Keeping company equipment whilst on maternity leave?

[NoMoreWineForMeThen]

Hi

I have a company mobile phone and also a laptop. I'm under the impression that I'm entitled to keep both whilst on maternity leave but my company have asked for the laptop back as "I won't be needing it whilst on maternity leave".

Could anyone let me know whether I have to hand it back or can I keep hold of it during maternity leave?

Thanks

I had to give my laptop back when I was on maternity and I know that is standard practice where I work. Dont know if you are legally entitled to keep 'stuff'.

I kept mine (god knows how I managed not to lose them given I am hopeless with stuff anyway and we moved 200 miles whilst I was on maternity leave to be near my work) but I probably wouldn't be bothered about handing them in if they were suitably backed up and wiped before going on mat leave again. Is there a reason you want to keep hold of them?

As I understand it, the mobile phone and the laptop are (usually) tools of your job, not benefits - you don't pay any tax on them, for example, as you would on a company car - and you aren't entitled to keep tools of the job during maternity leave, unlike benefits such as a car, which you do keep.

Thanks for the replies.

I wanted to keep hold of the laptop simply because we don't have a home PC/laptop so it has been great having use of the work one at home.

Totally understand about them being tools for work though so will hand back as has been requested.

Hang on, it depends whether you are entitled to private use of it. If it's purely a tool for the job, like a phone you don't have personal use of or a company car you are only allowed to make work-related journeys in, they can ask for it back.

But just as you can keep a company car that you benefit from private use of, if your work laptop is a benefit you have for personal use, you should be able to keep that as well.

What's the deal with the laptop, is it a tool for work or a benefit?

That's very interesting, Flowery. How would you know if the laptop was a tool for work or a benefit?

Level of private useage allowed I'd say.

in the case of a mobile phone, a work mobile that you are allowed to make occasional personal calls on would be a tool for the job. Or one that you are allowed to make as many personal calls as you like but have to pay for them.

A laptop is a bit less clear cut, but one that you are issued to use for your job and they'd probably turn a blind eye to you doing a bit of MN-ing in your lunchbreak on would be a tool for the job. One that you keep at home and are allowed to use as a family computer with all the associated freedoms would be a benefit.

Most laptops aren't benefits, as they are usually intended just for work use. A PC at home provided by the employer is more likely to be a benefit. But I just wanted to flag up that it's by no means automatically not a benefit.

Most employers who issue laptops would have some sort of policy around use which should clarify.

Thanks! We had a bit of an awkward situation at work lately, which I thought I'd resolved correctly entirely due to my reading of this forum, and had a bit of a worry I might have got it wrong.