With the number of such workers increasing due to unemployment resulting from the economic slowdown, they are being warned to secure their possessions
Garden security specialist Bill Seddon, MD of Gardien, said: “With the deepening financial problems and rising unemployment, many people are starting up their own businesses and are operating from home.
“In addition, many companies are now actively encouraging their workers to work from home to save on travel costs and take advantage of advances in technology.
“This new trend, however, brings with it the problem of ensuring that the home office – which in many cases is a garden office or shed – is well secured, particularly when the contents can be extremely valuable”.
The 2008 Home Business Report released this week as part of Small Business Week 2008 highlights a 16 per cent increase over the last year in the number of businesses run from home, totalling 2.5 million.
It is estimated that 18 per cent of these work from a garden office/shed or garage and that, on average, each one has technology contents alone valued between GB pound 500 and GB pound 1000.
Seddon advised people who have “garden-located businesses” to contact the Gardien site (see right) which offers advice on prevention, retrieval of stolen goods, valuations, insurance and consultancy services.
