How to Write a Remote Work Policy (Free Template and Example)

A remote work policy sets clear, shared expectations for how remote work happens at your company: who is eligible, what hours look like, how people communicate, what equipment is provided, and how data stays secure. The goal is fairness, consistency, and security, without burying anyone in legalese. This guide walks through what every remote work policy should include, with a template structure and an example section you can adapt, and shows how to keep it from becoming a document nobody reads. For the broader remote playbook, see our remote onboarding best practices.

Why do you need a remote work policy?

Without one, remote work happens by improvisation: inconsistent hours, unclear availability, security gaps, and confusion about what is actually allowed. One team works 9 to 5, another never overlaps, and nobody is sure which is right. A clear policy replaces all of that with shared expectations, and it gives new remote hires a reference they can actually use during onboarding. It is also a security document: remote work introduces real data-handling risks that a policy is meant to manage.

What should a remote work policy include?

1. Purpose and scope. Why the policy exists and who it applies to.
2. Eligibility. Which roles or conditions qualify and how an arrangement is requested and approved.
3. Working hours and availability. Expected hours, core overlap time, response expectations, async versus sync norms.
4. Communication. Which tools for what, and what good communication looks like remote.
5. Equipment and expenses. What is provided and what is reimbursed.
6. Data security. VPN, device, and data-handling requirements.
7. Performance. How remote performance is measured.
8. Requesting or ending remote work. The process for changes.

The template structure

An example section

To show what specific looks like, here is an eligibility section done well versus done badly.

Vague: "Remote work is available to eligible employees at the company's discretion."

Specific: "Remote work is available to employees in roles that do not require on-site equipment or in-person client interaction, after completion of their first 90 days, subject to manager approval. Employees request a remote arrangement through their manager, who confirms role eligibility and team coverage before approving."

The second version answers the questions the first one leaves open: which roles, when, and through what process. Every section of the policy should pass that same test.

The most common mistake: vagueness

The most common flaw in a remote work policy is vague language. "Eligible roles" with no definition. "Reasonable hours" with no specifics. "Appropriate security measures" with no detail. Vagueness causes the exact inconsistency the policy was meant to prevent, because everyone interprets it differently. Every section should be specific enough that two people would read it the same way and reach the same conclusion. The same standard applies to every policy, including the rest of the employee onboarding document set.

How Sakha helps with policies

Writing policies from scratch is slow, and reviewing them for gaps and vagueness is easy to skip. Sakha generates complete, professionally structured company policies, remote work, data protection, code of conduct, and more, from a few details about your company, and it reviews existing policies for gaps, compliance flags, and clarity issues, flagging exactly the kind of vague language described above. When you publish a policy, Sakha adds it to your knowledge base automatically, so any employee can ask about it in Slack and get the answer instantly. The policy stops being a document nobody reads and becomes an answer people can actually get when they need it. For the knowledge base side, see how to build an internal knowledge base in Slack.