To wonder about the heating bills for WFH?

[CheetasOnFajitas]

It’s occurred to me, now that colder weather has set in and it looks like those who can do so will be WFH for the next 6 months- the heating bills are going to be through the roof!

Has anyone’s employer acknowledged that home-based employees are going to have to bear this cost? I know for some it will be offset by no commuting costs, but not for all: my husband and I cycle to work normally.

I do acknowledge that I am personally lucky to (a) have a job that can be done from home and (b) have a job at all.

[MintyMabel]

Your employer has subsided your lunch for however long but now you are complaining about the gas bill?

[LoudBatPerson]

My company has given each employee the choice between taking a quarterly payment to cover out additional WFH costs, or for those of us that dont want to claim, we can nominate the chairty we would liek it donated to via our charity program.

Altogh electricty has gone up, and I guess gas will too when the weather gets colder, I am still not really out os pocket due to reduced petrol costs and not buying lunch out ect, in fact I m definitely saving money, so I have donated my allowance. Most of my colleagues seem to be doing the same.

[H00plahhh]

I recommend a hat & layers, especially if you WFH at night

[BadTattoosAndSmellLikeBooze]

Is your office open to work in by arrangement. I know someone who complained about the extra electricity he was using by working at home. His company arranged for him to work at the office with a few others who couldn’t work at home. I don’t think that was the outcome he wanted though so be careful. 😬

[candourclegane]

The other half works from home and generally for cold days either does it in front of the fire in the snug or in front of the Rayburn.

This is so Mumsnet.

Wish I had a snug and a Rayburn.

[RedskyAtnight]

This is being heavily discussed in my company. Management have pointed everyone in the direction of claiming the £1.20 a week tax relief and citing that everyone is saving on commuting costs. Which would be a better message if it wasn't the case that most of the lower paid staff live very close to work and either walk/cycle or have very short commutes and it's really only higher paid staff that are spending any substantial amount on commuting.

[yolio]

Just saying, those of you who HAVE to WFH have a point. But seems to me that most people WANT to WFH now having seen so many benefits.

If you don't like WFH well you must commute and go to work. The issue is if you are TOLD to WFH. There is a difference.

Where I live there is tax relief given for WFH. I guess that is not available in UK.

[Khadernawazkhan]

Would strongly recommend upgrading your programmer /thermostat and installing a 'roomstat' in your home office which can be controlled as a separate heating zone within the house - with far less energy wasted.

[BlueThursday]

To clarify: we have been told to WFH and our passes have been disabled.

[RedskyAtnight]

Just saying, those of you who HAVE to WFH have a point. But seems to me that most people WANT to WFH now having seen so many benefits.

Not me. I would be back in the office tomorrow if I was allowed. I absolutely hate working at home. Plus it's costing me money to do so. I'm entitled to £1.20 a week tax relief which doesn't cover increase in bills, and I'm not saving on commuting as I used to walk to work. But I guess I'll be told I'm lucky to have a job (which I do accept).

[BasinHaircut]

Am I completely on my own in never having even considered the ‘additional costs’ of WFH?

Pre-Covid I already did 2 days per week at home and knew I could claim pennies for doing so from work but just never bothered as what I saved in travel those 2 days was just so much more.

We are now saving £400 a month on commuting costs and so if my bills go up a bit I’m ok with it. I refuse to sit at my desk in a dressing gown or wear loads of layers or wrap myself in blankets. I’ll just whack the heating up because life really is too short. But I too have by heating on a constant temp rather than blasting it morning and evening which is apparently more energy efficient anyway.

I know there are some people out there who genuinely will be out of pocket WFH - before I get jumped on - but I’m interested to know what you think the difference will be anyway.

[Runnerduck34]

My employer doesnt give us anything for WFH, they own our office and adjoining land/ car park which they are now planning on selling for redevelopment as a site for housing
I am grateful to have a job i can do from home but theres a difference between choosing to WFH an having it foisted upon you, would be nice to get an allowance, i am now using my own paper, printer ink, stationery, bought a few bits of equipment to make wfh easier and of course now there will be heating and electricity costs . I didnt travel far so petrol costs were minimal. Hopefully wfh wont increase my bills too much!

[Toomuchtrouble4me]

Wear a jumper and be glad you've got a job.

[LakieLady]

I shall be wearing one of these theoodie.co.uk/products/pink-oodie when it cools down. DP doesn't feel the cold, so he won't care.

Our commuting costs were minimal (approx 15 miles pw, so just a couple of pounds) and I've lost money because I did 100-200 business miles a month for which I got 45p a mile. And I got free tea/coffee, which is quite a saving as I drink tea constantly.

