Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to not pay for his work space?

221 replies

pumpkinsp1ce · 27/09/2021 13:49

NC for this. Bit of background: I line manage an employee who is just finishing his probationary period. He's great, no issues with performance and we are happy to keep him on and he wants to stay. He is a junior team member, works in a non client facing role and since he started with us he has worked from home 3 days with 2 days in the office, which works for him and us, and we're happy for him to continue with that arrangement for the foreseeable future.

However he has just let me know that he is moving a 3 hour journey from the city where we are based, and going forward he wants to request that we pay for a co-working space in his town of residence where he can work for his "home working" days. The place he has found is NOT cheap, though I'm not sure of the going rate for such as everyone here either works from our (perfectly fine) office or from their home. He would still travel into the office for the 2 days a week.

The reason for him "needing" the co-working space is that he is moving in with his partner and child and there is "no space" there for him to work from home.

Not sure what to do in this situation. We have been happy to continue to accommodate hybrid working since COVID where it is the employees' choice, which seems to presume they have the space at home to work from home. We aren't a big business and we pay our employees decently due to the city where we are based, but this co working space is a fairly big overhead when technically he does have an office here should he need it.

AIBU to refuse this request to cover the cost of his "wfh" space? Happy for him to continue to wfh 3 days a week if he has the space and resources to do so, but he's now saying he doesn't! WWYD?

OP posts:
Watchingyou2sleezes · 27/09/2021 14:15

If he was working for me- he soon wouldn't be...

SparklyLeprechaun · 27/09/2021 14:17

No, you don't have to pay for it. I wouldn't entertain it anyway, even if it was cheap, as it sets a precedent.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 27/09/2021 14:17

@MurielSpriggs

Sounds to me like the employee has the whip hand here, isn't really so bothered about keeping the job and is pretty confident he can find something else closer to (new) home if the current employer can't accommodate his request.
Thats hardly a whip hand!

It's a simple handing in of his notice as he has made a life choice. It happens to everyone at some point.

LIZS · 27/09/2021 14:18

His choice to move. If he wants workspace he pays for it (although dh work would not allow shared wifi etc) or he commutes daily,

Nietzschethehiker · 27/09/2021 14:18

Absolutely not ! Listen I am a big fan of WFH and in the first lockdown I do think companies should have helped with equipment due to it not being the employees choice (I mean like laptops and desks....not actual rooms).

I have a permanent WFH job and its entirely my responsibility (rightly so) to ensure I can work productively from my home. Now whilst my employer is very understanding about childcare etc they would not tolerate renting a space to work from at all.

He's insane ! Or entitled, or both.

Driftingblue · 27/09/2021 14:20

Not a chance.

If he wants to hire a coworking space, he needs to pay for it.

FawnFrenchieMum · 27/09/2021 14:21

Nope while ever you have an available office space available and he isn't on a full homeworking contract is a privilege not a right. You have an available desk that he is free to use. If he doesn't have a suitable space at home, they he needs to either come into the office or pay for it himself.

timeisnotaline · 27/09/2021 14:21

No way - so cheeky of him to think this would be approved :o you don’t owe every staff member an alternative office, you have an office. If he chooses to move from his suitable to work at home to an unsuitable to work at home, he will have to work in the office 5 days a week.

Quite possibly he just thinks he will leave but maybe he really is deluded enough to think this might be a go.

Jumpingintosummer · 27/09/2021 14:22

What a chancer. He has three options:

  1. Continue to WFH 3 days and ensure space available.
2 Return to the office FT - but a 6hr commute is insane.
  1. Resign.
Beautiful3 · 27/09/2021 14:23

If he cannot work from home then you offer him full time, working from the actual office. There's nothing else you can do, if he cannot commute because he chose to move 3 hours away, then he will hand in his notice.

theemmadilemma · 27/09/2021 14:25

If this wasn't negotiated previously (i.e. before he made the move decision) then no. He can either work full time in the office or he can figure out something at home. But he can't demand you pay for a working space.

jackstini · 27/09/2021 14:26

It's a definite no to paying for him to rent space - not the original deal and would be unfair to other employees

Do you just have 1 office or is there another branch closer that he could work in?

What type of work is it? It might be he needs to go work in a hotel reception or coffee shop - I have done that before when my WiFi is down or we've had builders in etc.

altiara · 27/09/2021 14:27

Cheeky!

He either works in the office full time or he ensures he has a suitable space to WFH and he funds that.

MintMatchmaker · 27/09/2021 14:27

You have provided him a workspace so you need do no more. If there was no office space available in your current location then I would see his point.

He is choosing to move away and expecting the company to pay for his choices.

SeasonFinale · 27/09/2021 14:28

Looks like he will need to be in the office 5 days a week then

harrytwatter · 27/09/2021 14:30

He's taking the piss

JetRocket · 27/09/2021 14:30

Surely moving 3 hours away from your office and announcing you have no facility to WFH is actually just a resignation? Right?

Justilou1 · 27/09/2021 14:31

Very entitled! He hasn’t finished his probationary period yet and he thinks he gets to do this shit? He has jumped the shark.

Penners99 · 27/09/2021 14:32

5 days a week in the office then.

Granllanog · 27/09/2021 14:32

No way.............what a CF!!!

If you were to pay others might want the same.

PearLime · 27/09/2021 14:34

Lol- this is hilarious. The cheek!

I'd just say:
Sorry that won't work for us. Your probation is coming up, let's discuss then.

At the probation make it clear that the job offer stands on the same terms (ie 2 days in the office 3 days wfh) if he wants it. No paying for work space. If he doesn't want it you wish him luck. Then give him 2 weeks to confirm.

Surely as a junior he'd be easy to replace?

QueeniesCroft · 27/09/2021 14:34

No way! Think of the precedent it will set, if nothing else.

ChargingBuck · 27/09/2021 14:35

Of course YANBU.

Unless you want to set a precedent & start paying for everyone to have a company-funded WFH space ...

This is so unreasonable of him - especially the waiting until probation is safely passed to move 3 hours further away from his employer's office - that I wonder if his true colours are starting to show.

PearLime · 27/09/2021 14:36

Also on a wider note, there's a trend of people moving insanely far from their place of work by choice, then making it their works problem.

Over the pandemic, did people really honestly think they would never ever have to come into the office again??

catzfur · 27/09/2021 14:36

That’s such a cheeky request. He can come into the office if WFH doesn’t work for him anymore.