hour. Time and motion studies are an integral tool for setting fair piece rates or production quotas.

• How are time and motion studies conducted?
• Employment of homeworkers: Good practice guidelines
• Keys for effective teleworking

Decent work for homeworkers is an achievable goal. But it requires the collective effort of governments, employers’ organizations and trade unions, as well as homeworkers and their organizations.

• The ILO’s Home Work Convention
• Giving homeworkers a voice
• Government’s role is critical

All homeworkers – whether they are weaving rattan in Indonesia, tagging photos in Egypt, sewing masks in Uruguay or teleworking in France – should have access to decent work.

Given that working from home is likely to become a prominent feature in the world of work in the years to come, it is essential that governments, in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations, work together to design and implement laws and policies that support decent work for homeworkers.

Photo credits  

• Download the full report
• Learn more in the ILO portal on Working from Home

Explore more publications

Independent high-level evaluation of ilo’s covid-19 response 2020-22, world employment and social outlook 2023: the value of essential work, global wage report 2022-2023, social dialogue report 2022: collective bargaining for an inclusive, sustainable and resilient recovery, ilo programme implementation 2020-21, global call to action for a human-centred recovery from the covid-19 crisis, making decent work a reality for domestic workers, world employment social outlook 2021: the role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work, global wage report 2020/21: wages and minimum wages in the time of covid-19, decent work results: ilo programme implementation 2018-19, work for a brighter future: report of the global commission on the future of work.

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Working from home means longer hours, fewer sick days, and fewer bonuses, according to a major report. We break down 4 of its key findings.

• The remote-working shift is hailed as the future – but new data highlights potential negative trends. 
• Remote workers were more likely to work overtime and less likely to get bonuses, for example.
• Insider rounds up four key takeaways from the report.

The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted bold predictions that the future of work will be from home, after millions were forced out of offices for more than a year but able to do their jobs remotely.

But this week, the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) published a major report on the phenomenon — based on surveys of hundreds of thousands of people over nearly a decade from the country's Annual Population Survey – and made some startling findings.

Homeworkers were working longer hours for less reward compared with their peers going into offices, the research found.

Here are the report's four main takeaways.

1. Those who mostly worked from home were less likely to get bonuses

The ONS study found that, based on analysis of survey respondents between 2013 to 2020, people who mainly worked from home were on average 38% less likely to receive a bonus in salary compared with those who never worked from home in the same period.

The ONS suggested two possible reasons for the discrepancy. It may "reflect biases in the labor market with people who worked mainly from home being overlooked for promotions and bonuses due to a lack of visibility at work."

But it also said homeworkers might have forfeited bonuses for benefits such as flexibility and a shorter commute.

Dr Lucy Davey, a former psychiatrist who is now a coach for professional women, said this trend would hit women, who are more likely to take the option of working from home.

As many companies shift to giving employees the option between working from home or the office after the pandemic, Davey told Insider: "A higher proportion of women will take up the offer of working from home in order to fit around their childcare needs.

Related stories

"Ultimately, this means that they'll spend less time in the office, will be less visible than their office-based counterparts (often male) and less likely to be next in line for a promotion." 

2. Remote workers were less than half as likely to call in sick

The sickness absence rate for employees working from home in 2020 was 0.9% on average, compared with 2.2% for those who worked from offices in their main job, the ONS report found.

Though it is possible remote workers were less exposed to illness, the report suggested that many people were simply just working through periods of illness or injury. "When sick, homeworkers may not have travelled to a workplace to work but still felt well enough to work from home," the ONS said.

Elisa Nardi, a HR professional with 30 years' experience, including 15 as a group chief people officer in large corporates such as Virgin Media and Bupa, said that, so long as few employees have purpose-built home offices, it's likely homeworking will mean "many employers will face a future wave of claims related to muscular-skeletal employee health and wellbeing issues." 

3. And they did more hours of unpaid overtime

In 2020, people who "mainly," "occasionally" or "recently" worked from home all did an average of around six hours of unpaid overtime a week. This was almost double the 3.6 hours by those who never worked remotely.

The ONS noted that, from 2011 to 2019, those who "recently" worked from home did the most unpaid overtime but the three cohorts of remote workers had done roughly the same in 2020. The 3.6 hour figure was the same as in previous years.

4. They were also more likely to work in the evenings 

The pandemic appears to have caused a shift in the working day. 

In September 2020, homeworkers were more likely to work between the hours of 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. compared with those never working at home, according to the ONS report.

This contrasted with an earlier sample in April, at the start of the pandemic, when homeworkers "tended to keep hours close to typical office hours, because homeworking was new to many."

The report said homeworkers may have been continuing to work beyond their finishing time in the time they previously would have previously been commuting.

Migrated Content

Working from home

The dramatic increase in working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the poor working conditions experienced by many homeworkers who, prior to the crisis, numbered an estimated 260 million people worldwide.

13 January 2021

Renewed urgency

Poorly regulated with lack of compliance.

Only 10 ILO Member States have ratified Convention No. 177, that promotes equality of treatment between homeworkers and other wage earners, and few have a comprehensive policy on homework." Janine Berg, ILO senior economist and one of the report’s authors

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Non Standard Forms of Employment

Working from home: From invisibility to decent work

Executive Summary

131 Legit Companies that Hire Home Workers in 2023

If you dream of working from home, this detailed round-up of 131 companies that hire home workers is a great place to start looking for opportunities.

An accurate and up-to-date list of work from home companies is surprisingly hard to find online; While there are plenty of lists out there, most of the ones we looked at included incorrect information, dead links and scammy opportunities.

We set out to create something better. We did the same compiling the latest home working statistics, which you can check out here .

If you’re in a hurry and want some of the searching work done for you, take a look at FlexJobs .  We have a full review of that here. Another alternative is Virtual Vocations ( see review ).

Tips for Finding Home Jobs

Tech firms hiring home workers, work from home jobs in call center / customer service, healthcare companies that hire home workers, travel companies that hire home workers, work from home jobs in education, secretarial home working jobs, writing, translation and transcription jobs, work from home jobs in finance, remote work in the not for profit sector, miscellaneous companies that hire home workers, important points.

On this list you’ll find lots of legitimate work from home jobs hiring now. It’s a long list so we’ve divided them into categories to make it easier to search. divided into categories.

Plenty of the companies listed here have work from home positions so are ideal for people who want the flexibility of working from home with the security of a conventional job . There are also some opportunities that could work for freelancers, or as part of a portfolio career. 

While some jobs are US-only (reflecting While some remote jobs hiring are US-only (reflecting HomeWorkingClub’s largest audience), we’ve done our best to include lots of global opportunities for work from home jobs hiring now.

For every company, we’ve provided a link to where they usually mention their home-based job opportunities. Please note that things do change and remote work from home jobs come and go, so it’s often worth checking back at a later date if you don’t find anything from a specific company when you look.

It’s also worth searching remote job boards for phrases like “remote,” “home based” and “home working,” as this can often uncover jobs that are hiring that could be hidden in plain sight.

It’s essential to do your own due diligence on any company you apply to as scams are out there. We’ve done our best to only include legit companies on this list but you should still do your own research. You can find some information on avoiding scams here .

Many companies have mixed reports from ex staff-members if you look at reviews on Glassdoor and similar websites. As with any online reviews, it’s best to look at the balance of opinions and then form your own! If you strongly feel a company shouldn’t be on this list, please feel free to contact us. 

Let’s get straight to the list!

Many of the companies that hire home workers are looking for techies. A tech firm is obviously going to be looking for the cream of the crop when it comes to tech hires but it is important to remember that these firms also need copywriters, managers, acoountants, and customer service reps. It’s also worth noting that tech firms are some of the best work from home companies because of their innovative, forward-thinking cultures.

A website and content creation platform based in Seattle, but with jobs hiring work from home people all over the world.

Remote employees get the same benefits as any other employees, with a 401k and insurance. 10up offers a wide range of job roles including those for developers, project managers and strategists.

Where: Global, US.

Aimed at company HR leaders, 15Five is a human-centred performance management platform. Its products include tools for management training, employee feedback surveys, performance reviews and more.  

The company has a diverse, hybrid culture that supports remote-first workplaces and office hubs. They encourage annual get-togethers for their team and offer health, retirement and vacation benefits. 

15Five often has jobs that are hiring in their Design, Engineering, People and Culture and Sales departments. 

Where: Global.

This American company’s products are known across the globe. Part of the reason for this is reflected in the fact that they have three times as many remote sales positions as they do tech job openings. Still, if you are looking to work with a tech company you will find some good opportunities for work from home positions here.

AdviseTech Inc

This IT support firm is based in Pasadena, California. They advertise both for tech roles and for part time telemarketers to work just two to six hours per week. They specifically suggest that the latter job is suitable for retired people or college students. (If you are a college student, you’ll find more job options here ).

Where: US only.

Aha! is a SaaS (Software as a Service) that describes itself as the world’s #1 roadmap software, which aims to help people build lovable products and be happy doing it. 

They’re self-funded and entirely remote. Aha! employs people in the Customer Success, Engineering, Marketing, People and Product Success categories. 

The company includes some exciting benefits for its employees, including well-being, education, generous salaries, and profit-sharing.

Where: North and South America, the UK, Ireland, South Africa and Australia.

The well-known online retailer hires home based virtual employees in a huge variety of roles including web services, HR and sales. There are jobs at all levels including senior management roles. When we looked, most roles were in the US and UK, with several in Italy.

Positions available depend on your experience and skills. Some positions are seasonal roles and come up during the company’s busier periods only. So, if you’re looking for jobs that are hiring now, then Amazon is a good place to start.

You can find more on Amazon’s remote working practices on FlexJobs , or in our article on Amazon work from home jobs .

Apple employ students ( more online jobs for students here ) but there are positions available for others too as part of the “At Home Advisor” program. You need at least 2 years’ experience of technical troubleshooting – this can be either by phone or face to face.

You need an excellent knowledge of all Apple products, and must agree to work at least 20 hours per week.

You’ll find more information on Apple’s work from home jobs here. 

Arkency is a consulting agency that hires quality coders who know the importance of testing until it’s perfect and can also communicate effectively with customers and the company team. 

The agency works on the three pillars of Anarchy, Async and Remote, which means:

• Flexible working hours
• Working from anywhere
• Communication is not instant – but it is effective 

If you’re a coder, the first step to working with Arkency is to contact their recruitment team and pitch your case.

Atlassian uses technology to empower team work and is perhaps better known for its products such as Trello. Although this company has fewer remote jobs hiring than you might expect given that its products help support remote teams, it is still worth a look.

This Identity-as-a-Service company secures and authenticates millions of logins on a daily basis. 

This safety-focused company has plenty of jobs hiring from home although, ironically, at the time of writing there were none for IT. 

You may not be familiar with Automattic, but there is a good chance you’ve heard of WordPress.com and Tumblr, the two most famous brands in its portfolio.

Although the company is  looking for people to fill a wide range of vacancies, everybody spends their first couple of weeks working on support for WordPress. This is designed to give the whole company a feel for the main product. All employees continue to spend a further two weeks per year doing this.

Where: Global, Fully Remote.

Project management tool Basecamp may well be familiar to anyone who has worked on tech projects over the last few years.

Based in Chicago but committed to a “remote first” hiring strategy, jobs for homeworkers at Basecamp come with attractive benefits packages. While this company has plenty of different jobs, openings do seem to fill rather quickly. But don’t worry. If there are no at home jobs hiring now you can sign up to be notified about future job openings.

