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?

Dh gets our internet paid for by work since a months after he started working from home. He works for a Internet company though and before lockdown we just paid cost price. Apart from that he uses all of his own equipment but there were laptops etc on offer if he wanted it but he has 2 screens on his PC so preferred to use that anyway.

Who the heck pays £30-40 a month for broadband - you're being ripped off if this is the case

Mine is £30 a month, I thought that was the going rate

Why should they pay broadband when you already have it?

I know there maybe more costs, heating, elec etc, but are you saving on commute costs?

You can get a tax free amount £26pm ( see Gov.uk) either ask you employer to pay it, or you can have your tax code adjusted

@DGRossetti we seem to have zero data security since this all began. I regularly have no option but to download files to my laptop to work on them, and at one stage I used my own portable hard drive to store a bulk download as my laptop is full ( of apps and programmes required exclusively for work).
To manage routine updates I have to manually delete stuff so there's enough space.
Makes me furious. Quite a large employer, we're all working like this.

Sigh 🙄

[quote fastingnewby]@DGRossetti we seem to have zero data security since this all began. I regularly have no option but to download files to my laptop to work on them, and at one stage I used my own portable hard drive to store a bulk download as my laptop is full ( of apps and programmes required exclusively for work).
To manage routine updates I have to manually delete stuff so there's enough space.
Makes me furious. Quite a large employer, we're all working like this.
[/quote]
Shrug.

Well at least you aren't handling personal or financial details, or card details. So that's a plus point.

I'm an employer. Eight-figure turnover business (not all my own by a long stretch).

It's unlikely we'll ever all be back in the office full time - maybe a 50-50 split and we're working on our policy on that front. We're budgeting to save a few million over the next five years simply on premises and associated other costs - all savings that come from people wfh.

It's entirely fair and appropriate that some of that saving gets passed onto our staff, and that's what will happen. There are of course challenges to wfh around supervision, team cohesion etc. but even taking these into account, these changes should be win-win for both employers and employees.

Over time, decent employers will recognise that, and shit employers will not, and will lose staff.

@changi

There are very few IT security policies that would cover people using their own kit.

We have one. Essentially a virtual desktop on a vpn.

Yep, same here.

Yanbu - they’re probably saving money on all the same things.

@vixeyann

Personally, I think it would be nice if the workplace acknowledge that you are working from home and may need kit. I've had to buy a desk and chair, this is obviously more electric consumption with computers and lights and I have provided my own stationary. I refuse to buy a printer as I have no need outside of work, so am going to request one, given that it will be tax deductible from them I am assuming they won't decline it. I work in Local Government and the unions have requested a work from home allowance should be made to staff but I won't be holding my breath for this! Saving on travel is irrelevant - no workplace of mine has ever previously cared what I have spent on travel or how far I have had to go. Why should they now.

We're allowed to claim back £70 towards desks, and printers if we need them. Sadly, nothing towards the cost of the extension I'd have to have built to make space to put it in.

Work have supplied laptops, monitors, stands, mice, keyboards, and some people have had chairs provided. Most people had work phones already, I think.

I can't feel aggrieved at having to supply my own tea, coffee etc. That was just a perk, and a lot of staff are normally out in the community all day so never benefitted from that.

We used to get £10 each towards a meal or something at Christmas. Because that wasn't possible, everyone got sent a fantastic package of baked goods from some artisan baker. I was on compassionate leave at the time, and this mysterious box of cakes and savouries just rocked up one. I had no idea who'd sent it, and was grilling everyone I knew until I found out it was from work! I thought that was a really nice thing to do.

I work in the third sector, so the organisation is perpetually skint. I'm happy with the situation tbh.

£6/week is 52*6 = £312.

I guess it's worth the stress of filing self-assessment. Then again, maybe not. I loathe self-assessment.

My mum has said to me a few times that I should speak to my work about getting money towards heating, electric etc while I'm WFH. But it doesn't seem right to me for them to cover those costs when it wasn't their fault we all had to start WFM. I actually think they did a great job getting everyone the equipment needed within a few days (not a small company) and I'm not about to start whining about getting money towards my bills.

It's not worth £312, it's worth about £60 or £120 a year depending on your tax rate.

It is, however, a very easy form that takes 2 minutes to complete, so an easy win for most people. Who else is going to give you at least £60 for a bit of very quick admin?

It is, however, a very easy form that takes 2 minutes to complete,

Here it is...

www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home

I'd be curious to know if the VPN on home machine has been signed off by the IT security and compliance departments ?

While it seemed an easy fix for WFH, my last security guru didn't like it, and recommended a supplied machine with a custom build of Windows on that was subject (at the employees end) to group policy. (Although they admitted there was no solution to someone photographing a screen).

