“Remote” means different things to different employers. Some companies use it to mean fully distributed with no office anywhere. Others mean “remote until we decide to open an office.” Others mean “we’re remote but you’ll need to be available for in-person events multiple times a year.” A few mean “we’re calling it remote but you’ll need to be in our London office twice a week.”
Accepting a job offer on the basis of remote work, then discovering the arrangement wasn’t what you understood it to be, is one of the more disruptive ways a job transition can go wrong. The verification is worth doing before you resign.
Red Flags in Job Listings
“Remote-friendly” or “hybrid options available.” These phrases signal that remote work exists as a concession or exception, not as the default. In practice, they often mean remote is tolerated for some roles and some managers but not guaranteed.
Location required despite “remote” label. If the listing says “Remote — New York, NY preferred” or asks you to be within a certain timezone without explaining why, the role likely has in-person or synchronous requirements that haven’t been disclosed clearly.
Recent office opening or expansion news. A company that just signed a lease on a new headquarters or is publicising its return to office culture is worth asking about directly. Their public commitments and job listing language may not be consistent.
“Remote during probation period.” Occasionally seen — and occasionally it means the in-person requirement kicks in once you’ve already left your previous role.
Glassdoor or LinkedIn reviews where recent employees mention unexpected RTO. Not definitive, but useful signal.
Questions to Ask Before You Accept
The screening and interview process is the time to verify. Most employers expect questions about working arrangements at the offer stage; it’s the least confrontational moment to get specific.
“Is this role fully remote, or will there be expected in-office time?”
The answer tells you a lot. A clear “fully remote — we have no central office” is different from a hesitant “mostly remote with some flexibility.” Follow up on anything vague.
“What does the team’s current working arrangement look like? Are most people fully remote?”
This probes whether the arrangement is policy or exception. If most of the team works from one location and you’ll be the only remote person, the practical experience of the role is different from a fully distributed team.
“Has the company’s remote work policy changed in the last two years?”
If it has, ask why and whether further changes are expected. A company that went from remote to hybrid once is more likely to go hybrid again than one that has been fully remote since its founding.
“Are there in-person requirements during the year — team retreats, quarterly meetings, client visits?”
Some fully remote roles have occasional in-person expectations. These may be entirely reasonable; the issue is discovering them after accepting, not before. Understanding the frequency and who covers travel costs matters.
“Is the remote status written into the employment contract?”
This is the most important question and often the one candidates feel uncomfortable asking. If the arrangement is only a verbal agreement or a note in the offer email, it can change without breach of contract. A contract that specifies remote working as a term of employment provides meaningful protection.
How to Verify the Company Is Legitimate (Remote Job Scams)
Remote job listings attract a higher volume of scams than in-person listings. Before investing serious time in any application, a basic check takes under ten minutes.
Search the company name + “reviews” and “Glassdoor.” Established companies have a footprint. If you can’t find any employee reviews, any LinkedIn presence with verifiable employees, or any news coverage, treat that as a signal.
Look up the company on LinkedIn. Check whether employees who list it on their profiles have history that checks out. Ghost companies created for scam purposes often have no real employees, or employees whose accounts were created days before the listing appeared.
Check the website domain age. Tools like WHOIS lookup show when a domain was registered. A company claiming 10 years of operation with a domain registered 8 months ago is worth questioning.
Look at where the email correspondence comes from. Legitimate companies communicate from company email domains, not Gmail or Yahoo addresses. A recruiter for “Nexus Group International” who emails you from nexusgroupintl.gmail.com is a scam.
Never pay anything. Legitimate employers don’t charge application fees, equipment fees, training fees, or background check fees upfront. Any request for money before employment begins is a scam.
Getting It in Writing
Verbal agreements about remote working carry no legal weight. If you’re taking a role specifically because of a remote arrangement, protect yourself:
Ask for it in the offer letter. “Before I sign, I’d like the remote working arrangement to be reflected in the offer letter.” This is a reasonable request. An employer who refuses to document a key term of employment — or who becomes evasive when you ask — is telling you something important.
Check what the contract says about work location. Some employment contracts specify an office address as the contractual place of work, even for roles described as remote during hiring. If the contract says you’re based at their London office, the remote arrangement is informal and reversible. If it says your place of work is your home address, you have contractual grounds if the arrangement changes.
Ask about the remote work policy document. Many companies have a formal remote or hybrid working policy. Asking to see it before joining is entirely reasonable and shows you’re thinking practically. The policy tells you what protections (and restrictions) actually exist.
After You’ve Accepted: Protecting the Arrangement
Once you’ve started, especially in the first few months, being visibly effective as a remote worker matters for the durability of the arrangement.
This isn’t about working longer hours to prove you deserve remote work. It’s about making sure your output, communication, and reliability are obvious — not assumed. Remote workers who are responsive, who over-communicate project status, and who are reliably present in the ways that matter (key meetings, decision-making conversations) build the social capital that makes flexible arrangements stable over time.
The colleagues and managers who are skeptical of remote work change their minds based on specific people they’ve worked with, not policy arguments. Being genuinely good at working remotely is the most durable protection.
FAQ
Is it normal to ask about remote policy before accepting? Yes. It’s a key term of employment and you’re entitled to understand it before committing. Any employer who reacts badly to this question is showing you how they treat employees generally.
What if the role seems great but the remote policy is ambiguous? Ask until it’s not ambiguous. If the answer remains vague after direct questions, that tells you something — either they genuinely don’t know (worrying) or they’re avoiding being pinned down (also worrying).
I already accepted verbally and now they’re saying three days a week in office. What can I do? If your employment contract hasn’t been signed yet, this is a material change and you can negotiate or walk away. If you’ve signed a contract that doesn’t specify remote work as a term, your options are limited to negotiation. A polite, factual conversation — “my understanding when I accepted was X; can we clarify what the arrangement will actually be?” — is the right first move.
Can I ask to trial remote work at an in-person job? Yes, though the timing matters. After 3–6 months, when you’ve established your performance and built relationships, a proposal to work remotely two or three days a week is much easier to agree to than on day one. The same principles for negotiating hybrid work apply: specific proposal, business rationale, and willingness to discuss rather than demand.
Are remote job boards more reliable than general job boards? Boards that specialise in remote roles (We Work Remotely, Remote OK, Remotive) tend to have employers who are genuinely remote-first rather than employers adding “remote” to listings to attract more candidates. That doesn’t mean every listing is verified — the same verification steps apply — but the base rate of genuine remote roles is higher.
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Jobiety Editorial Team
Our editorial team researches and tests every piece of career advice we publish. We draw on real hiring data, interviews with recruiters, and hands-on experience to give you guidance that works.