BestSelf is a small, 100% remote lifestyle brand that sells products designed to help people dream big and achieve more while still enjoying the process. Products include Journals and Planners, Discovery Decks and Action Pads (e.g. habit roadmap.) 

Being a small company, they don’t always have work from home positions available. But if you want to work in an innovative, diverse and global team, then it’s worth keeping an eye on their careers page.

BuddyBoss is a platform that integrates with WordPress websites to allow businesses to create and host courses, memberships, intranets, eLearning and online communities.

With 70+ multicultural workers in 10 different countries and time zones, BuddyBoss is advertising jobs on their tech, marketing, and customer service teams at the time of writing.

If you are looking for cutting edge tech work from home then this might just be the company for you. CleverTech avoids normal, off-the-shelf solutions in their products and also in the way they work. Since they don’t enforce a work location, hours or even timesheets they are one of the ideal companies hiring work from home techies.

If this sound like the right fit for you they have plenty of opportunities for engineers and developers.

CrowdStrike

Cybersecurity is increasingly important as more and more people work from their homes. It is hardly surprising therefore that this leading cybersecurity firm has hundreds of remote job openings. Intelligence, IT, and engineering options aren’t the only ones though. Even tech firms need sales, HR, and professional development staff.

DataStax offers data management products and cloud services. While it does not have as many remote work from home jobs as some other tech companies, DataStax does have some nice perks for its employees, especially those in the US.

At the time of writing most job openings were for technical support interns and account executives.

Where: US, Canada, UK, France, Germany.

Doist aims to be a company and culture that transcends boundaries and provides solutions for long term success and happiness. Their products include Todoist and Twist, which are both productivity apps. 

Employment categories include Business Development, Design, Engineering, Translations, Customer Support, Marketing, Finance, People Operations and Product. The company isn’t always hiring, but they provide a chance for prospective employees to sign up for future job opening updates.

Help Scout offers companies a complete customer support package including live chat, email and help centre. It’s been remote-first for ten years and has team members in 80+ cities worldwide. 

You’ll get plenty of benefits if you land a job at Help Scout. These include stock options, flexible time off, international travel to their semi-annual retreats, health and retirement and a competitive salary that’s optimised for fairness. 

The company currently has a seven-step hiring process that includes video and logistic chats, a take-home project and references.

At the time of writing, open roles included Mid-Market Account Executive, Brand Designer, Product Support Analyst, Senior Java Engineer, Product Designer, and more.

Dell hires remote workers globally in all kinds of job roles. There’s a vast range of opportunities available at all levels. So, if you’re looking for work from home jobs, hiring immediately, Dell could be a good place to start.

Roles include technical support and system architect positions, and non technical jobs for sales reps and account managers. Strong experience is required and the ability to speak more than one language is beneficial for some roles.

Elevate Labs

Elevate is an extremely popular brain training app, previously one of Apple’s “apps of the year.”

The company is based in San Francisco, but has remote roles for Engineers, Data Analysts and Spanish proof readers

Where: North and South America.

This tech company is fully remote so all its job openings are apt for home workers, but they are rather demanding in terms of hiring the best. They claim that their stronger applicants have 5 years of experience so this is definitely not for newbies.

If you do have the necessary experience to compete against other applicants then there are quite a range of opportunities available.

Another name familiar to software developers. Unsurprisingly the company seeks designers, engineers and UX specialists.

There are also roles in the wider company in sales, legal and finance. This is a remote-first company, and everyone works “asynchronously”, during the hours that suit them best.

KLIM Technologies

KLIM is a small, but rapidly growing, consumer electronics company. Despite its size, it is committed to fully remote work and is willing to hire the best workers no matter where they are located.

In addition to hiring home workers for regular full-time positions, KLIM offers paid internships allowing you to gain more experience in a particular field. So, you might be interested if you’re searching for “at home jobs near me,” and want to gain experience in the consumer electronics field.

This telecoms company employs home workers in the US for both technical customer support and sales team roles. Some of the jobs are hard to find, so use the words “works from home” in your job search, and consider signing up to email alerts so you know when they become available.

MailerLite is one of the fastest-growing email newsletter companies around. Right from the start, they embraced the remote culture. Currently, they have half their team working at their headquarters in Vilnius and the other half working from home around the world. Their benefits include a budget for home-office setup, vacation and company-paid retreats. 

While they don’t always have jobs available, MailerLite encourages prospective team members to apply for future opportunities. However, don’t send them a standard CV if you want to stand a chance. Instead, MailerLite asks you to sign up for a free account and send them a newsletter. (You’ll find full details on their jobs application page .)

Memberful is an e-commerce app that offers users everything they need to run a membership program. 

Everyone at Memberful is free to live and work wherever they choose. The company says its internal process is built around remote communication, deep work and treating others as you’d like to be treated.

What started out as company focused on PC gaming is now using computing expertise to impact areas as disparate as healthcare and blockbuster movies. It promises challenging opportunities to impact multiple industries.

If you think you have the talent and expertise to rise to the challenge then you will find a large number of work from home opportunities in engineering and other fields.

On the Go Systems

On the Go Systems is a software company that welcomes home workers from all over the world into its workforce. Its products include WPML – a translation plugin for multi-language sites, and Toolset, a suite of plugins, which allow website developers to build functionality in a modular way. 

Jobs at On the Go Systems include developers, software engineers, and WordPress Technical Supporters. They expect several years of experience, commitment, excellent English and outstanding problem-solving skills from their employees.

Pinterest is a visual search engine where users create boards where they Pin and share images and ideas on a vast range of topics. Used by individuals and businesses to share ideas and promote their work.

The company has remote jobs and contract roles in most of their departments including engineering, admin, IT, marketing, sales, design, recruiting, measurements and insights and more. 

Their careers page says they offer flexible vacation times, comprehensive health benefits, retirement plans, personal and professional development resources, discounts and perks.

Where: Global

This award-winning technology firm may have more than 100 offices but they are also serious about providing remote options. They have hundreds of remote opportunities scattered across the globe.

In order to keep Red Hatters happy and productive, the company offers  flexible scheduling, opportunities for career growth, health and well-being initiatives, and even associate recognition programs.

“The Front Page of The Internet” is based in San Francisco but does offer remote roles. While some departments seem to have limited remote roles, the company does seem to hire plenty of homeworkers for engineering, finance, marketing, legal, and HR.

SalesForce specializes in customer relationship management and has been on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies several times. Despite having over 130 offices scattered across the globe, the company was hiring for over 1,200 remote positions at the time of writing, making it a viable choice if you’re looking for online jobs hiring now.

While the bulk of the remote positions involved sales, there are plenty of openings in engineering, recruiting and project management. The company also has remote positions for interns.

As the market leader in enterprise application software SAP has a lot of great opportunities for those looking for tech jobs. You will have to do some searching to find the work from home roles but it is worth it to find a job at a top company which offers competitive salaries and plenty of perks.

Shutterstock

Perhaps a site you’ve become familiar with when searching for pictures, Shutterstock sometimes employs freelancers to review and edit images. You can manage your own working hours but may be expected to include weekend working time. These and a few full-time opportunities are available worldwide.

Shutterstock is also worth a look for selling photos if you’re a skilled photographer. Read this article for more information. 

Slack is another company that has benefitted from the increase in remote work. They offer a variety of work options to their employees including working from home a few days a week and fully remote positions.

A lot of the opportunities are in design and engineering but Slack seems to have remote work from home jobs available in all their departments.

Support.com

This company provides basic computer support and troubleshooting services. The majority of roles are explaining technical instructions to inexperienced computer users, so a high level of empathy is required, along with strong verbal communication skills.

Like many other companies, Support.com has decided to embrace remote work and so many new opportunities for home workers are now available.

Where: US, Mexico, India, and the Phillipines.

This 100% remote working company sells a solution that helps US businesses manage sales tax. The company advertises positions in various departments ranging from marketing to programming and development.

TaxJar is a progressive “remote first” firm, and allows workers to work from anywhere with a suitable WiFi connection.

Toggl is a time tracking and reporting service accessible over web, mobile and desktop applications. As well as openings for developers and designers, there are also editorial roles here, as well as social media marketing jobs. Based in Tallinn, Estonia, Toggl recruits remote workers all over the world.

Twitter is an online social networking site increasingly used by businesses and thought leaders around the world to communicate their ideas and promote their services. Tweets are short messages (max 280 characters) which makes them easy to scan and consume, but hard to write well.  

Twitter hires “Tweeps” in Remote, in-office and combined positions. They offer the usual benefits plus productivity allowances (to cover pens, printers etc) and provide laptops and ergonomic keyboards.

Examples of remote jobs at the time of writing include Machine Learning Engineers, Software engineers, Product managers, Designers, Backend Engineers, Business Development and more.

An API and service management platform with clients all over the world, Tyk has offices in London, Atlanta and Singapore.

With a remote first policy, Tyk offers flexible working hours, unlimited holiday and a dynamic, supportive culture.

Focused on helping organizations deliver better digital experiences to their customers, this subsidiary of Dell has received numerous awards for its employment practices. 

One of the interesting aspects of working here is that they have job rotation programs to help reignite and broaden your work experience.

If you tend to think holistically and are up for a challenge then this could be the place for you.

WP Buffs, as the name suggests, specializes in solving a variety of WordPress issues. Although it is a fairly small company it has a number of roles which are open to anyone with the right attitude and experience, regardless of location.

A company that creates workflow and automation software, Zapier is fully remote and global in its hiring outlook.

The company offers technical and business support roles. There’s a competitive benefits package and a genuine remote first culture.

Zoom meetings have become a ubiquitous part of working from home for most people. But what if you actually worked for Zoom? Zoom hires home workers for positions as varied as engineering, security, finance, customer service, and sales.

Where: US, UK, India, Singapore, Netherlands, Germany, and France.

NOTE : With many people looking for remote opportunities, jobs that are hiring at call centers with well-known companies are being snapped up quickly. It’s important to check back frequently as these are companies that normally recruit home workers regularly.

This UK breakdown company employs remote workers. With phone lines open 24/7 teleworking opportunities arise frequently. You are expected to attend a 12-week training programme before starting to work from home.

You need a designated work space and an excellent broadband connection.

While you work independently, you have a monthly one-to-one session with a manager and can ask for support if necessary 24 hours a day. The company provides all the equipment you need including a computer.

Where: UK only.

Asurion is a leading provider of device insurance and warranty services for cellphones, consumer electronics and home appliances. The company takes on remote workers in several customer services positions.

Many of these opportunities are for bilingual workers who speak English and French. You will need excellent communication skills and at least one year’s customer services experience.

Hours are negotiable but can include evening and weekend working.

Where: US and Canada.

As well providing sales and CRM solutions for clients, Close also recruits its own sales people, alongside  development and engineering staff. All of the workforce is able to work remotely.

If you are in the US there is an excellent medical policy and 401K, as well as sabbaticals after five years.

This business process services company, an offshoot of Xerox, offers a range of opportunities in data handling and customer care.

To find their remote roles, a good start is to search for “work from home.” These jobs mainly involve answering incoming calls. You must have a proven record for problem solving and the ability to multitask.

Direct Interactions

This company employs remote workers across most areas of the US. However, note that you can work here as an employee or an independent agent. Contractors don’t qualify for insurance and benefits.

Most jobs involve making and receiving customer calls from your home. Direct Interactions looks for workers with good communication skills and a strong work ethic who can work quickly to troubleshoot and resolve problems.

