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?

I am amazed by all these people who have different heating costs. Did you all switch off the heating every time you left the house?

When you work in an office it's vital that you come to work dressed. That doesn't mean they have to buy your clothes. You choose to cycle, but you could choose to take taxis, work doesn't have to pay for that. They don't have to pay for your tea and coffee either. So no, they don't have to contribute towards your household bills.

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.

Your broadband costs don't increase unless you're on a metered contract, which most home landline deals or fibre aren't.

It's a standard argument with tax law etc that it's only additional costs that you can claim for working from home. Your employer is right to say that if you had it already, then there's no additional cost to claim.

If you are going that way,

you forgot the loo roll (you must buy more as you no longer use the work facilities during working hours)

and the wear and tear of your carpet now you are home more.

I bet people who used to steal stationary, photocopies etc...are going to start claiming for the loss of perks too

The organisation I work for won't even discuss paying any extra expenses as they say people are saving on commuting costs - but most of my team could walk to work so we aren't saving anything. And I didn't use to have heating on at home during the day so it is now costing me money to WFM.

I wouldn't mind so much but they put out a press release about how they have lowered their carbon emissions over the last year - yes, that will be because they are not having to heat buildings, the carbon load has moved to individuals not reduced at all!

As someone who's s/e & wfh before the pandemic - I have Virgin business broadband because a. it's much faster & b. if it goes down it is fixed much more quickly c. you don't have to hang on for hours to get hold of customer services.

My sister's company sent their IT guy to fit her up with better broadband, laptop, ergonomic chair etc.

Every workplace with people now wfh FT on residential broadband should consider that it's not just about whether the speed is sufficient for work, but what happens if an employee's broadband goes down for a couple of days on a residential contract.

@thecatandthevicar

I am amazed by all these people who have different heating costs. Did you all switch off the heating every time you left the house?

Er, yes. Obviously.

I wonder if the people looking to get some more dosh would be as happy to have how many minutes they're working on that work tab compared to how many minutes they're on MN monitored.

Yabu that they should have to pay towards your broadband. You can claim tax relief. My dh's work gave him a laptop and office chair, he can get a desk if he wants but we currently have nowhere to put one and he is happily at the dining room table. Yes we do incur extra heating costs, he took lunch from home anyway so less of an issue but he saves on his commute which is a blessing in terms of time and money. His employer would provide a kettle but employees are expected to fork out for their own tea and coffee. My employer will provide tea and instant coffee buy not milk and we never have time drink it, not the kind of job where you can wfh. Some jobs come with more perks, that is life.

I'd be too embarrassed to raise this with my employer.
I'm grateful to have a job.
I want the organisation to flourish and invest in the future rather than struggle with cash flow and close.
Other workers have had the worry of furlough or redundancy.
The amount I'd be claiming would be pennies in the scheme of things.
Everyone has had to alter their circumstances due to the pandemic. Using my personal broadband for work purposes feels like a small contribution to the cause.
Tea and coffee. FFS.

Having said that, I work for a charity. Our income has been decimated while our costs have increased due to the number of people needing help. Every penny counts. Maybe I and the sector has a different mindset to some others?

I'd be too embarrassed to raise this with my employer

Said no male worker ever.

@thecatandthevicar

I am amazed by all these people who have different heating costs. Did you all switch off the heating every time you left the house?

Of course! Why would I heat an empty house? Its normally on timer for an hour in the morning and then for the evening.

OP, if your work provides a phone, doesn't that have mobile data you could use instead of broadband anyway?

I upgraded my broadband to WFH, and didn't expect my work to cover it. I often use my work mobile instead though, when the broadband is being rubbish.

In my industry, people have to work from home. They get paid minimum wage or just over, and have to pay for their own broadband, computer, headset, heat and light. It's a zero hours job - you often get less work than you want, and the company often cancels at the absolute last minute. You're pressurised to do training, which you're not paid for. You get reviewed by the customer for every single piece of work, and are expected to get near perfect reviews and don't get given work if you don't manage that. Which saves the company the legal risk of actually firing you. It's statutory sick pay etc only. To get the job, you have to have a degree and a professional qualification, and to pass a test at interview. I hope this makes you feel happier about your own jobs?

