Is there any H&S guidance on WFH with under 12 year olds in the house,with no other adult supervision in the home, essentially a colleague looking after a 4 and 7 year old whilst working? My gut feeling is that this isn't H&S breach, but more an ethical / breach of common sense principles form a parental point of view and a buisness culture, but didn't know if anyone had a Hybrid policy that specifically states you can't work from home and be looking after children simlutatiously on a regular/ day- day basis?

It's a desk based role, that involes making out bound calls to a customer base, so some level of confidentiality and privacy is required, as well as the business reputation. 

I would expect that any of our customers would expect a high level of service and would not expect to hear children or family life in the background and probably take offence if the call was cut short because of that. 

I haven't spoken to the colleague or the manager themselves, the enquiry came from our HR department, I'm guessing they are trying to find something written down, so they can formally push back

This is one of the scenarios a lot of employers are seeking to curtail by insisting on a return to the office.

As good as the person may be, or as simple as the task appears, young children need engagement and stimulation which if the parent is correctly focusing on the work to be done for the employer during paid working hours would not be forthcoming.

As a one off e.g. the child minder was ill it may just be tolerable although ideally this should be a compassionate leave day or holiday.

We don't work in the fluffy marketing world a certain chocolate brand tries to show where mum drops work and plays penguin to get a treat from the fridge for her children.

To have it as an on-going situation puts the employer and their business at direct risk and also sets a precedent for other employees to request parity in treatment.

Pre-covid work from home was always on the presumption the employee would either be at home alone or able to isolate themself in a dedicated "home office".

It may be funny, it may be cute, it is not professional https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mh4f9AYRCZY

I'm with Chris on this.

Going to first principles:

Who might be at risk of injury or ill-health as a result of this working practice - the parent, the children, apparently not anyone else?

At most you might argue that trying to look after children at the same time as working for an employer is a source of stress for the parent.  But that's not the real problem anyone has with this, is it?

The safety and well-being of the children in this case is nothing to do with any H&S legislation or guidance, as they are neither at work nor being affected by the work activity itself.  It would be different if the work activity was some kind of engineering or manufacturing work being done in the home that might put them at risk of injury if they came into contact with it.  The only thing they are at risk from here is the parent's divided attention and not the nature of the work activity.

Hello!

This situation may raise ethical or professional concerns, as supervising young children while working could impact the quality of both childcare and job performance. Employers may view this as a potential risk to business reputation, particularly in client-facing roles. Ultimately, the decision depends on the employer's policies and expectations. If no formal policy exists, it might be worth discussing this with management to ensure clarity and alignment with company standards.