Most jobs are part time and the pay is around $10-12 per hour. You must be over 18 and have a High School Diploma.

Where: US – most states.

Enterprise Car Hire

Enterprise employs virtual call center reservation agents, taking incoming calls for customer enquiries and reservations. The jobs cover long hours so could likely fit around other commitments.

Some jobs are likely to require you to assist with requests for breakdown assistance. Applicants are required to provide their own equipment and there are restrictions on what is accepted in terms of tech and connectivity.

You can expect an hourly rate of around $13, and there are commissions and bonuses for sales agents.

Where: Many US states, Canada, UK, Germany, Ireland, France and Spain.

Most people are familiar with HSN, or the Home Shopping Network as it was formerly known. Well, all those customers buying from them need support. This means that HSN hires a lot of work at home customer order specialists.

If you are willing to work shifts then you should easily be able to find a position. Pay starts at $12.85 per hour and thereare automatic increases every 6 months.

Liveops offers numerous options for home-based virtual call center agents. There are openings in a number of areas including insurance, health care and tech support.

You will need a quiet work area, a wired phone and fast internet. You must be a legal US citizen and are required to undergo a background and credit check. You can schedule your hours around other commitments.

LiveWorld employs agents working in a range of customer services positions. These are not telephone positions – they are primarily online chat-based. The company provides services in a number of languages. You are required to take language tests and provide writing samples.

You must be a fluent English speaker with experience in online moderation, as well as call centre experience. A college degree is preferred. You need high-speed internet access and a strong knowledge of social media platforms.

There are also some remote engineering positions available to those in the US.

KellyConnect

KellyConnect hires home workers to provide customer service over the phone and via online tools. Although the work might not seem to be very different from other customer service jobs it is worth noting that KellyConnect frequently appears on lists of the top companies with work from home positions.

The company even pays you for your training at a not too shabby rate of $13.50.

Sitel Group

Sitel’s customer service jobs involve dealing with calls relating to a wide range of sectors including health care, communications and tech support. Tasks include managing billing inquiries, dealing with customer accounts and processing orders.

You will need previous customer services and sales experience, and excellent verbal and listening skills. This work can be fast-paced.

Full and part-time employment is available, and you receive full training at home. There are also some remote management positions available in the US.

Where: Primarily US.

Not all customer experience companies that are hiring right now are expressly looking for customer service roles.

There are plenty of tech and recruitments jobs on offer and the support roles often have interesting twists, such as ESPN Fantasy Sports Support Specialist.

TTEC is another global company that works to improve the interactions customers have with major brands. Among the current 347 work from home job listings there are a wide array of opportunities aside from Customer Service Representative.

This residential moving and self-storage company hires remote workers in various customer service and sales roles, in departments such as reservations and roadside assistance. You need to complete a training course on site before you start working at home.

You will need a quiet work space, fast internet connection and strong knowledge of the Windows operating systems.

Experience is preferred but not always essential. Many roles are part time and involve unsocial hours. We noticed some seasonal opportunities for jobs hiring from home too.

Working Solutions

Working Solutions was one of the first virtual workforce companies in history. They have thousands of independent agents from a vast array of backgrounds, and a diverse range of clients who outsource work to them.

You must take an assessment when you apply, which includes written and verbal questions and an aptitude test. You can schedule your own hours to work around other commitments. Full and part time roles are available.

The majority of healthcare companies that hire home workers are only looking for staff within the country in which they operate. So, if you do not find anything in the list below, we suggest you check the websites of the largest healthcare companies in your country.

Anthem employs over 35,000 professionals across the US. The company offers medical and health roles, as you would expect, but also has many openings in sales, business support, data analysis, and customer service.

You should search for “remote” jobs on the site in order to find those for which they hire home workers.

This leading health care benefits company employs remote workers in a number of roles. Medical advisors must hold the appropriate qualifications and have clinical experience. Jobs are available at all levels and include senior management positions.

Training takes place at company offices. Some roles, despite being home based, require applicants to live within a certain distance of a specific office.

There are additional benefits available alongside basic salary, dependent on the role applied for.

Dict8 is a leading provider of UK-based medical transcription and digital dictation services. Their systems are used by a large number of healthcare trusts, GP surgeries, private practices and other health-based organisations around the UK.

Dict8 employs transcribers with significant experience of working as full-time medical audio secretaries within the NHS. You will require a reference from either a consultant or previous line manager.

You are paid per line of transcription on a monthly basis.

This medical transcription company hires contractors with at least two years previous experience in a hospital or clinical environment (hence us listing this opportunity under healthcare, rather than transcription!)

Hours are flexible, and full and part-time roles are available. On application you must complete an online qualification form and provide your current resume . You will also have to take typing and medical terminology tests.

There is 24-hour support available and all the software you need is provided.

HealthCatalyst

HealthCatalyst aims to transform healthcare through data.

Some experience of working in the health sector is useful, but by no means necessary for all roles. A significant number of the remote openings are for analytics engineers.

The company has received a lot of attention recently for its emphasis on work-life balance, corporate culture, and the benefits it offers employees.

Around 47% of the workforce of this Kentucky based healthcare company work remotely. The career areas include clinical jobs, customer care, tech and analytics, and corporate positions. This means that there are plenty of opportunities even if you do not have much experience in the health sector.

The company even has a number of programs for undergraduate and graduate students.

iMedX work in the sector of health information and clinical documentation in the US. The company offers flexible part-time, full-time and weekend working patterns. Their remote working opportunities allow for virtual attendance at meetings too, so no trips to offices are required.

At the time of writing the work from home jobs hiring now are coding related but we’ve seen medical language specialists and registrar positions come up recently too.

Where: US Only.

Parexel offers biopharmaceutical services to clients in more than 100 countries. The majority of home based roles are therefore in research, science, medical and health fields.

If you have experience in these fields then Parexel is a good place to start your search for a work from home opportunity. The company looks for ingenuity and technical expertise and there are lots of roles available. While the majority are in the US there’s no shortage of opportunities in other countries, as this is one of the few health ‘work from home’ companies that are hiring around the world.

United Health Group

In this world-leading health and wellbeing company, over 25% of the workforce work from home. The company looks for driven employees with excellent time management skills who are able to prioritize tasks and work to strict deadlines.

Interested parties usually take part in a recruitment chat as the first stage of the process before applying. You will need excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Proven experience is required, along with at least a bachelor’s degree.

Where: Global but the majority of telecommuting opportunities are in the US.

Backpacker Travel

Backpacker Travel is a website and community that focuses on helping adventurous travellers find ways to journey to far-flung places worldwide. 

The remote-first site offers backpackers and travellers the chance to write and work while they travel. Most positions are flexible and freelance and so don’t share employee benefits. 

Their positions include a variety of roles, from sales and marketing to editorial and research. You’ll need to be fluent in English and have access to a computer and a high-speed internet connection. 

One of the largest cruise specialist companies in the world, this company offers home working opportunities for salespeople, support agents and customer service agents.

The company looks specifically for people with existing cruise industry experience. A second language is an advantage. Pays a basic salary plus commission. Applicants must complete a back-ground check.

Note that these jobs specifically mention selling insurance, so appear to lean more towards sales than customer service. They have jobs that are hiring now for Cruise Sales Agents

Where: US but some states are excluded.

Dollar Flight Club

This  “travel hacking” company has a remote team, based all over the world, that finds cheap flights for its members.

Ideal for those who are looking for good travel benefits along with remote working.

Hertz often recruits for home-based positions. We’ve seen roles for sales reps and reservation agents in the past, but at the time of writing a search yielded some supervisory and management roles as well.

Hertz is a huge company, so it’s well worth checking their listings regularly.

Where: US, Canada, UK.

Hilton Hotels

This worldwide hotel chain hires home-workers as reservation agents and customer care co-ordinators. You need previous sales experience and at least a high school diploma. Jobs are available in a number of US states.

The job and associated training is all done remotely. Salary and other incentives are the same as for onsite employees. Most of the equipment you need is provided, though you will need a landline and a quiet workspace.

Although there were no homeworking openings available at the time of writing, the Hilton Reservations and Customer Care Work From Home program is a clear indication of their dedication to hiring home workers during normal times.

Where: US – some states only.

This airline offers remote working opportunities for customer support. You need to attend training on-site at a base in Utah or Orlando before beginning to work from home.

You need to have at least two years’ experience of customer service. Pay is at entry level but there are additional bonuses and travel discounts on offer too.

Where: US (must be able to travel for training).

Thanks to COVID restrictions forcing education to go remote this is an area that is booming. The number of  legitimate work from home jobs hiring now seems to grow constantly. We have included some top picks in this list but you will quickly find that a little digging unveils plenty more opportunities.

The growth of online learning has seen Articulate go from strength to strength, allowing people to create their own courses and offering a huge array of subjects to people all over the world.

There are plenty of remote work from home jobs available including areas such as sales, product, design and software. 

Where: US, UK and the Philippines.

Connections Academy

This virtual education company hires education professionals in both teaching and non-teaching roles. They are particularly keen to hire those with specialist skills in specific subjects, as well as counsellors and administrators.

You should search for “home-based” jobs. Requirements for teaching can vary from state to state and you may require specific additional qualifications or licenses.

Where: US – certain states only.

This huge education training services provider offers opportunities for teachers and instructors, and also sometimes advertises remote jobs in marketing and customer services.

Strong written and oral communication skills are required for all positions. You will need at least a bachelor’s degree and to have a proven track record of working to deadlines.

For a more detailed profile of Kaplan, click here .

Mango Languages

Mango is a Language Learning app that mixes listening, speaking, reading and writing activities to help people learn more than 70 languages. 

They offer jobs for both company employees and contractors to keep the app working smoothly. These include language content writers, product development, and marketing roles.

Stride, until recently known as K12, offers teaching opportunities via a digital learning platform. It supports over one million home-educated students.

Stride often has vacancies both for teaching staff and support workers. Teaching staff must have the relevant teacher certification (often state-specific), at least three years’ experience, and strong written and verbal communication skills.

Study.com  

Study.com’s mission is to make education accessible and affordable to millions of global students, because information is the “ultimate equalizer and… the key to upward mobility.” 

In 2021, Study.com was ranked 10th on the Virtual Vocations’ Top 25 Best Partners for Remote Work list and offers flexible hours, reliable payments twice a month, and support from its in-house team. 

Study.com regularly hires teachers, tutors, writers, reviewers and editors and offers a mix of remote and freelance contract work for experts in many education areas including accounting, writing, business, science, math, literature and more.

Teaching roles require a related bachelor’s degree (or higher) and teaching experience. Writers, reviewers and editors – require a degree or equivalent work experience and you should be able to demonstrate your skills and experience in writing or working with online content.

This leading international learning company based in London offers opportunities throughout the world in a wide range of educational services. They offer flexible working in a wide range of educational fields and several jobs are entirely or mostly home-based. Many roles require a degree and classroom experience.

Aside from the educational positions you can also find remote work in fields such as sales, customer service, and engineering.

Where: Global but the bulk of the home working positions are in the US.

Rosetta Stone

This educational software and online education company hires native speakers to facilitate language classes for students of all levels. You must have internet access from your home PC, and be available to work at least 10 hours per week.

Hours are flexible and may include evenings and weekends. You can expect to earn around $15 per hour.

Created to provide expert assistance to students in colleges, universities and K-12 schools, Tutor.com offers the opportunity to work from home by tutoring in one of the more than 200 academic subjects and test preparation areas they provide.