Of course all machines being used for WFH have disk level encryption too ? No point been all snuggly secure when connected, and then having some scrote nick your laptop in a break in and having to explain to your employer where all that data went.

(Well, not unless you work for a government department, where losing data seems to be part of the mission statement.)

@DGRossetti

I have had to use my own laptop which is really not new or fast enough to cope with additional software I've needed to load into it.

There are very few IT security policies that would cover people using their own kit. Quite aside from licensing issues for the various Office Components is the fact that most home computers versions of Windows aren't supported for commercial use.

There's also the issue of ensuring employees are using properly purchased versions of software.

And that's before you start to consider the implications of data being removed from the companies IT security oversight.

The whole GDPR issue of wfh on old laptops is mindboggling.

I'm gobsmacked that companies are apparently letting people wfh on their own laptops. This is data breach city.

Why don't you show them exactly how much more the broadband cost you due to them and ask them for it my guess it will be zero.

Don't be ridiculous Seventrees.

no need to put it on at all in the morning? How stingy can you get.
Might as well not having the heating in the house at all then. Who doesn't enjoy a freezing cold bathroom first thing..

you switch it on when you get back from work- surely??!!!
YOU might. I am not a martyr. The point is having the house warm when I come back, not only just about warmed up by the time I go to bed.

Blasting the heating on is not doing any favour to the environment, having mould in my house is not desirable. A house so cold and damp that you end up putting your laundry on the radiators, or worst use a tumble dryer... Honestly, being very uncomfortable has less effect than you think on "the environment"

How much have you campaigned for your office to switch off the air con in the summer I am curious? In the UK, it's absolutely not needed.

@DGRossetti

I have had to use my own laptop which is really not new or fast enough to cope with additional software I've needed to load into it.

There are very few IT security policies that would cover people using their own kit. Quite aside from licensing issues for the various Office Components is the fact that most home computers versions of Windows aren't supported for commercial use.

There's also the issue of ensuring employees are using properly purchased versions of software.

And that's before you start to consider the implications of data being removed from the companies IT security oversight.

BYOD policies have been around for years. It’s unusual if you work for a medium size company and don’t have a Bring Your Own Device policy.

Yanbu. I also wfh, 3 days per week and used to cycle to work.
I save nothing but bills have risen.
I feel discriminated against because I'm the only pt and all the ft have done the tax reclaim. I cannot as I don't claim tax as low earnings.
I've emailed HR and my managers but they're ignoring me. For months. I expect a reduced rate as I'm P. T. I'll probably progress as discrimination to be honest.

BYOD policies have been around for years. It’s unusual if you work for a medium size company and don’t have a Bring Your Own Device policy

Fully agree, and the security in place fully partitions the data so you cannot copy it to the device. If the device was stolen the thief would need passwords to unlock the device then a further set of passwords to access the desktop via VPN. As VPN access is mostly 2 factor authentication (mine authenticates via code to my mobile) then it’s very unlikely that data could be stolen. I know some firms working fully off virtual desktops in financial services so all signed off by competent and qualified CISOs who are subject to PRA and FCA senior manager regime rules so they wouldn’t take the risk if it wasn’t secure.

All software and licensing would still be controlled centrally as is rolled out via the virtual desktop. The device is just a host if you like, nothing is stored there (except personal stuff if you want).

BYOD policies have been around for years. It’s unusual if you work for a medium size company and don’t have a Bring Your Own Device policy.

All BYOD policies I've implemented have required the employee installs something supplied by the company (whether directly or via a requirement) onto their machine. Which is all very well, until it breaks the machine (yes, I have). At which point who pays for the fix ? (No, we never got an answer either .....)

Did your employer use to pay your commuting costs?

Would you have broadband anyway whether you were WfH or not?

I think YABU

they should allow you to claim on expenses for things you need like desks/chairs etc and should furnish you with laptop/phone if needed and you can do the tax relief claim others have mentioned....but pay for your broadband?! Umm..no

I sympathise. I was expected to work from home one day a week in my last job. I had the smallest broadband package possible and wfh always took me over the limit. My employer refused to pay me a penny.

I'm no expert but BYOD policies have different forms.

Most I have seen relate more to offering a grant to employees buy and maintain their own tech to cut back on the corporate issue laptops etc. Some agree to support personal devices to some extent but usually in addition to corporate tech.

Key issues include - what types of applications employees are allowed to use, PW protection, how long the device is active before it locks, and crucially - who owns the information stored on the device. And c personal laptop is lost or stolen with company info - it will have to be remotely wiped. What happens to employee's personal data.

From what I'm reading here it doesn't sound like everyone is working on watertight BYOD policies.