Working from home
Work from home and hybrid jobs in the UK
About 40% of working adults in Great Britain did some work from home in April to June 2026: 14% worked only from home and 26% split their week between home and a workplace, according to ONS. Hybrid is more common than fully remote work, and whether you can do either depends heavily on the type of job.
Updated
Which kinds of job are done from home
ONS regularly asks working adults whether they worked from home, travelled to work, or both, in the previous seven days. The split by occupation group shows where home working actually happens. Pay is the ONS median for full-time employees in the same group.
| Occupation group | Only from home | Hybrid | Only travelled to work | Median full-time pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Managers, directors and senior officials | 19% | 41% | 30% | £56,653 |
| Professional occupations | 18% | 41% | 30% | £48,739 |
| Associate professional occupations | 21% | 35% | 35% | £37,960 |
| Administrative and secretarial occupations | 19% | 35% | 39% | £30,461 |
| Skilled trades occupations | 8% | 8% | 72% | £36,093 |
| Caring, leisure and other service occupations | 4% | 9% | 62% | £27,198 |
| Sales and customer service occupations | 8% | 7% | 69% | £26,959 |
| Process, plant and machine operatives | 2% | 3% | 81% | £33,835 |
| Elementary occupations | 2% | 1% | 78% | £27,620 |
Source: ONS, Public opinions and social trends, Great Britain: working arrangements by personal characteristics, 1 April to 28 June 2026, published . Great Britain, adults who were working, asked about the previous seven days. Survey estimates with a margin of error; ONS notes that occupation is self-reported.
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 14.7a, published . Median gross annual pay for full-time employee jobs in the UK, tax year ending 5 April 2025. Figures are for whole SOC 2020 occupation groups and exclude the self-employed.
In the four office-based groups, 54% to 60% worked at home for at least part of the week. In the other five it was 16% or less. Within the office-based groups, hybrid working is roughly twice as common as working only from home, so most “remote” jobs you see advertised will expect some days in a workplace.
Home working also follows pay and qualifications. ONS found that 45% of workers earning £50,000 or more were hybrid working in January to March 2025, against 8% of those earning under £20,000 (ONS, June 2025). In the 2026 survey, 40% of workers with a degree were hybrid, compared with 5% of those with no qualifications. Self-employed people were far more likely than employees to work only from home (35% against 12%).
Jobs to look at, depending on where you are starting
We have split home-friendly jobs across three guides so each can go into detail. This page covers the middle: jobs in the office-based groups above that people often move into with some work experience or training, rather than years in a profession.
| Job | Median pay | Lower quarter | Job titles ONS codes here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Writer, copywriter or translatorONS group 3412: Authors, writers and translators | £39,459 | £32,036 | Copywriter, Editor (books), Interpreter, Technical author |
| Data analystONS group 3544: Data analysts | £38,572 | £30,835 | Data analyst, Data officer, Data quality analyst, Information management analyst |
| Database administrator or web content editorONS group 3133: Database administrators and web content technicians | £37,995 | £30,395 | Database administrator, Digital content editor, Intranet coordinator, Website moderator |
| HR or recruitment officerONS group 3571: Human resources and industrial relations officers | £35,194 | £29,116 | Employment consultant, Human resources advisor, Human resources analyst, Recruitment consultant |
| IT support technicianONS group 3132: IT user support technicians | £35,128 | £29,206 | Business support analyst (computing/IT), Customer support analyst, Help desk operator (computing/IT), IT support technician |
| Personal assistant or secretaryONS group 4215: Personal assistants and other secretaries | £34,954 | £28,565 | Executive assistant, PA-secretary, Personal assistant, Personal secretary |
| Marketing executiveONS group 3554: Advertising and marketing associate professionals | £33,412 | £27,373 | Brand ambassador, Business development executive, Fundraiser, Marketing consultant |
| Bookkeeper or payroll clerkONS group 4122: Book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks | £31,560 | £26,802 | Accounts administrator, Accounts assistant, Accounts clerk, Auditor |
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 14.7a, published . Median gross annual pay for full-time employee jobs in the UK, tax year ending 5 April 2025. Figures are for whole SOC 2020 occupation groups and exclude the self-employed.
Job titles: ONS, SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups. Contains public sector information from ONS SOC 2020 Volume 1 licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Your right to ask for flexible working
In England, Scotland and Wales every employee has the legal right to ask for flexible working from their first day in a job, including a change to where they work (GOV.UK). It is a right to ask, not a right to get it. The rules on applying and what happens next:
- Put the request in writing, say it is a statutory request, and say how and when you want to work.
- You can make 2 requests in any 12-month period.
- Your employer must discuss the request with you before refusing it, and decide within 2 months unless you agree to a longer period.
- They can refuse for one of the business reasons GOV.UK lists, such as extra costs that would damage the business, an effect on quality or performance, or not being able to reorganise the work among other staff.
Northern Ireland has its own rules. If you are job hunting, remember that an advert saying “hybrid” is the employer's current policy, which can change; ask how many office days are expected and whether that is in the contract.
Tax, costs and safety when you work from home
- No new tax relief from April 2026. GOV.UK says you cannot claim tax relief for working from home for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. You can still claim for the 4 previous tax years, but only if you had to work from home, for example because your employer has no office. If your contract simply lets you work from home, you cannot claim (GOV.UK).
- Your employer is still responsible for your safety. The Health and Safety Executive says employers have the same health and safety duties for people working at home, including hybrid workers, as for anyone else. Their risk assessment should cover stress, safe use of computers and your working environment (HSE).
- You get time back. People who worked from home on a given day saved an average of 56 minutes of commuting, according to the ONS Time Use Survey for March 2024 (ONS, November 2024).
- Watch for scams. The Disclosure and Barring Service has warned jobseekers about fake job adverts that ask for money or personal details. Never pay to start a job; our guide to spotting job scams lists the warning signs.
Common questions
How many people in the UK work from home?
In the ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey for April to June 2026, 14% of working adults in Great Britain worked only from home in the previous week and 26% were hybrid, working partly at home and partly at a workplace. 42% only travelled to work. ONS asks about the previous seven days, so the figures are a snapshot rather than people's contracts.
Which jobs can you do from home?
Mostly office-based work. Among managers, professionals, associate professionals and administrative staff, between 54% and 60% worked at home for at least part of the week in April to June 2026. In trades, caring, sales and customer service, machine operation and elementary jobs it was 16% or less.
Can I ask my employer to let me work from home?
Yes. Every employee in England, Scotland and Wales can make a statutory request for flexible working, including where they work, from their first day in a job. You can make 2 requests in any 12 months. Your employer must deal with it reasonably, discuss it with you before refusing, and decide within 2 months unless you agree longer. They can refuse for one of the business reasons GOV.UK lists, such as extra costs or an effect on quality. Northern Ireland has different rules.
Can I claim tax relief for working from home?
Not for the 2026 to 2027 tax year: GOV.UK says the relief is not available from 6 April 2026. You can still claim for the 4 previous tax years, but only if you had to work from home, for example because your employer has no office. If you chose to work from home, or your contract lets you, you cannot claim.
Do work from home jobs pay less?
ONS does not publish pay by where people work. What it does show is that home and hybrid working is most common among managers and professionals, the two best-paid occupation groups, and that 45% of workers earning £50,000 or more were hybrid working in January to March 2025, compared with 8% of those earning under £20,000.