This might seem like a simple job to apply for but the company is very serious about the quality of its tutors and so only 1.5% of all applicants make it through the rigorous testing process to become qualified as tutors.

This English language-learning services company offers ESL services to children in China, providing a high-quality English education for children up to eight years of age. The company hires online ESL teachers that can work remotely from anywhere.

Working hours are flexible and hourly rates are from $14-22. You need at least a Bachelors’ Degree, and application is through the VIKID website. We have a full review of VIPKid here .

Note that unlike some companies that hire home workers on this list, VIPKid doesn’t employ staff directly – teachers work for them on a freelance basis. There are more freelance teaching opportunities here. 

Secretarial staff are a necessity at almost every company but the companies that hire home workers primarily for secretarial work are usually selling their services to other companies. This can make the work both more interesting and more complicated. However, it’s worth noting that most of the work from home companies hiring secretaries only work in North America.

This US company offers working from home opportunities for virtual assistants, bookkeepers, and social media strategists. Note that many of these are contractor positions so you would be working for yourself and responsible for your own benefits and insurance.

Pay is on the lower end of the scale but the company does receive very high reviews for its corporate culture.

This remote staffing company offers flexible, long-term positions as executive assistants, marketing and social media specialists, or legal assistants. What makes Boldly different is that they hire home workers in the US as a W2 employee rather than as a freelance contractor. The pay is also pretty good at around $20 per hour.

Where: US (23 states) and UK.

Profit Factory

This company helps business owners grow their businesses by helping them to break free from some of the day to day responsibilities. It also provides educational and consulting services.

The main job opportunity here is as a virtual assistant.

Where: North America.

This digital marketing and customer service outsourcer offers opportunities in phone support, email, web chat, social media and other digital channels. SYKES offers opportunities for remote work in over 40 US states, as well as in Canada.

Positions are available in customer services, as team leaders and in support roles. Previous experience is always an advantage. There are also specific opportunities for bilingual applicants.

As is the case with secretarial work, companies that hire home workers primarily for writing, translation or transcription work are most likely offering said services to other businesses.

Allegis Transcription

Allegis offers a range of transcription services to small and medium sized businesses. You must be experienced and able to produce high quality accurate transcripts. These positions are for people working on a freelance basis, and you can choose jobs most suited to your knowledge and abilities.

You need your own computer and a reliable high-speed internet connection. Training is provided. You will need to show you have excellent spelling, grammar and punctuation skill, and the ability to type at 75 words per minute.

For more information on getting into online transcription, read our detailed guide here. 

BKA Content  

BKA Content offers content writing services to businesses that need blog, marketing and other content regularly or as one-off jobs. 

The company often has writing positions for US-based internet article writers who can provide high-quality, original content. They ask for honest, dependable writers with an excellent grasp of English at a college level, who can write at least 3000 words per week. Choose your assignments from the available options, set your schedule and get paid per article.

Where: US only

Cactus is a global medical communications company. Their philosophy is that their remote workers are as important as their office-based ones. Cactus has opportunities for skilled writers and editors in a variety of academic fields.

Full-time home-based working hours are available. Full training is provided. You will need a bachelor’s degree, excellent written English skills and a good understanding of MS Word and Excel.

As we discuss in our beginner’s guides to writing , full time writing work is hard to find, so this is an interesting opportunity.

If you’re not familiar with FlexJobs, we have a huge review of the company here . However, that focuses on how to find jobs using the platform rather than working directly for the company.

FlexJobs is fully remote, but jobs are primarily in the United States, with some requiring you to be in a particular state which is great if you’re in the US and  looking for “at home jobs near me.” 

There are roles to suit a variety of skills, including career coaches and job description writers. You will also find plenty of technical and marketing jobs.

Grow and Convert

Grow and Convert is a content marketing agency and consultancy, hiring content writers and analysts on a remote, contract basis.

Though most of their clients are US based the jobs are fully remote and contract based. The Business Writer role is paid on a fixed-price-per-article basis.

LanguageLine

This language services company provides a range of telephone services as well as document translation and remote video interpretation. Opportunities are available for remote staff in a range of interpreting and translation roles. The company provides services in over 200 languages and dialects.

Where: US, UK and Canada.

As one of the largest communications platforms, Lionsbridge is a company that hires homeworkers for lots of roles. The key thing here is to be clear on whether it is a contractor position or not.

Although it is perhaps best known for offering freelance translation work, the company also hires gamers, raters, annotators and testers. Or maybe you would prefer to be a corporate associate helping with the running of the company itself.

Responsive Translation Services

This company specialises in medical and legal translation. There are also opportunities to work in real-time interpretation. Headquarters are in the US, but they also have overseas offices in Europe and South America.

Many positions are home based. A variety of positions in sales and management were available also, when we looked. You will need previous experience and good technical ability too.

Where: US ,South America and Europe.

This company has multiple opportunities on offer. There’s work in transcription – both video and audio , video captioning and document translation. The company takes people on on a contract basis, with successful applicants working freelance from home.

Rev has been estabished for nine years and has a global reputation. There are many leading brands among its customers . You will need your own computer and fast internet connection, and can tailor your hours to suit your situation.

Rev is still accepting applications but there could be a waitlist due to the number of freelancers applying.

This online transcription company works with over 65,000 legal, government, law enforcement and private sector clients. They employ independent typists on a freelance basis. They are actively looking for transcriptionists with Legal, General or Spanish transcription experience.

You need a typing speed of at least 60wpm. You must have at least a year of transcription and word processing experience in an office environment, and must also have specific experience of the creation of formal letters, memos and reports.

Open to fluent English speakers only.

Where: US (except California) and Canada.

It might surprise you to learn that positions in financial companies that hire home workers are not always limited to just one country. Then again, not all financial companies are focused on accounting and taxes.

AccountingDepartment.com

This Company provides opportunities for remote workers to provide accounting and book keeping assistance. You will need previous experience. Applicants are required to undergo book keeping tests and the success rate for applicants is only one in four.

You need to provide your own computer and phone line. You will also need a quiet working space as much of the work is on the phone.

AccountingDepartment.com has a notably positive Glassdoor rating from previous workers.

American Express

This leading financial services company has a wide variety of remote jobs hiring at any one time. The roles can range from customer service roles up to senior IT department positions. American Express works 24/7 so there are sometimes opportunities for those needing to work unsocial hours.

FlexJobs has an information page on the American Express home working jobs here.

Citizens Bank

It may be one of the oldest financial institutions in the US but Citizens Bank has definitely kept up with the times. It has won multiple employer awards and has an impressive number of work from home opportunities. Most are positions related to finance and mortgages but there are several admin and IT roles available as well.

JP Morgan Chase

This global financial services company offers plenty of opportunities for remote workers. There are typically remote roles on offer in various departments including account management, sales, marketing and IT.

Applicants must have experience in their chosen field and a relevant bachelor’s degree. Due to a large number of jobs available, finding suitable home-based roles on the website can take some effort.

This company is looking to hire financial nerds to help people make financial decisions with confidence.

This somewhat unusual financial company has offices in San Francisco, New York and the UK but are now offering the majority of jobs as fully remote from anywhere in the US.

A $20bn electronic payment startup, headquartered in San Francisco, California, Stripe has been a big success story in recent years. Stripe’s product supports payments from small websites, right up to the likes of household names like Lyft.

Although Stripe is a global company it currently only hires home workers in the US. All jobs offer health insurance, parental leave and stock options.

Supporting Strategies

This company hires home workers on a part-time and full-time basis in order to provide outsourced bookkeeping and back-office support to a wide variety of industries.

You will need a bachelor’s degree and five or more years of bookkeeping/accounting experience to become a Financial Operations Associate but the company does provide equipment, training and support.

Xapo is a digital Bitcoin-friendly bank that exists to help its customers protect their wealth from economic and political instability and crises. The bank is a platform that bridges the gap between traditional financial institutions and the digital currencies of the future.

The bank is committed to working hard, thinking globally and inspiring its people to learn and grow. It offers positions in Data, Design, Engineering, Finance, Product and the Xapo Talent Community. 

YNAB (YouNeedABudget)

YNAB is a fully remote company offering budgeting software for individuals and companies. The workforce is global, but US-based staff gain W2 employee status. Elsewhere, you work as a contractor, but the YNAB site insists that all staff are treated the same regardless of location.

Where: Global, Remote

Many people have the misconception that a Not for Profit cannot pay well – that is not the case. These companies usually place values above money and one of the things that they value are their employees. That makes not-for-profits some of the best work from home companies around, so don’t hesitate to check them out.

350 is a global climate pressure group, primarily involved in lobbying and campaigning.

Great for those with a passion for conservation and climate issues, 350 specifically looks for remote workers with experience in campaigning and fundraising.

Civic Actions

Civic Actions works with a variety of governmental organisations, helping them move more of their services to digital alternatives.

The team is primarily remote, with some roles limited to physical locations, and offers good benefits.

Ghost is a company that is focused on creating free open-source software to support sustainable journalism. This fully remote company hires workers for content writing and design as well as the more obvious engineering, product, and marketing roles.

Not all the companies that hire home workers fit into neat little categories – which is a good thing. People and jobs come in all shapes and sizes and that is what makes the world an interesting place. If you have a particular passion it can be worthwhile having a hunt to see if you can find work in that field. In the meantime, here are the best of the rest when it comes to finding companies hiring work from home contractors and remote employees.

24 Seven Talent

Established in 2000, 24 Seven Talent is a global recruitment company. It recruits workers for firms around the world but also offers remote and freelance contract jobs within its own company. 

The female-founded company promotes a diverse and inclusive workplace, offering competitive benefits and perks to its employees.

A quick search at the time of writing turned up a diverse range of remote and freelance jobs advertised (mainly in the US), including: Project Invoice Coordinator, Digital Designer, Inventory Admin, Production artist, and even a Broadcast Producer (though I’m guessing that’s a job that would get you out and about.)

ABC Fitness Solutions

This company provides software solutions to the fitness industry in order to help fitness clubs and professionals put their clients first.

As you might expect, the company hires home workers for tech, sales, and customer service roles.

This popular music platform helps artists get their music to new audiences, for a small fee of course.

Bandcamp is a fully remote company but if you would rather get out of your home they will pay for co-working spaces. The only requirement is that you have a strong wi-fi connection and can overlap with the GMT-7 time zone for four hours a day. Job openings tend to get filled pretty quickly and some positions are only open for inside hires so, if this interests you, make sure to keep an eye on their jobs page.

BuzzFeed  

BuzzFeed Inc, is a digital media company that sends up-to-the-minute video, audio and written content about food, news, pop culture and more to millions around the world. Their brands include BuzzFeed, Complex Networks and HuffPost.

The company promotes diversity, inclusion and authenticity in their workplace and offer benefits for health, 401K plans, paid holidays and opportunities for career development. BuzzFeed offers a mix of location specific and remote jobs in Admin, Business, Writing and Technology. If you’re interested in working for BuzzFeed but the right job isn’t there when you look, keep in touch with them by joining their Talent Community .

Providing online legal services to startups, Clerky has a variety of fully remote and co-located roles.

Aside from offering flexible hours and health insurance, the company is committed to the ongoing education of its employees.

Billing (sorry) itself as “the search engine that doesn’t track you” DuckDuckGo is an international company that offers a variety of remote jobs.

The majority of remote jobs available are naturally in engineering, product, and development roles. Unlike most companies, it was nice to see that most openings were worldwide remote rather than specific to a particular region.

