Bringing the work back home: A plan for BT staff has rekindled interest in teleworking, Roger Trapp reports

THANKS to the wonders of modern technology, there is no need to leave one's home for anything. Banking can be done by telephone, shopping (at least for some residents of London Docklands) can be done by fax, and many forms of work can be done on a computer in the front room.

In the long run, teleworking - working from home using computers, modems and other modern telecommunications systems - is likely to become a major trend. Within 20 years, 20 per cent of the non-manual workforce could be doing it.

So far, however, it is limited. Estimates put the number of full-time teleworkers in the UK at 500,000, with three times as many doing it part-time. Furthermore, the recession has dampened the enthusiasm of companies that were previously driven by the need to offer flexible arrangements to attract staff and to reduce their use of expensive office space. A research document produced by BT says that involvement in teleworking among major employers has been static for the last three years.

BT has, however, just revived interest by announcing that it is to allow junior managers to work from home. The move - believed to be the first of its kind in this country - is likely to be closely watched.

BT does of course have a good reason for encouraging teleworking. Like its smaller rival, Mercury, BT stands to gain from the development of the concept, and both companies are actively marketing it. In July, BT began an experiment in Inverness to assess the feasibility of having its directory inquiry operators working from home.

The company does not pretend that the practice is suitable for everybody. The announcement that it has agreed a framework deal with the Society of Telecom Executives does not mean that thousands of junior and middle managers will suddenly be working from home. At the moment, fewer than 50 do so.

Eligibility will depend on the suitability of both the person and the job. BT has stipulated that those involved in managing departments, for example, are likely to be turned down. But Russell Whitworth, a principal consultant with PA Consulting Group, is also concerned about productivity. 'In some jobs, productivity is easily measured by managers. In others, it is not.'

Although Mr Whitworth has doubts about the advantages to the employer, concerns about the employee were behind the STE's desire to negotiate an agreement on the subject. According to Beverley McGowan, the STE's assistant secretary, the organisation was keen to avoid a return to the bad old days of outworkers receiving a pittance. Accordingly, she said, BT managers opting for the concept 'will not be worse off' than colleagues working conventionally. Nor will workers be 'forgotten' and miss out on the social contact that is generally seen as a disadvantage of teleworking.

As the recession lifts, more companies are likely to experiment with teleworking. But Mr Whitworth believes there will also be greater use of a halfway house in which staff work in a smaller office closer to their home rather than actually in it. The clearing banks appear to be moving in this direction, with employees allocated to new jobs likely to stay in the same branch instead of being transferred.