Enforced working from home

wendylou_3

Hi....
could anyone tell me if you are entitled to extra payment if your employer suddenly changes your working arrangements - My OH has been informed that the local office (less than a 5 min car journey) is being closed and he now has to work from home. When he enquired about extra allowances he was told that the traveling costs should cancel out any extra heating/electricity costs. I think this is unacceptable - especially with the rise in fuel bills - capped tho thanks to MMS!!;)

Anyone out there with any ideas????:mad:

LittleVoice

Employers can't force an employee to change their location to their home. But they can close an office and declare redundancies.

If an employee agrees to a change of location, then certainly trying to negotiate a pay increase is an option. The employer's running costs will be less if they are not operating an office, so equally you can argue they can afford to pay more (just as they have pointed out the minor savings in travel costs which nevertheless are unlikely to cover the cost of heating a room in winter for how ever many hours is involved).

ChelseaGirl

That doesn't sound fair at all! The cost of a five minute car journey is bound to be less than the cost of lighting/heating a room in your house all day - especially if the heating/lighting would normally be off if all other occupants are usually out all day.
I'd get him to argue the point on this one. Hope you get a good result.

lynzpower

Dont you get a tax break idf you have to work from home?

I thought that you could claim some tax back on the heating/ lighting/ internet type bills if you have to pay them. Or thart if the internet & phone line is needed for the job then the employer pays them? I tried to work from home and this is what my trade union told me, that if I was to work from home ( this was due todisability, not closure of office) then the employer would pay the phone bill & internet, via the wages.

Might be worth asking on the cutting tax board if this is true?

troo

Who pays the travelling costs? If the employer does (but I bet he doesn't), then you'd have to work out the difference between travel costs and any costs to you eg. gas and elec.

If you pay for your own travel (like most people) then the employer can't use that as a reason. How people get to and from work is nothing to do with the employer, you only get paid for the hours that you're actually at work.

What if one person rode a pusbike, one caught the the bus and another drove a car? How would they work that out fairly?
Sorry, the more I type, the more wound-up I'm getting :mad:

tinkerbell84

Personally, I wouldn't have thought that a 5 minute car journey was worth starting the car for.

Your OH will also have to declare that part of the home is used for business purposes on your house insurance, which will push that up. I don't think a payrise to cover these costs is an unreasonable expectation.

troo

tinkerbell84 wrote: »

I don't think a payrise to cover these costs is an unreasonable expectation.

Absolutely. It shouldn't cost you to work.

planemad

Looking at another angle, employers are really having a tough time at the moment.

This is the first step to try to help the employer save money, they may be doing this as there may not be lots of money in the kitty.

From my knowledge of business if the moving of staff to home based working fails to cuts cost sufficiently then maybe there could be redundancies in the future.

I feel it maybe worth being diplomatic in this situation.

I don't know your companies circumstances but maybe its worth talking to the boss and saying that you understand the current economic situation it taking it toll on business and maybe when things do get better you would be considered to some recompense for the heating and lighting ect.

Incisor

planemad wrote: »

... I feel it maybe worth being diplomatic in this situation.

I don't know your companies circumstances but maybe its worth talking to the boss and saying that you understand the current economic situation it taking it toll on business and maybe when things do get better you would be considered to some recompense for the heating and lighting ect.

:rotfl::rotfl:Things get better? We've never recovered from a recession since before 1967 [and there have been a few recessions]. Maybe if the farmers have a good harvest one year, things might get better.

nearlyrich

Just to put another perspective on this, you can claim a tax break if your contract states your place of work is at home and if you travel to see customers you can claim all the cost of the journey on expenses without paying tax on the money.

Will your OH be working at home all day everyday or does he go out to see people? I wouldn't work from an office fulltime for anything, it's great having the freedom to sort out your workday without a boss checking how long it takes you to have a brew etc.

Debt_Free_Dreamer

I would enquire about Health and Safety issues, such as having an adequate working space in which to carry out the work. I know this was a concern for the local authority I worked for.

I completed a survery detailing where I carried out my work when I worked from home. At the time I was pregnant working on a major project and suffering with SPD. (When your Pelvic bones start to separate and you are in a lot of pain). When I worked from home, it was because I was in so much pain I needed to be in bed. However, working on a big project I still needed to get the work done.

You can imagine my answers to the questions. Where do you carry out the work? In Bed. Do you have desk? No, I work in bed. :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: What sort of work do you carry out at home? Reading blueprints, in bed. :rotfl: :rotfl:

On a serious note, our council provide modums and laptops, will not pay for broadband (you have to have your own). Don't pay any other allowances for working at home. It is probably seen as a perk of the job to be able to work from home. Better home/life balance and all that.


Amanda