Most of our readers are probably more familiar with GoDaddy from checking them out as a possible hosting service when starting a blog but they also hire a lot of home workers.

In fact, they had 86 job openings for home workers in multiple fields and in locations all over the globe at the time of writing.

If you have a knowledge of moderating forums and managing online communities, and a love of social media, this is a freelance business opportunity that could be of interest. You can choose hours and projects that suit you and your lifestyle. Some jobs are evening/night work.

You will need fast internet and a quiet workspace.

Nielson provides companies with information on what people listen to and watch in order to help them understand their audience. So it is hardly surprising to find that the company hires a lot of remote research interviewers.

There are plenty of opportunities if you live in the US and Nielson has now added a lot more global opportunities although some of these are listed as being remote only on a temporary basis. So, make sure to read the job post carefully to ensure that it really is a long-term home working position.

This well-known global company is a leading player in healthcare, electronics, and various other sectors. Philips employs over 100,000 staff across the globe, and these include numerous remote staff in many countries.

You need a bachelor’s degree for some positions and medical experience is a particular advantage for some roles. Local language skills are usually a must.

There are many jobs available on the website, which can be overwhelming, but searches for “home based” and “remote” usually yield results.

Shopify is a platform that enables independent business owners to start and scale their markets online. They have over 7000 employees who build the tools that help businesses make over 200 billion in sales in 175 countries. 

The company has an intensive hiring process which aims to find the very best work-anywhere people. After submitting your application, you’ll get an initial call. You will also need to do some technical exercises (depending on the role.) You progress to Life Story, a one-hour conversational interview with a professional recruiter if those go well. Finally, you meet some of your future co-workers, who will then give feedback on how they feel you’ll fit into their team. 

Shopify offers a wide variety of potential jobs. Its teams include everything from Business and Development to Financial, Legal, Engineering, UX, Customer Support and more. 

Splice is another company which is likely to appeal to music lovers. It has positioned itself at the leading edge of the digital revolution in the music industry and offers full-time positions and internships.

Although a significant number of job openings are for its office in New York, Splice does offer many remote positions, especially in engineering.

Love fashion? Stitch Fix is looking to revolutionize the retail shopping experience by helping men and women find clothing that fits their tastes and lifestyle.

As you would expect, there are oportunities to work as stylists but this company actually has loads of job postings for remote work in other fields as well.

Where: US and UK.

Twilio is a PaaS company focused on communication. If you are passionate about helping people connect and are technically inclined then this could be a great fit.

The company is proud of its flexible work environment and is currently offering several fully remote positions.

Upwork is a freelancer work marketplace that helps match freelancers from all over the world with the people who need their skills. 

(You can find many articles about Upwork on our site as we feel it’s an excellent place for many new freelancers to begin their new careers.) 

But, as well as finding jobs on Upwork, the company also employs many remote workers to run its business. Teams include Design and UX, Analytics, Engineering, Finance and Accounting, HR, IT, Legal, Marketing and more. 

Upwork’s hiring process includes an easy-to-complete application form, review, and interviews. After that, the recruiter decides and, potentially, offers you either an Open Corp position or a Contract Role.

Voxne st / Spreaker

Voxnest connects podcast producers and advertisers.

Though fully remote, and offering yearly meet-ups, roles seem to be European time zone only, and include support roles and other customer focussed jobs.

Where: European time zone.

This unique company takes on independent 1099 contractors close to retirement age, giving them the opportunity to continue their working lives remotely. WAHVE places such people with firms looking for knowledgable and experienced workers.

It’s great for people who wish to extend their working lives but without the daily commute. WAHVE specialises in roles within the accounting, human resources and insurance sectors.

Household-name Xerox has over 8000 employees working from home, providing a range of services including customer care, tech support, quality control and programming. Some specific opportunities are available for bilingual applicants.

Required experience and qualifications vary, but excellent computer skills are always essential. Xerox’s job search functionality is rather clunky, so uncovering the remote roles can take some work!

Find out what FlexJobs has to say about the telecommuting jobs at Xerox here .

• We’ve made a big effort to ensure that all the information in this guide is accurate. However, we obviously have no control over the companies listed here, or their websites and recruitment plans. As such, please feel free to contact us if any of the opportunities listed here are no longer current when you check them out. We intend to keep the guide regularly updated.
• If your company is looking to recruit home workers and you would like to be added to the list, please contact us about that too.  Similarly, if your company is already listed here and you feel the details are inaccurate, please put us straight!
• This list is intended as helpful information. A mention of a company doesn’t represent a recommendation to work for it. Always do your own research.
• We’re always delighted to hear of people’s experiences of working for any of these companies that hire home workers. Feel free to discuss them in the comments. 
• For help getting your resumé and LinkedIn up to scratch, check out this software .

Still want more online jobs? Check out this EPIC article! Or go to our mammoth review of Upwork vs. Fiverr and Freelancer vs. PeoplePerHour to learn more about these popular freelancing job platforms.

A mother of four and a grandmother to five more, it’s little surprise home working opportunities are often on Rosalyn’s agenda. Here she reviews opportunities and interviews people with their own successful ventures. She’s also the founder’s sister, but it doesn’t earn her any special privileges!

Empowering Informal Workers, Securing Informal Livelihoods

• Informal economy
• Occupational Groups
• Home-Based Workers

Home-based workers and COVID-19

News: home-based workers and their allies launched a global network in february 2021, read about it here . homenet international (hni) unites the voices of membership-based organizations in africa, latin america, south asia, and south-east asia., statistical snapshot, driving forces & working conditions, policies & programmes, organization & voice, invisible but vital to value chains of production.

Home-based workers produce goods or services in or near their homes for local, domestic or global markets. Some work in the new economy (such as assembling micro-electronics or providing IT services), others in the old (in textiles, garments and weaving, for example).

Home-based work represents a significant share of total employment in some countries, especially in Asia, where two-thirds of the world's 260 million home-based workers are located. Globally, 147 million (57%) are women, who must juggle their income-earning activities alongside childcare and domestic responsibilities.

Across all industries, home-based work is a growing global phenomenon found in rich and poor countries. Yet while this massive workforce is vital to many supply chains, these workers are often invisible. 

Two Types of Home-based Workers

• Self-employed home-based workers assume all the risks of being independent operators. They buy their own raw materials, supplies and equipment and pay utility and transport costs. They usually sell their goods and services locally, but sometimes sell to international markets. Most do not hire others but may have unpaid contributing family members working with them.
• Sub-contracted home-based workers (called homeworkers or industrial outworkers) are contracted by individual entrepreneurs, factories or firms, often through an intermediary. To cut costs and maximize profits, firms outsource production to those who work in their own homes. Advances in technology have also facilitated the outsourcing of production ( Chen, Sebstad and O’Connell 1999 ;  Raju 2013 ). Homeworkers may not know what firm they are doing work for or where the goods will be sold. Typically, they are paid by the piece and do not sell the finished products themselves. While homeworkers might be given the raw materials to work on, they have to cover many costs of production: workplace, equipment, electricity and supplies. 

Common challenges include irregular and/or cancelled work orders, rejected goods, delayed payments and unreliable supplies of raw materials (particularly for the sub-contracted) and fluctuating demand and rising input prices (particularly for the self-employed). Both groups face challenges related to the fact that their homes double as workplaces, including small size, poor quality, insecure tenure and lack of basic infrastructure services. The net result is that both groups tend to have low earnings. Read more about home as a workplace on this dedicated web page.

Industries and Sectors

Historically, home-based work involved labour-intensive activities in garments , textiles and footwear manufacturing, as well as skilled artisan and craft production. Baking, the cooking of ready food, and brewing, as well mechanical and other repair activities have also historically been common home-based worker activities. Many home-based producers double up as street or market vendors to sell what they produce. 

Today, home-based work is also found in high-end modern industries, including manufacturing of airline and automobile parts, assembly work in electronics, and packaging work in pharmaceuticals. In developed countries especially, clerical and higher-skilled work in information technology, telecommunication, telemarketing and technical consulting may be home-based.

Though home-based workers are employed across all industries and sectors,  the majority work in either Services & Sales or Craft & Trades : especially in developing and emerging countries (Bonnet, Carré, Chen and Vanek 2021).

Contributions

WIEGO's Informal Economy Monitoring Study (IEMS) provided critical insight on home-based workers in Ahmedabad (India), Bangkok (Thailand) and Lahore (Pakistan). It found home-based workers make significant contributions to their households, society, and the economy.

• Their earnings keep their households out of extreme poverty.
• While working from home, they can care for children and the elderly and maintain the quality of family life.
• They are important to the social cohesion of their communities.
• Since these workers do not commute daily and often rely on bicycles, walking or public transit, they reduce emissions and congestion.
• Self-employed home-based workers provide goods and services at a low cost to the public.
• They are economic agents who leave their homes to buy supplies, raw materials, and equipment, and who pay for transport and basic infrastructure services.
• They pay taxes on raw materials, supplies and equipment they purchase.
• Firms up the chain that sell their finished goods often charge sales taxes, adding to the public coffers.
• Many informal home-based workers have links to formal firms: buying their supplies from, selling goods to or producing for formal firms.

Based on data drawn from the ILOSTAT Database of over 100 countries from 2000-2019, these global estimates demonstrate the recent improvements in collecting official data on home-based workers (see Issues in counting this invisible workforce , below). This is crucial to bringing visibility to this massive unseen workforce. 

Globally, 260 million women and men produce goods or provide services from in or around their homes:

• 224 million (86%) are in developing and emerging countries
• 35 million (14%) are in developed countries.

See also:   Statistical Insights on Home-Based Workers in the World

Global, Regional, National and City-Level Data

WIEGO has produced a series of Statistical Briefs that provide data on the numbers, working arrangements and characteristics of home-based workers. A statistical brief based on ILO data for over 100 countries provides global, regional and sub-regional statistics on home-based workers. A set of statistical briefs for four countries in Southern Asia present detailed data on home-based workers at national, urban and rural levels. In addition, a set of statistical briefs on all informal workers in several countries include data on home-based workers at the national, urban and city levels.

Almost two-thirds (65%) of the world’s home-based workers – a total of 168 home-based workers – are in Asia & the Pacific.

In 2017 in Thailand , almost 10 per cent of the workforce – some 3.7 million people – are engaged in home-based work. The majority of them are women, and over 70% work informally (Poonsab, Vanek and Carré 2019). 

In Bangladesh , the 10.6 million home-based workers (2016/17 Labour Force Survey) represented 17 per cent of total employment (Koolwal and Vanek 2020).

In India , there were an estimated 49.2 million home-based workers in 2011/12. By 2017/18, the number decreased to 41.9. million. This reflected a drop from 10.5 per cent, or 9.1 per cent of total employment (Raveendran 2020).

In Pakistan , the number of home-based workers increased from 3.6 million in 2013/14 to 4.4 million in 2017/18, while the share of home-based workers in total employment remained at around 7 per cent. The number of women home-based workers increased, while the number of men declined. (Akhtar 2020).

Over 14% of the world's home-based workers are in sub-Saharan Africa: a total of 38.3 million home-based workers 

In  Ghana , there are nearly 1.4 million home-based workers – over one million of whom are women in their prime earning years. Virtually all of them are informal workers, and the vast majority work on their own with no employees (Baah-Boateng & Vanek 2020).

