To expect my work to pay for broadband and other wfh expenses?

[Zazzii]

Since last March like many of us I have been working from home - I have a work laptop and phone and use our spare room. I had always worked the odd day at home when it was convenient for wating in for deliveries/ appointments etc but only once or twice a month. I, and line manager etc, were happy with this but it was seen as a bit of a perk

Now that working from home is established as the 'new normal' is it wrong for me to expect my employer to cover my broadband costs? They dont seem inclined to give us anything telling us that as we have it already there is no increased costs for us of using it for an additional 7 hours a day.

It is vital for the business that we are connected therefore the cost should be met by the business. Plans from teh summer are for us to continue working from home at least for part of the week so it will be long term.

I undertsand that they dont want to get involved in discussions about individual broadband contracts etc but a standard amount for all staff - say £30 a month?, £40?- should be part of our expenses claim. Or do I need to accept it as part of the new way of working?

Then there are other expenses which I have incurred over the past year - bigger things like the heating and electricity during the day but also small things like the coffee, tea and other refreshments I would normally expect to have at work which I have had to pay for.

I havent reduced any costs in other areas - my commute is 2 miles by bike so negilible cost and time saving.

Am I being unreasonable? Would it be unreasonable to try and rally my fellow workers to ask for this?

@DGRossetti

But it stopped at iOS and Android. Windows machines had to be supplied by us to a custom build that did some clever stuff that wasn't possible on any old junk. With the disk encrypted of course.

Which makes sense. From this thread it turns out some people are bashing away on their home laptop. Disk level encryption? Data partitioned? Passwords supervised? Have they agreed who pays to fix or what happens happens to the data if they lose it? And what about external hard drives?

Even if they wanted to, businesses shouldn't have people back today anyway.

Either the lockdown never applied to them, fair enough, or they are taking the piss going back to the office when it's not essential.

My friend lives in a Scandinavian country and her husband has had multiple screens, a proper desk and a desk chair + a plastic floor covering sent home from his office. Nightmare as the only place to put these monstrosities is in the sitting room which now looks like a mess (and what if her office decides to do the same? Where will it all go?).

This is because you are entitled to ergonomic office furniture to prevent injuries related to sitting down too long etc.

My point is that employers still have some sort of obligation to ensure a suitable work environment (at least in the Scandis) and I am not sure how this fits in with WFH. Not everyone has a spare room or two which they can turn into an office? And who wants to work from their kitchen table forever?

@TheKeatingFive

Because the employer is saving even more on premises, IT etc. costs

Most employers are not letting all office space go, so they still have those costs.

Some of them yes, but not all.

My company has budgeted to save around 3% of our costs a year for the next five years, from people working more from home. That translates to around 10% extra profit. We'll be passing some of that on to staff, because we value and want to keep them, and because we're not greedy cunts.

Because the employer is saving even more on premises, IT etc. costs

Theyre not though. Most employers still have their offices so will still be paying rent, utilities etc & surely IT services and staff are needed every bit as much now as before. I dont know anyone wfh who doesn't still have an office to go back to.

Plus employers have in a lot of cases had a lot of extra outlay in providing equipment for wfh

[quote TatianaBis]@DGRossetti

But it stopped at iOS and Android. Windows machines had to be supplied by us to a custom build that did some clever stuff that wasn't possible on any old junk. With the disk encrypted of course.

Which makes sense. From this thread it turns out some people are bashing away on their home laptop. Disk level encryption? Data partitioned? Passwords supervised? Have they agreed who pays to fix or what happens happens to the data if they lose it? And what about external hard drives?[/quote]
I don't think we're supposed to be asking those questions ...

My tech nerd days are a bit behind me, but I know the reason my last place insisted on a custom build of Windows was to lockdown a lot of features that would have allowed data to be saved locally.

They also Araldited the USB ports, and nobbled the BIOS so you couldn't boot of anything other than the first HDD. If a machine needed fixing they'd swap the HDDs.

That's for people (like me) who needed laptops. Most remote workers were issued with an RDP thin client, and a softphone copy of the Avaya client to use with headsets (connected via 3.5 jack).

In my role previous to that (2006-2008) I created a load of virtual machine builds for RDP access for developers as the company was going virtual. That was my "punishment" for handing my notice in.

@Kinneddar

Because the employer is saving even more on premises, IT etc. costs

Theyre not though. Most employers still have their offices so will still be paying rent, utilities etc & surely IT services and staff are needed every bit as much now as before. I dont know anyone wfh who doesn't still have an office to go back to.

Plus employers have in a lot of cases had a lot of extra outlay in providing equipment for wfh

I can absolutely promise you that my business will be saving money as a result of wfh. Not megabucks, and not all of it straight away, but over time enough to pass on some of the saving to staff.

