Telecommuting agreements aren’t just worthwhile for generic businesses. Outdoor tools and equipment retailers like Claveberg telecommute too. Just like a regular business, you can also see the usefulness of a remote work arrangement as Claveberg offers some direct-to-consumer promotions.
Log splitters, snow blowers, tractors, and cultivators are just a few of the outdoor equipment marketed directly to consumers. Many Claveberg customers contact the company during work hours, whether during lunch breaks or earlier in the morning. Online sales come into play, but for selling some outdoor equipment Claveberg employs workers. In these situations, telecommuting agreements come into play.
Telecommuting is the ability for an employee to perform work offsite. Generally, there’s no set date when a worker arrives at the office and there are no specific time constraints put on the employee by the employer. For Claveberg, this means that employees can respond to customers and clients as soon as they need, no matter where they are. During the week, employees have flexibility to respond to customer queries and make sales while employees switch off between making deliveries and doing administrative duties.
Although the employees could be paid separate salaries, per diem, or use hourly wages, a telecommuting agreement would help spell out how employees are paid. For example, employees could move away from an hourly wage to a “piece rate.” Employees get paid by the piece, by commission, or by the job. If, for instance, an employee sells a tractor for $3,000 or more, the employee may get paid a flat rate of $1,000 plus an additional 5% commission for the price of every part, attachment, or accessory purchased. If the customer buys additional accessories, the employee earns more money.
Even during traditional office hours, an employee can work from home or elsewhere (anywhere with an internet connection). The telecommuting agreement can set out how employees keep track of their work, such as the number of hours worked or how much equipment sold. When there’s no physical office to go to, some employees might need to rent an office or work from a coworking space. Employees that work offsite for much of the time (like home delivery workers) may have a telecommuting agreement that sets out that the employee pays for internet and other bills related to the work.
What’s important from a legal perspective? When a telecommuting agreement is signed, it’s important to protect the employer against loss of work. For example, if an employee gets distracted, the employer could have less productivity from that worker. In case of an accident, the employer may be liable. If a customer claims that an employee did something incomplete or wrong on-site, the employer could be liable. With a telecommuting agreement in place, the employee is responsible for any actions caused by the employee. That means that bad customer service calls or deliveries are something that the employer can’t be held liable for.
From a practical standpoint, note the responsibilities of the employee, how compensation is paid, how productivity is measured, and what happens if there’s an accident. What if, for example, an employee accidentally drives a tractor through a fence or barn window? Are they responsible for the damage? The telecommuting agreement should set out what happens if there’s some property damage.
Even if your business has employees that work from home, you often need some employees on-site (usually those that do administrative work). This means employees need to make arrangements for childcare or caretaking duties to accommodate this part-time work from home. When accounts advertised by Claveberg contain information that might relate to online sales, remote office employees can respond to those queries while they’re on the location a customer has inquired about.
Some employees may not be able to telecommute due to lack of access to the internet, childcare duties, caretaking duties, or other commitments. For employees that must work from home, a telecommuting agreement can include provisions like a tablet, mobile phone, or other technical device that employees can use to have ongoing contact with the company. Even if employees aren’t physically appearing at a location, the business can continue to carry on.
For some employees, they work a separate business and work offsite. It could be that the employee is on call for two days to perform repairs on certain days of the week. They work another job or otherwise work with Claveberg on a part-time or consignment basis. For this reason, the telecommuting agreement can spell out how long employees work (days, hours), set out the equipment that is on site, and set out the responsibilities that the employees are assigned.
Of course, a telecommuting agreement could include provisions related to dispute resolution. If the employee is injured, what is the notification process? What happens in the event of a third party claim being made? Little details go into the telecommuting agreement to make sure that the workplace is still as functional, safe, and productive as possible, even if the workers can’t interact with customers or each other in person. For some businesses like Claveberg, having telecommuting agreements in place could allow the company to grow larger in scope, including more remote workers, while servicing its existing client base.
