Data Usage Cost for Working from Home

pemalu

Hi

My office is relocating to an unfavourable location and due to my circumstances, they are quite open for discussion.

I offered to work 50/50 between home & office. They now asked me to work out the additional cost that incurrs due to the relocation.

It's quite easy to calculate petrol cost but I'm confused as to calculate the working from home bit.

Does anybody know what would be the average data consumption, e.g per day of 7.5 hours, or if you have 8 hours then it would be fine. It'll be working on citrix, data input into company's erp system, email, little of documents downloading.

I will certainly have increased heating bill too so if anybody knows this too, that'll be great advice! My house size is around 100sqm.

Thank you.

m5rcc

Just put in the cost of an unlimited data plan. o2 charge £9.39/mth

With regards to utilities, I'd expect them to cough up 25% of your monthly/quarterly bill

S0litaire

[STRIKE]Think the HMRC rouls state that if you work from hom and ave a designated work area (spare room?) you can claim a tax discount for utility's used.[/STRIKE]
Ok looks like the Council Tax discounts and other Tax deductions have changed or have been stopped.

But you can claim a reasonable ammount for utilities used:

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/eimanual/eim32760.htm

Example costs:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/eimanual/EIM01478.htm

If it's permanent then talk to the boss about installing a phone line and getting a business grade Broadband installed (and them picking up the monthly costs). Depending on how your work's IT Department is set up, you could get a VPN link (direct connection) to your Offices network so you can access the same info as if you're in the office.

toffifee

Working through citrix should have very little impact on your broadband usage. The only thing sent over the line is the screen shot, the computing work is all done at the server end.

Mr_Toad

I've worked from home since 1999 with the exception of a 12 month stint working shifts in a command centre.

I'm provided with a separate business broadband connection and phone line. I get £26 per quarter towards utilities.

I went from driving 40000 miles a year to 4000 miles a year and got about 3 hours a day of my life back because I was no longer commuting to the office.

The savings made in petrol/diesel alone more than made up for heating the office. Then there's the reduced wear and tear on the car.

I don't heat the whole house, I keep the office door closed and have a small electric wall heater that I switch on for half an hour or so three or four times a day. It's surprising how warm the room stays.

It doesn't suit some people but I love it and there are many, many benefits that don't get usually get considered.

I do all my ironing while on conference calls.

I cut my lawns during the summer while on conference calls. You have to remember to mute your phone and stop the mower when you have to contribute :0)

Imagine the time these two activities alone free up in the evening and at weekends. Not so much if you don't have to do them though. :0)

As toffifee said your data usage won't be a great deal.

googler

masonn wrote: »

I don't heat the whole house, I keep the office door closed and have a small electric wall heater that I switch on for half an hour or so three or four times a day. It's surprising how warm the room stays.

I have two desktop PCs and a laptop in the study. It's surprising how much heat they generate, and how little the CH radiator is needed....

Mr_Toad

googler wrote: »

I have two desktop PCs and a laptop in the study. It's surprising how much heat they generate, and how little the CH radiator is needed....

Yes a very good point. I forgot to mention the kit, a work laptop/docking station and 2 x 24 inch monitors, colour laser printer/copier/scanner plus my own 27" iMac and the NAS drive.

As you say they do generate some heat. :rotfl:


My cat still hasn't forgiven me for going LCD with the monitors. He used to spend most of his day lying on the top of my 19" CRT monitor.

ybbon66

I work from home too, as someone else said, get them to pay for the full broadband. I use Virgin, the only problem being they don't separate out the broadband component now, they used to, now they don't I had a long discussion with the about it which was fruitless, but hey. Still, my company pays up so long as I submit the bill and the amount never changes. I could switch to get a completely separate line which would make it easier but there is no need.

I can claim mileage going to/from the office, or rail-fare if I went that way. I use a VPN so data usage is not a problem, I even download GB's worth of files per week without an issue.

pemalu

Thank you very much, you've all given very useful thoughts & ideas.

I'm really unsavvy with IT terms. What is VPN, tried googling but still don't get it. I've worked from home sometime where I login through citrix and access company's server so I can access all my emails, folders and erp system just like how I would when I work at the office.

Mr_Toad

pemalu wrote: »

Thank you very much, you've all given very useful thoughts & ideas.

I'm really unsavvy with IT terms. What is VPN, tried googling but still don't get it. I've worked from home sometime where I login through citrix and access company's server so I can access all my emails, folders and erp system just like how I would when I work at the office.

A VPN is a Virtual Private Network. A network within a metwork.

Imagine your broadband connection as a pipe, let's say a drain pipe. Now feed a hosepipe down the inside of the drainpipe.

Rainwater can get down the drainpipe and fresh water down the hose. the two types of water will never mix, they are separated by the hosepipe withing the drainpipe.

The hose is a VPN, the data in that pipe is totally separate to the data in the drainpipe. Your work data is safe and secure from any contamination by data in the drainpipe.

Perhaps not the best analogy but hopefully good enough.

GunJack

masonn wrote: »

A VPN is a Virtual Private Network. A network within a metwork.

Imagine your broadband connection as a pipe, let's say a drain pipe. Now feed a hosepipe down the inside of the drainpipe.

Rainwater can get down the drainpipe and fresh water down the hose. the two types of water will never mix, they are separated by the hosepipe withing the drainpipe.

The hose is a VPN, the data in that pipe is totally separate to the data in the drainpipe. Your work data is safe and secure from any contamination by data in the drainpipe.

Perhaps not the best analogy but hopefully good enough.

I'd say that's a very good analogy, in all fairness