@ShinyMe

Wait, your work paid for your tea and coffee? Surely that's not usual.

which workplace wouldn't? all drinks and snacks are included at my work, coke, sprite etc... machine coffees. Some places I worked included 3 meals a day, that was a perk!

I've worked from home for about the last 7 years. I was not paid any extra for it. I already has broadband so didn't need it installing (and if it's installed by the company you can only use it for work or HMRC taxes it as a benefit).

There is an enormous variation in what workplaces provide re food and drink. From 3 meals a day/snacks/friday beers to big fat nothing.

@Quaversplease

I've worked from home for about the last 7 years. I was not paid any extra for it. I already has broadband so didn't need it installing (and if it's installed by the company you can only use it for work or HMRC taxes it as a benefit).

How does HMRC know what you use it for ?

@TheKeatingFive

There is an enormous variation in what workplaces provide re food and drink. From 3 meals a day/snacks/friday beers to big fat nothing.

When I visited a client in Frankfurt they had a fridge with wine and beer for staff. They also had a fully equipped gym on one floor. And if you visited on a Thursday (like I did) they had a masseur in.

@TheKeatingFive

There is an enormous variation in what workplaces provide re food and drink. From 3 meals a day/snacks/friday beers to big fat nothing.

true

same with holidays and any other perks.

What is very MN is the strange surprise that some companies offer different ones.

I worked somewhere that had massage, reflexology, circuits classes, Pilates, 5 days ‘company away day’ breaks in exotic places.

Those were the days

Surely you pay for broadband regardless of whether you are working from home or not, and it costs the same either way? So even if you were going in to the office, your brand and bill would still be the same.

I think it would be cheeky to get employers to cover this tbh, but maybe things will have to be reevaluated if wfh becomes the norm. It's swings and roundabouts - people save ££ on petrol and season tickets by working from home, but spend more on electric, heating, water. But then you also save on buying work clothes, lunches. And if you are a London worker, you are probably still getting London weighting even though you are working at home.

Tea and coffee is seen as a benefit and not every employer provides this, so it would be very cheeky to ask for that to be reimbursed!

@PastMyBestBeforeDate

Public sector so no free anything. I had to buy my own kettle too which is now marooned in my office along with my jar of coffee and my mug.

I'm public sector too.

I wonder how happy people would be if their council tax was paying for tea, coffee, refreshments...
We didn't even get washing up liquid. I had to bring my own

Public sector

Private sector perks are all flashy bollocks though when compared to public sector Direct Benefit pensions.

In fairness.

I've wfh for 25 years. My company used to pay for my broadband and also a business landline when broadband was expensive and rare. Then as it became more normal, easier and cheaper, they dropped to a claimable allowance. Now there's no payment, it's considered as much a basic utility as water I suppose.

All my computer hardware, peripherals and printer cartridges are company supplied or claimed on expenses.

This really pisses me off.

Did you consider that most employers are continuing to pay rent and all expenses to keep the office/workplace running, even though none or very few are using it? They are not passing that cost on, because you are not using it. Ditto rental cost for copiers, coffee machines etc. I'm still paying for these contracts for my office, despite them going unused. Nobody's fault, but wasted money.

We are also recognizing that work done from home is about 25% less productive than that done in the office. We are continuing to pay people the same, have done no layoffs, and are keeping going. Despite our revenue being reduced by about 25% over the last year. Again, nobody to blame, but the cost has not reduced along with the revenue.

Pre-pandemic, we allowed people to work from home one day a week, but they had to sign that they understood that we provided them a full work space/setup in the office. If they chose to WFH, they had to bear any cost. It was a PERK. Not a necessity. I believe that still holds true.

Post-pandemic I am planning to continue in the same way. You may choose to WFH, but it is not subsidized.

It seems it is true - give free coffee and tea, and they'll want biscuits too! No gift goes unpunished.

It does seem a bit churlish to ask them to when you save on commuting costs, work clothes etc which in most cases cost far more than broadband and some electricity!

@TheKeatingFive

There is an enormous variation in what workplaces provide re food and drink. From 3 meals a day/snacks/friday beers to big fat nothing.

Yes, I've worked at both ends and still find it amazing that my current work provides fruit and fancy coffee!

You were already connected to broadband so why should your employer suddenly pay it. That's like saying they should pay your rent or mortgage because you are now working from it. You had those expenses anyway.

ShinyMe
Wait, your work paid for your tea and coffee? Surely that's not usual.

which workplace wouldn't? all drinks and snacks are included at my work, coke, sprite etc... machine coffees. Some places I worked included 3 meals a day, that was a perk!

Every single place I've ever worked in!
It may surprise you to hear that all work places are different......

Where I work they will close expensive large offices now, shifting the costs onto home workers. I've had to fork out a fair amount for kit. Tea and coffee should be taken out of the equation though.