Another thing all wfh should consider is - if your broadband does go down - how many GBs of data are there on your phone contract and will tethering cover you for a couple of days if necessary? Some phone companies charge a lot if you suddenly go over your data limit. Consider getting a Mifi device.

I have both - belt and braces.

@ShinyMe

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

Yikes. I’ve never worked anywhere this wasn’t provided. Even my stingiest employer didn’t stint on milk. Most places provide biscuits too. Often a variety. I don’t drink coffee but my employer has those coffee machines that use the pods so for the last ten years it hasn’t even been instant coffee.

I always figured it was a small investment for them to keep us productive. Caffeinated employees who can have a biscuit if they get peckish are more productive employees, and less likely to spend more time going out for a snack.

Personally I think you have a point when it comes to workspace. We now have half the living room taken up with my desk and computer/two screens and half the kitchen/diner with DH’s. The kids go upstairs when they come in from school because of the calls etc we’re on. They can’t watch TV as they would have done, or make drinks snacks etc. Their home has become our office space. I don’t know how long it’s fair for employers to expect employees to sacrifice their living space for. Not everyone has a huge house with multiple spare rooms and studies. We don’t! We also live in an expensive part of the south east where property prices are at a premium. Ultimately we are moving and the main reason for a bigger house is office space. My employer won’t be paying our increase housing costs tho!

I'd be too embarrassed to raise this with my employer.

I remember that employee who claimed back the cakes brought in the office for their birthday 😂

Some people are so petty you would not believe.

We haven't had anything (private sector) and office has also been closed for a year now (apart from a brief spell when we had new graduates start but it wasn't available for anyone and everyone to go in). We were able to uplift equipment from the offices if needed but I've ended up having to buy a desk and my gas bill is noticeably higher.

@sticktomygun

Confused because our work does this £26. Then a equipment allowance for home working.

Don't most employers do this?

Nope!

I have work laptop and some headphones but that's it and I had them anyway as I used to WFH one day a week.

I've spent a fortune on equipment to make WFH more comfortable.

Of course! Why would I heat an empty house? Its normally on timer for an hour in the morning and then for the evening.

mine would need a lot more than 1 hour in the morning to be warm enough, and it costs more than to blast the heating before we arrive than keeping a warm house.

I also have kids who are not necessarily kicked out of the house when I or DH are off to work.

Never even occur to me to switch the heating off. I have heard many au-pair having to freeze until the masters of the house came home though...

If you wouldn't have broadband otherwise then I can see why it might be expected, but presumably you do, and metred agreements haven't been a thing for a few years so I can't see how it impacts? I would imagine though in that case they would look to make your office 'covid secure' rather than pay for broadband. Coffee and biscuits hahahaha. Electricity etc the £6 a week would to towards it. You could ask to to back into the office?

When I first started working at home (before Covid) we had just moved into a house with a prepay meter, during winter we were using £2 a day on gas. I’m not stingy with the heating at all! Let’s say my working day is 1/3 of 24 hours, meaning I was spending an additional 66p a day on heating in the depths of winter by being at home.

It really gets to me when people say “my bills will go through the roof!”....they really won’t......

OP, as well as the loo rolls, you also forgot the fairy liquid

When you are at work, they supply cleaning products to wash your mug, you must claim that back too.

And the bleach in the loo.

and the light bulbs!

I am sure we can make up a much more detailed list

@thecatandthevicar

I am amazed by all these people who have different heating costs. Did you all switch off the heating every time you left the house?

Well yes. Why would we heat an empty house?

I looked this up in our company handbook. They tell us that we save time and money on commuting so they consider it a fair trade not to give us money for increased bills in electricity heating etc. They will provide us with computers, mice keyboards as we need them.

It a large company wand this policy predates the pandemic. I think it's quite fair.

Totally this @Lettuceforlunch! I've put a desk in my spare room but it now means the double bed can only be accessed from one side so less than ideal if a couple stay, and I used to have space for a child to sleep on airbed as well. I live over 200 miles from family and a lot of close friends so consider the spare room an essential if i ever want them to visit. I joked with the office manager about a pay rise so i could move house to somewhere with another bedroom but I was half serious! On a single salary I can't afford 3 beds in this city and I don't to move out to the sticks just to accommodate work. It's a situation I would never have chosen to be in, i've declined a job based from home twice in the past purely on the basis that I didn't want to work from home and didn't have the space for it.