I've noticed we get through a lot more bog roll WFH. It must be getting rid of all that tea I drink. They only read our water meter twice a year, so I don't know how much more we're using, but it will definitely be more.

They're considering paying us an allowance towards costs, but I work for a charity so everything is run on a shoestring. Until they can quantify savings, they don't know if they'll be able to afford it. I've claimed the £1.20 or whatever it is a week from HMRC, so I'd pay tax on it, but £4.80 a week net for 7 months or more is not to be sneezed at imo.

[Thecobwebsarewinning]

Given that working from home saves us about £3800 a year in commuting costs not to mention dry cleaning bills for office wear and the exorbitant cost of sandwiches and coffee I think we will be able to absorb the costs of having the heat on.

[aureliacecilia]

I'm saving over £50pcm in not having to pay for travel to work so I think any increase in my heating bill will be largely offset by that.

[Igotmyholiday]

Days I'm working from home, I put my lake land clothes drier on and with the study door closed it really makes the room toasty

[SantaClaritaDiet]

In cold weather we never switch the heating off anyway, it's not efficient at all for us to blast the heating mornings and afternoons. It works better in this house to leave it on low.

I know many people on MN are allergic to central heating (I have seen posters refusing on principle to switch anything on until mid-December, or worst, to expect their au-pair or children to stay in a cold house until a set time in the evening

Electric blankets are cheap to run, they can help some people?

[doodleygirl]

I don’t normally comment on this type of thread but it has made me so mad. I’ve just been listening to a radio programme where some people don’t even know how they are going to put food on the table, let alone pay bills.

OP take your head out of your orifices and think about the absolute living hell some people are going through whilst you are cocooned in a little world of fairy dust. Put a sweater on, wear a hat, have a hot drink or do any number of things to keep warm.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

It sounds like you’ve been onto a winner for a long time compared to many with subsidised lunches and no commuting costs

You do realise that provision of things such as subsidised canteens etc are part of the overall package of benefits. Others might get higher salary instead?

Plus, the fact that OP lives close enough to cycle and therefore not have commuting costs is her own choice? She might be paying more for her house than living further away?

OP, I live relatively close to work and my commuting costs are negligable in terms of petrol. The route to get there involves partly motorway so rules out cycling. My main cost is now the cost of a car that i'm rarely using but can't get rid off as obviously I may be required to go back sometime, so like you I'm not gaining at all.

I'm in Scotland so have already needed the heating on and we are not getting expenses but we can claim the tax relief on £6 a week as detailed above.

My electricity bill went up £52 compared to the same period last year (March to September).

DS1 will be doing uni from home for the moment too so i'm also thinking of small heaters for the rooms we are using rather than the heating on all day in the whole house. To be fair the laptop does generate a wee bit if the room door is kept closed.

[CountFosco]

@candourclegane

The other half works from home and generally for cold days either does it in front of the fire in the snug or in front of the Rayburn.

This is so Mumsnet.

Wish I had a snug and a Rayburn.

I'll give you the Rayburn but as far as I can tell a snug is just a tiny second sitting room. Much more impressive to have a drawing room and library .

[chomalungma]

On the bright side - at least you get to control how warm your home office is.

Unlike when people at work either like it hot or cold.

[WaxOnFeckOff]

@doodleygirl

I don’t normally comment on this type of thread but it has made me so mad. I’ve just been listening to a radio programme where some people don’t even know how they are going to put food on the table, let alone pay bills.

OP take your head out of your orifices and think about the absolute living hell some people are going through whilst you are cocooned in a little world of fairy dust. Put a sweater on, wear a hat, have a hot drink or do any number of things to keep warm.

So, no-one is allowed to post about anything affecting them in case someone else has it worse?

We shouldn't post about mother's day cos some folk don't have mothers, or about getting your hair cut as some folk can't afford it, or about buying a house as some folk can't etc etc etc?

[BoomBoomsCousin]

@doodleygirl

I don’t normally comment on this type of thread but it has made me so mad. I’ve just been listening to a radio programme where some people don’t even know how they are going to put food on the table, let alone pay bills.

OP take your head out of your orifices and think about the absolute living hell some people are going through whilst you are cocooned in a little world of fairy dust. Put a sweater on, wear a hat, have a hot drink or do any number of things to keep warm.

Why on earth does any of this mean the OP should subsidise her employer?

If you work in an office your employer is obliged to keep it at a reasonable temperature (guidance suggests a minimum of 16C. The OP has simply pointed out that with WFH she now has to take on her employer’s expense. Her doing so increases her employer’s profits, but it doesn’t do anything to help the people who are wondering how they will put food on the table.