Chart: Distribution of world's home-based workers by country income groups and geographic regions

Issues in counting this invisible workforce

Challenges to collecting reliable data remain. Some countries do not include questions on "place of work" in labour force surveys and population censuses; this question is key to determining who is a home-based worker. And often, enumerators are not trained to count home-based workers, so they list these workers as doing only (unpaid) household work. Also, home-based workers may not perceive and report themselves as “employed".

The 2018 recommendation of the 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians on the International Classification of Status in Employment introduced a new category in the classification: dependent contractor . This is an important step in improving data on home-based workers, especially homeworkers. See Understanding the Statistical Term Dependent Contractor: Frequently Asked Questions for more about the concept and its importance.

WIEGO's Statistics Programme has developed guidelines for estimating home-based workers and other groups of informal workers. To develop a full statistical picture of home-based workers, information must be gathered on place of work, status in employment, type of contracts, and mode of payment ( Vanek, Chen and Raveendran 2012 ).

Developed Countries

In developed countries, home-based work is sometimes defined differently, referring to those who telecommute (“work remotely”) from home for all or part of their work time as well as those who base their business at home. Self-employed professionals, freelancers, employees as well as digital platform workers who work from their homes are more common in higher-income countries. COVID-19 restrictions have led to a dramatic increase in working from home . For some, telecommuting ("working remotely") is a job-related benefit that provides flexibility. For others, however, home-based work may be associated with precarity, lower-quality conditions of employment, or a different employment arrangement (e.g. own-account self-employment). 

The prevalence of home-based work is likely to grow. In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic, large numbers of the world’s workforce started working from home and joined the 35.4 million workers in developed countries who had already been working from home as of 2019. As the ILO has noted: “Working from home will undoubtedly take on greater relevance in the future.” (ILO 2020, p. 13)

Low Earnings and Long Hours

Several factors, including financial need, drive home-based workers to do this work. Home-based workers’ earnings play a critical role in meeting basic family needs.

However, home-based workers earn very little, on average – particularly sub-contracted homeworkers, who are paid by the piece and depend on contractors or middlemen for work orders and payments. See IEMS study for a table on piece rates for different types of sub-contracted home-based work.

The WIEGO statistical brief on home-based work globally found that those in poorer countries generally worked longer hours than those in developed countries. In fact, while only 15 per cent of women and 28 per cent of men in developed countries worked 49 or more hours per week, in developing countries, 31 per cent of women and 44 per cent of men worked such long hours. In emerging countries, the percentages were even higher at 32 per cent of women and 54 per cent of men (Bonnet, Carre, Vanek and Chen 2021). (It is important to note that the data looked at only remunerative work; in most instances women also have the responsibility for child care and domestic responsibilities.)

In the IEMS study sample, many home-based workers reported that they suffered body aches and pains due to their long working hours.

Impact of Global Pandemic and Economic Crisis

The COVID-19 crisis has devastated many traditional home-based workers, leaving them with no income for months. A WIEGO-led study in 11 cities around the world found that most home-based workers were the least able to work during the peak lockdowns and restrictions in April 2020 and the slowest to recover by mid-2020: compared to domestic workers, street vendors/market traders and waste pickers in the sample. Read more about home-based workers during COVID-19 here or in WIEGO Working Paper No.42: COVID-19 and Informal Work: Distinct Pathways of Impact and Recovery in 11 Cities Around the World .

COVID-19 was not the first crisis to hit home-based workers hard. The global economic crisis that began in 2008 made it harder for home-based workers to make a living. In 2009 and 2010, home-based workers producing for global value chains experienced a sharp decline in their work orders. The self-employed home-based workers faced increased competition; many reduced their prices to remain competitive. Expansion of retail chains has also created serious competition for local enterprises. See Informal Economy/Links with Economic Crisis .

Homeworkers in Global Value Chains

Many multinational firms based in the global North outsource production to factories and homeworkers scattered across countries. Links between the homeworker and the lead firm are usually mediated by suppliers and their contractors and, thus, remain obscure. This can make it difficult to negotiate rates or receive payment for completed work. This case offers an illustration:

When a trade union organizer in Canada tried to help one immigrant Chinese garment worker get her back wages, she found that the garment worker did not know whom she worked for … the man who dropped off raw materials and picked up finished garments drove an unmarked van. When the garment worker eventually found a tag with a brand label on it among her raw materials, the trade union activist was able to trace the “label” from a retail firm in Canada to a manufacturing firm in Hong Kong to an intermediary in Canada: in this case, the global value chain began and ended in Canada. When the local intermediary was asked to pay the back wages due to the garment homeworker he replied: “Put me in jail, I cannot pay. The manufacturer in Hong Kong who sub-contracted production to me has not paid me in months.

Source: Stephanie Tang of UNITE, personal communication .

Home as Workplace Issues

For home-based workers, their home doubles as their workplace – and inadequate housing is a major challenge. Taking bulk work orders is not possible when there is no storage space. Work is frequently interrupted by the competing needs of other household activities. Many home-based workers meet other household demands during the day and work long hours at night, leading to exhaustion, back aches and eye strain.

Some home-based work generates dust or involves use of hazardous chemicals. However, there is often no separation between the work space and living space. This can endanger both the home-based worker and other family members, including children.

Poor quality housing leads to damaged goods and raw materials. Monsoon rains force workers to suspend or reduce production for various reasons:

• Equipment, raw materials or finished goods get damaged when roofs leak or houses flood.
• Products (e.g. incense sticks and plastic) cannot dry due to leaks and humidity.
• Work orders are reduced due to decreased demand and/or difficulties associated with transport during the rains.

Read more about home as a workplace on this dedicated web page. 

Capital, Technology and Infrastructure Deficits

Most home-based workers not only provide their own workplace, but also pay for the equipment and electricity they use. These business costs plus their irregular and low pay means that most home-based workers lack the ability to save and to invest in improved technology, working capital or training.    

Basic infrastructure deficiencies such as electricity shortages further hinder productivity, while utility costs eat into available income. Home-based workers must travel to markets or to pick up raw materials and drop off finished products. Many must walk long distances or rely on public transportation or other forms of transport such as rickshaws. The costs of transport further reduce their earnings. All of these factors undermine their productivity. 

Home-Based Workers and the Law

The legal regulatory environment for home-based work is uncertain. In most countries, the self-employed are not recognized as independent operators, while sub-contracted homeworkers are not recognized as dependent workers. WIEGO's page on Garment Workers offers more details.

• The European Union’s Commodification of Bulgarian Homeworkers: Regulating Informal Labour in Global Production Networks by Marlese von Broembsen (WIEGO Working Paper [Law] ) by Marlese von Broembsen, 2019
• How can international brands ensure that homeworkers are treated fairly? (ETI's Leadership Series) by Marlese von Broembsen, WIEGO’s Law Programme Director (2018)

Urban Issues

Since the home doubles as the workplace, houses are an economic asset. However, too often dwellings are inadequate – too small with no storage and prone to leaking or flooding. Informal settlement clearance schemes destroy not only homes but also workplaces and livelihoods. And residents of these settlements often pay more for basic infrastructure services per unit than middle-class consumers and formal factories.

Urban Planning Imperatives

Attention needs to be paid to current and potential livelihood activities during design and upgrading of low-cost housing schemes. Zoning regulations must consider the value of home-based workers by allowing commercial activities by residents in residential areas.

Affordable and reliable basic services – especially water and electricity – are crucial to the livelihood activities of home-based workers. Some positive developments in policies have been achieved in the past two decades. 

• Nohn, Matthias. 2011. Mixed-Use Zoning and Home-Based Production in India . WIEGO Technical Brief (Urban Policies) No. 3.
• Sinha, Shalini. 2013. Housing and Urban Service Needs of Home-Based Workers: Findings from a Seven-Country Study . WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No. 15.

Home Work Convention (C177)

An international Convention on Home Work (Convention 177) was adopted by the International Labour Conference in 1996. Convention 177 ( full text ) calls for national policies to promote equality of treatment between homeworkers and other wage earners. It also specifies areas where such equality of treatment should be promoted, including inclusion in labour force statistics. 

Around the globe, home-based worker organizations are advocating to have their national governments ratify and implement C177. But more than 20 years later, only 10 countries have ratified it .  However, some countries have adopted national legislation to protect home-based workers and the regional plus global networks of home-based worker organizations, and their affiliates, continue their struggle  for decent work.

For the impact of Convention 177 after twenty years, see similarities and differences between 1996 and 2016 for homeworkers .

HomeNet Thailand, with support from WIEGO and other partners, campaigned for more than a decade to win legislative protection for homeworkers based on Convention 177. Both the Homeworkers Protection Act B.E.2553 and a social protection policy came into force in May 2011. The law mandates fair wages –including equal pay for men and women doing the same job – be paid to workers who complete work at home for an industrial enterprise. Read Winning Legal Rights for Thailand's Homeworkers (WIEGO 2013). 

Kathmandu Declaration

The Kathmandu Declaration addresses the rights of South Asian home-based workers. It was adopted in 2000 by representatives of South Asian Governments, UN agencies, NGOs and Trade Unions from five countries at a regional conference organized by UNIFEM and WIEGO and supported by the International Development Research Centre. WIEGO provided the research findings on which the Kathmandu Declaration was based. 

Tripartite Welfare Boards in India

The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) has helped improve circumstances for home-based workers by representing workers on tripartite boards with government and employer representatives. Over the past four decades, policy advocacy has led to various sectors of home-based workers, including stitchers, bidi (cigarette) rollers and agarbatti (incense stick) workers, being included in the state schedules of the Minimum Wages Act. This has increased incomes. Also, Acts such as the Bidi and Cigar Welfare Fund Act, implemented in the 1980s, provide social security schemes such as health care, child care and housing for home-based workers.

• Supporting Women Home-Based Workers: The Approach of the Self-Employed Women's Association in India (2013) by Shalini Sinha. WIEGO Policy Brief (Urban Policies) No. 13.

Because they work in isolation, organization is particularly important to the empowerment of home-based workers. But because they are isolated and often scattered, it is difficult for them to organize. Despite the challenges, a growing number of organizations and national/regional networks have formed. When home-based workers organize and have a collective voice, their ability to bargain increases. Some home-based workers also collectivize their economic activities by forming cooperatives. 

Key demands of organized home-based workers include access to social protection and child care provision; secure housing tenure and affordable water and electricity services to support productive activities; inclusive urban planning and mixed use zoning regulations; and a safe and conducive working environment. For sub-contracted homeworkers in supply chains, additional key demands are regular work orders and fair piece rates and, most fundamentally, that the ultimate brand should take responsibility for working conditions throughout the chain.  And the self-employed need support in accessing markets and fair prices..

The launch of HomeNet International in early 2021 marked an important milestone in gaining global voice and visibility.

National and Regional Networks

The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India is the world’s largest trade union of women informal workers. It has about 2 million members, about one fifth of whom are home-based workers, and has been instrumental in achieving higher wages and better working conditions for home-based workers in many industries. 

HomeNet South Asia , born out of the 2000 South Asia regional conference on home-based workers , organized by SEWA, UNIFEM and WIEGO, is a network of 60 member-based organizations (MBOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that are based in eight countries in South Asia. These include trade unions, cooperatives, producer companies, social enterprises, and NGOs that engage with home-based workers.  

HomeNet South-East Asia organizes homeworkers to democratically manage self-sustaining organizations and networks at the national and sub-regional levels that will help them achieve better working conditions and standards of living, steadier employment, and access to social protection.

PATAMABA in the Philippines is a grassroots organization run and managed by women home-based workers. It has a membership of more than 19,000 informal workers (98% women).

