Unlike many other jobs, a Planning Inspector spends a large proportion of his or her time working at home. While many see this as a very attractive feature of the job, it is important to recognise that there are drawbacks, as well as benefits, to this style of working. Before making the decision to apply, you should ask yourself if homeworking is likely to give rise to any problems for you, and if so, whether these problems can be overcome. Some of the problems may apply to you while others may not. This questionnaire is designed to help you evaluate whether working at home is a practical possibility for you. It is intended to help you think about the issues.

How to use this questionnaire

The questionnaire includes descriptions of some of the main issues in homeworking, benefits and drawbacks, which many homeworkers (including serving Planning Inspectors) have raised.
You will note that many of the statements are followed by '( A/B/C )'.
As you read through the descriptions, pause at each of the points, and think whether the situation described in the statement that precedes it might cause a problem for you.
If you are interested, we suggest you print out the questionnaire, and circle one of the responses as follows:

Circle 'A' if you think there will be no problem for you.

Circle 'B' if you think there may be some problems involved but that they would not be major ones for you.

Circle 'C' if you think the problem would be a significant cause for concern for you.