HomeNet Thailand represents informal workers in Thailand, including a large population of homeworkers. HomeNet Thailand was instrumental in winning legal rights for millions of homeworkers .

Home-based workers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are increasingly networking their organizations, and have formed and registered HomeNet Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The Association of Home-Based Workers in Bulgaria was registered in 2002. In Africa, a regional platform of home-based worker organizations in five countries, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda, exists. The Africa Regional Platform includes established and emerging organizations across the five countries. The platform is supported by WIEGO’s Organization and Representation Programme. 

HomeNet Kenya was launched on 10 December 2020. A Ugandan home-based workers network is in the process of registering under the name Remunerative Work Uganda.

In Latin America, a network of home-based worker organizations in Peru, Nicaragua, Chile, Brazil and Uruguay was established in 2017 with the name COTRADO-ALAC. COTRADO-ALAC is in communication with home-based worker organizations in Argentina and Mexico. COTRADO-ALAC is supported by WIEGO’s Organization and Representation Programme.

The African network and COTRADO-ALAC are associated with HomeNet International, whereas HomeNet Eastern Europe and Central Asia is not.

WIEGO Specialists

Marty Chen Senior Advisor

Marlese Von Broembsen Director, WIEGO Law Programme

Shalini Sinha India Country Representative

Vanessa Pillay Organization & Representation Programme Coordinator for Africa

Laura Raquel Morillo Santa Cruz Organization & Representation Programme Officer, Latin America

Related reading

• Homes Double as Workplaces for Many Urban Poor, especially Women by Marty Chen, 2021
• Homeworkers in Global Supply Chains: A Review of Literature by Jenna Harvey, 2019
• Related reading: Bangkok home-based workers find strength in numbers by Carlin Carr, 2016
• Myths & Facts about Home-Based Workers by Shalini Sinha, 2015
• IEMS Sector Report: Home-Based Workers by Martha A. Chen, 2014.
• Summary of IEMS findings: The Urban Informal Workforce: Home-Based Worker , WIEGO 2015.

Top photo: Weaving is a major part of the work done by home-based workers in Laos. Credit: Marty Chen

Related publications, related blog posts.

• HomeNet Thailand
• WIEGO Individual Members
• Past Board of Directors
• WIEGO Board Biographies
• WIEGO Team Bios
• News & Events
• Our Manifesto
• General Assemblies
• Annual Reports
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An Employer’s Guide to Homeworking Policy

The years 202o and 2021 saw a dramatic increase in homeworking due to COVID – 19. Homeworking is a valuable tool for the employer and also employees.

This is an effective home working guide for employers. 

What is Homeworking?

Homeworking is a form of flexible working policy that involves the use of technology to enable employees/home workers to work away from the employer’s office. In this system, employees can either be mobile, based at home, or work from home occasionally. Homeworking has benefits to the employers but it requires policies and procedures to run smoothly and that is what this guide is about.  

Types of Homeworking

Occasional homeworking.

This type of homeworking is frequent and is done on an ad-hoc basis. This can happen when there is a specific task the employee needs to do that requires concentration without regular office interruptions. This can also occur in cases of illness or adverse weather conditions. To authorize such a request the needs of the company has to be considered.

Regular Homeworking

Regular homeworking is an agreement where the employee or home worker spends more than fifty percent of their contracted time working from home. The regular homeworker is to meet certain targets that have been agreed upon with the employer. To become a regular homeworker the employee has to put in a formal request to the employer. This formal response has to be reviewed and carefully considered by the employer or HR.

Permanent Homeworking

For this type of work, the employee spends a hundred percent of their time working from home. This also includes employees that permanently visit sites from their home base. This should be included in the employee contract. This kind of contract works best where the employee has an autonomous job. A formal request has to be filed before a permanent homeworking contract can be granted.

Benefits of Having Homeworkers for the Employer

Homeworking increases productivity.

Working from home helps the homeworker to avoid the possible distractions that can occur in the office. This improves output and increases productivity. It can also improve the quality of work of homeworkers who value working from home as their work-life balance is improved. This can also lead to a greater commitment from homeworkers.

Homeworking Reduces Overhead

Having homeworkers can reduce overhead costs. If employees work from home, less office space will be used. This will, in turn, lead to a reduction in rent, utility bill and business rates. Also, if the business is expanding and needs more space it may be cost-effective to have where possible some employees work from home in order to create more space.

Homeworking for More Diverse Workforces

Having a flexible system where employees can work from home means that the firm will be able to capture a diverse group of employees. Disabled people for example or a mother will be able to get involved. This means that your firm is open to more ideas and talents. Each individual has their unique way of doing things and this may help the company grow.

Improvement in Company Reputation

Having a reputation for flexibility might be a plus and be attractive to talented employees. Having this reputation may also help attract more customers to your firm as well as stakeholders. There are benefits to being seen as a flexible firm and it may help with word-of-mouth advertisement.

Flexibility 

Having a rigid system means that you are restricted to a particular region and territory. But with a flexible system, you do not have to consider geography as you can employ bright minds in a completely different country or continent. The flexibility of home working also helps you retain current employees. If for example, an employee has to move they can continue working for the company.

Reduced Carbon Emissions

Employees having to show up at work every day means that they contribute daily to pollution in society. Allowing some employees to work from home may be a way of showing that you care about the environment by reducing the number of pollution employees cause daily through commuting.

Some Possible Pitfalls of Homeworking

It is important to know the possible things to consider so you watch out for them and deal with them properly.

Separating home life from work life may be hard for the homeworker

The homeworker may easily let their work-life take over their home life and this can begin to affect their wellbeing. It may be necessary to produce a working guide for the employee or give regular breaks. It is also important to regularly check on the homeworkers.

Homeworker management 

For homeworking to function effectively there has to be proper management in place. This is more demanding than it would have been in an office building. There has to be greater trust between the homeworker and management. Also, effective communication tools should be set up for easy communication between the homeworker and the manager.

Homeworking costs

There may be some initial cost for setting up homeworking. This might include the cost of setting up communication tools, video calls but this initial cost will eventually even out with the cost saved from overheads due to reduced staff in the office. So, the savings may be greater in the long run for the company.

Access to employee representatives

Even though employees are working from home they still need to be able to communicate with their representatives i.e. trade union. As an employer, you should take reasonable steps for this to happen. You can have a space in the office for employees to meet with their representatives for example.

Homeworkers as carers

When a homeworker is also a carer you have to ensure that they know work time should not be used for caring for dependents. You should inform them that they are to create alternative arrangements for their dependents to be looked after by someone else during work time. This should be arranged before the employee becomes a homeworker.

The Legal Issues Around Homeworking

Health and safety of the homeworker

The health and safety requirements apply to homeworkers; therefore, you owe your homeworkers a duty of care. As an employer, you have to conduct an appropriate risk assessment to ensure that the ventilation, lighting, chair, table, computer, or any other work essentials in the proposed workplace is suitable for the work needed to be done.  

This risk assessment must be carried out with the proposed homeworker’s task in mind. You are required to supply the employee with essential equipment. If there is any dysfunction to be rectified after the home assessment, it is the role of the employee to rectify this. It is also the role of the homeworker to keep the workplace safe after it has passed the risk assessment and they are required to inform you of any change in the workplace.

Handling an employee’s flexible working request

Employees with 26 weeks of service can request to work flexibly. You are not obligated to accept such a request but there has to be a reasonable reason for refusing it. You have to properly communicate and explain this reason to the employee. The law sets out eight possible reasons for refusal:

• It will place a burden of additional costs on the firm
• It will have a detrimental effect on the company’s ability to meet its customer’s demands
• The company is unable to reorganize work among its current employees
• The company is unable to take on new employees
• Homeworking will affect the quality of work produced
• It will affect the performance of the employee
• There is insufficient work during the employee’s proposed work period
• There are planned structural changes

Supervision and support of homeworkers

A homeworker is still subject to the same support and supervision given to an on-site worker. There should be regular daily appraisals with the supervisor. The supervisor should also be quick to pick up on signs of stress or difficulty and it should be dealt with immediately. The appraisal, reporting, and support system should be agreed on from the onset. There should also be enough opportunity for the homeworker’s work to be reviewed and a system in place to track the progress of the homeworker. If a homeworker complains that their health is being affected this should be raised immediately and the homeworker referred to appropriate care. As well as a risk assessment it may also be important to carry out a stress risk assessment and issues raised should be addressed.

Confidentiality and data security

Data security obligations do not change simply because an employee is now a homeworker. Regardless of the location, work is carried out by the employer and the employee is still; bound by GDPR and other data security laws. The homeworker must be reminded of this. It is also important to assess equipment provided to homeworkers during a risk assessment to see if they comply with data protection laws.

The tax status of an employee does not change simply because they are now a homeworker. The income tax and national insurance contribution should still be removed from the employee’s salary. It is important to inform your employees about the possible tax implications involved with homeworking. In the course of carrying out their job, the homeworker may need to purchase additional equipment. You can pay tax-free payments to employees to cover the additional cost involved with homeworking. 

Working time

Under the Working Time Regulations 1998, the time an employee spends commuting to work does not count as working time. However, for a homeworker, the time spent commuting to the employer’s premises counts as working time. It is important to agree on the working times with the homeworker from the onset. It should be agreed if it will be a strict working time or flexible. If it is flexible core hours should be agreed and if it is fixed then breaks should be agreed on. This will help you ensure your employees are not overworking. Whilst agreeing on the working time it is important to ensure that homeworkers do not exceed the 48-hour limit on their working week and remember the traveling time adds to this. The only exception is if they have opted out of the maximum hours’ limit.

Mortgage provider

There is some mortgage agreement that prohibits the use of the property for business purposes without consent. It is important to remind employees to check their lease and obtain consent from their mortgage provider to work from home where stated. The homeworker should also get confirmation of cover from their home insurer in case a piece of work equipment causes damage. It should also be agreed from the onset if you will cover the extra premium.

Is Homeworking the Right Choice for Your Organization? 

One effect of COVID-19 is the increase in homeworking. This type of flexibility has many benefits to the employer. It reduces cost, increases the quality and quantity of work, gives the company a good reputation, and gives the employer a wider range of choices. Before deciding to allow home working, it is important to consider the initial cost involved, if you can manage employees from home, how to give homeworkers access to their representative and how to handle a homeworker that is also a carer.

You should also be aware of the legal issues involved such as data security, health and safety of homeworkers, support of homeworkers, and basic things that should be agreed on from the outset. With the advancement of technology and the flexibility the 21 st century brings, homeworking is definitely something to consider and implement where appropriate.

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The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations require that employers obtain certificates from the Wage and Hour Division authorizing the employment of homeworkers in certain restricted industries before the employment may commence. The restricted industries are those that manufacture:

• Women’s appearel;
• Knitted outerwear;
• Gloves and mittens;
• Buttons and buckles;
• Handkerchiefs;
• Embroideries; and

There are two different types of certificates:

• An individual industrial homeworker certificate, which authorizes a specific individual to perform homework in a restricted industry because of certain circumstances impacting that employee's ability to work outside the home; or
• An employer homeworker certificate that authorizes an employer to employ homeworkers in a particular restricted industry, except women's apparel.

Employer homeworker certificates are not issued for the women's apparel industry.

• Instructions For Form WH-2 (Application for Special Industrial Homeworker Certificate) and Form WH-46 (Application for Certificate to Employ Homeworkers
• Homeworker Handbook in Spanish (PDF)

Applicable Laws and Regulations

• Law: Fair Labor Standard Act
• Regulations: 29 C.F.R. Part 530

Discover Our New Home-Based Workers Bazaar

Choose your language

Home-Based Workers

Who are home-based workers and homeworkers.

Home-based workers are those who do paid work within their homes or the surrounding grounds. They produce goods for local or global value chains.

Homeworkers are a specific category. They are sub-contracted by individuals or firms, often through intermediaries. Typically they get paid by the piece and given raw materials, but cover much of the other costs of production.

There are two basic categories of home-based workers. The distinction is important in understanding the challenges these workers face :

• Self-employed home-based workers assume all the risks of being independent operators. They buy their own raw materials, supplies and equipment, and pay utility and transport costs. They sell their finished goods mainly to local customers but sometimes to international markets. Most do not hire others but may have unpaid family members working with them.

• Sub-contracted home-based workers (called homeworkers) are contracted by individual entrepreneurs or firms, often through an intermediary. They are usually given the raw materials and paid per piece, but cover many costs of production: workplace, equipment, supplies, utilities, and transport. They typically do not sell the finished goods themselves, and often do not know where or for whom the goods will be sold.

In both categories, these workers deal with low incomes, irregular and/or cancelled work orders, unreliable supply of raw materials, delayed payment, and rejected goods. The majority are women. Larger economic trends such as fluctuating demand and rising input prices affect both groups, but particularly the self-employed.

The term ‘Dependent Contractor’ is an international term adopted at The 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in October 2018. A Resolution was passed at this conference to include a new meta-category of Dependent Contractors in the revised International Classification of Status in Employment (designated ICSE 18).

See HomeNet South Asia’s Q&A: Understanding the statistical term of “Dependent Contractor”

https://hnsa.org.in/sites/default/files/Dependent%20Contractor-FINAL.pdf

Learn more about the size, contributions and challenges of home-based workers under Resources and WIEGO’s site: https://www.wiego.org/informal-economy/occupational-groups/home-based-workers

An Introduction to Home-Based Workers in South Asia, by HNSA

There are over 100 million home-based workers around the world and over 50 million of these reside in South Asia. In a fast-paced, globalized world, home-based workers – a majority of them women – have become integral to global and local economies. Yet, they remain invisible and unrecognized.

Video is available in Hindi ; Bangla/Bengali ; Tamil & Dzongkha  

Invisible Labour: Homeworkers in Global Garment Supply Chains

The fast fashion mantra rules the global garment industry – spurning supply chains that crisscross the globe. Homeworkers sit at the bottom of these supply chains, taking up a range of jobs that contribute significantly to the end product. However, they remain invisible and command little bargaining power.

Video is available in Hindi ; Bangla/Bengali & Tamil

Network Newsletters and Briefs

• HomeNet Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Newsletter 2019
• HomeNet South-East Asia, Newsletter Dec 2018
• HomeNet South-East Asia, Newsletter March 2019
• HomeNet South-East Asia, Newsletter October 2019
• HomeNet South-East Asia, January 2020
• HomeNet South-East Asia, April 2020
• SEWA Rashtriya Patrika, Issue No. 3, April 2018
• WIEGO MBO Newsletter, March 2018 (English, Spanish, French). This issue presents Sida Net Support updates on negotiations at the ILC, Waste Picker Recognition work in Colombia and Exciting Prospects for a global HBW Organization.
• WIEGO MBO Newsletter, April 2019 (English, Spanish, French). This issue presents Sida Net Support updates on WIEGO’s 7th General Assembly, IDWF Congress, Global exchange of waste Pickers in Buenos Aires and HomeNet Eastern Europe and Central Asia Workshops.
• HomeNet South-East Asia, Newsletter Jan 2021
• Brief on Homebased Workers in Cambodia: Unrecognized Workers Voice Out Their Issue and Hopes
• Brief on Homebased Workers in Laos: Organizing and Advocating for the First Time
• Brief on Homebased Workers in Thailand: Towards Visibility, Voice and Stronger Organization of HBWs
• Profile on HomeNet Philippines
• Profile of Areak Svay Group in Aerak Svay village in Cambodia
• Profile of Toeuk Vil Group in Cambodia

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Working from home can bring big health benefits, study finds

A review of 1,930 papers into home working found major pluses, but also downsides such as antisocial hours and being overlooked for promotion

Working from home allows people to eat more healthily, feel less stressed and have lower blood pressure, according to a large-scale review of academic literature on post-pandemic workplaces.

Yet remote workers are also more likely to eat snacks, drink more, smoke more and put on weight, the study found. And employers who believe that people working from home are lazy should think again – they are less likely to take time off sick, tend to work longer hours and to work evenings and weekends.

The review , funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response – a partnership between the UK Health Security Agency, King’s College London, and the University of East Anglia – considered 1,930 academic papers on home working, teleworking and other types of hybrid and home working in an effort to distil the often contradictory research.

Prof Neil Greenberg, a psychiatrist at King’s College London and one of the study’s authors, said the study showed that workers and employers needed to start considering home working with the same seriousness as they did office working.

“In the old days of office working, people realised that if you put everyone in the same room with no sound-proofing, it was all unpleasant and you didn’t have a very productive workforce,” he said.

“Now that we’ve shifted to a home working culture, it makes sense for organisations and the government to make sure that people who are home working are doing it in as effective a way as possible.”

The review, published in the Journal of Occupational Health , identified three themes – the working environment at home, the effect on workers’ lives and careers, and the effect on their health. Greenberg said the research showed that there were winners and losers in many areas of home working. The working environment depended on how much space there was at home, the available equipment and on how much control workers had over their day.

People on higher incomes often enjoyed home working more, but those with more responsibilities at home such as childcare or housework – often women and those living alone – tended to be more stressed.

“Overall, people felt more productive at home,” Greenberg said. “It was particularly good for creative things, but much more difficult dealing with tedious matters. A lot of people worried about career prospects – this feeling that if you’re not present in the office, you’re going to get overlooked.”

Effects on health were clearer. The transition to home working during Covid was linked “with an increase in intake of vegetables, fruit, dairy, snacks, and self-made meals; younger workers and females benefited the most in terms of healthier eating,” the paper said.

One of the studies reviewed found that 46.9% of employees working from home had gained weight, and another put the figure at 41%. Most of the papers reviewed showed that homeworkers were more sedentary.

Greenberg said: “Managers needed to think about finding ways to support their homeworkers and help create their working environment.

“There’s a great adage in science that at some point, we need to stop admiring the problem and actually think about solutions,” he said. “We know quite a lot now. So we need to ask ‘what is the best training for an individual who’s going to become a partial homeworker?’ What we don’t need to do is to ask ‘would it be helpful to train someone to homework?’ The answer is clearly yes.”

Since the end of Covid restrictions in 2022, some companies have insisted that employees return to the office full-time, with firms such as JP Morgan requiring managers to be in five days a week.

“If companies like JP Morgan are afraid that people at home will be slacking, or won’t be doing a good job, and they can’t keep an eye on them, then I think that is an outdated concept,” Greenberg said.

Refusing WFH options will mean that talented employees may find other jobs, and makes companies less flexible in the event of future crises, such as another health emergency or strikes or severe weather conditions that prevent people from reaching their offices, he added.

“If they are doing it merely out of fear, then they risk being left behind,” he said. “We looked at a huge amount of evidence of the years and what our review shows is that there are ways to make the home working approach actually work well for the organisation and also for the employee.”

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What is the difference between a domestic worker and homeworker in Ontario?

08 Feb What is the difference between a domestic worker and homeworker in Ontario?

The number of employees who work from home has increased substantially in recent years due to the spread of COVID-19 in 2020. Since the worldwide circulation of the virus, many employees have learned that home offices are most conducive to their life and working style.

Under the Employment Standards Act 2000 , there are two types of employees who work from the home – homeworkers and domestic workers.

Homeworkers are employees who work for their employers from the comfort of their own home. Those who began working remotely during the pandemic, and have remained in their home, could be categorized as homeworkers.

This type of employee must be paid, at minimum, equivalent to minimum wage. Since January 1, 2022, homeworkers are entitled to a higher minimum wage, which is now $16.50 per hour.

Domestic workers are completely different than homeworkers. Domestic workers, according to the ESA, are employees who work at the homes of their employers. For example, personal chefs, cleaning services etc. are all considered domestic workers.

These employees are entitled to the standard minimum wage in Ontario. Domestic workers (who are not students) are generally entitled to $15.00 per hour, and if the worker is a student, are entitled to $14.60 per hour.

Under the ESA , the homeworker’s rights are slightly different than domestic workers. The ESA specifies that homeworkers are entitled to continual payments over a consistent period, statements for each payment made, a description of their role as an employee, and the right to Termination of Assignment.

The homeworker’s rights outlined above have not been extended to domestic workers. The discrepancy in entitlements is reasonable because the roles and responsibilities of a homeworker differ from a domestic worker. Homeworkers are provided a responsibility from their employer that is consistently expected. Once they sign their employment contract, they are expected to perform their role every day and will receive assured payments for their regular work.

However, domestic workers are paid per job. Domestic workers can have multiple employers and will get paid once their task has been completed. Their work is not assumed or anticipated to be performed daily. The employer will request their services and will pay them for that singular time and effort.

For example, a cleaning service will receive compensation once they’ve finished the job. If they do not provide this assistance at any given time, their employer is not required to then provide payment without any completed work.

If you are a domestic worker or homeworker that requires further explanation on the rights you are entitled to, or believe your rights are not being upheld by your employer, please contact KCY at LAW by filling in an online consultation request or contact us by phone at 905-639-0999 to book your consultation today.

Space Works Consulting

An environmental psychology consultancy, who are the homeworkers.

While overall employment decreased as a result of the 2008-2009 recession, this reduction was mainly in full-time work, while part-time work and self-employment have increased. Combined with the rise of co-working spaces and social enterprise, the model of going to work for one employer in one office every day is clearly on the decline.

The number of homeworkers has grown rapidly from 2.9 million in 1998 to 4.2 million in 2014. While still accounting for a relatively small proportion of the general workforce (13.9%), they are multiplying much faster than traditional commuting employees. The homeworking population grew by 44% between 1998 and 2014 while the commuting population grew by less than 11%.

The ONS categorises homeworkers in two main ways: who they work for and how home-based they are. There is a very strong connection between homeworking and self-employment—today, 63% of homeworkers are self-employed, while only 7% of commuting workers are self-employed. The Labour Force Survey has consistently reported around two thirds of homeworkers as self-employed since 2001, but this does not include people directing limited companies from home, meaning the actual proportion of self-employed homeworkers is even higher.

Although only 4.8% of employees are categorised as homeworkers today, their numbers have increased by 52.7% over the past 16 years—faster than self-employed homeworkers or any other comparable group. If we expand our definition of homeworking to include those working part-time from home even if not based there, the growth of this trend is likely to be even greater. As of 2010, 15.3% of workers spent at least one day a week working (or starting a day of non-office-based work) from their home.

What these statistics tell us is that homeworkers are more likely to work to work in a variety of places ranging from visiting clients and head offices, to co-working spaces, cafes, and on the move itself. These workers—both employees and self-employed—are the fastest growing, which is why it is so important to design workspaces and housing in response to these trends.

Check out the Tomorrow’s Home report summary for more on how these trends will shape the future built environment, and check back soon for Who Are The Homeworkers part II.

The charts featured in this post are from Tomorrow’s Home and the graphic is from ‘Characteristics of Homeworkers, 2014’ :  Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0