Enforced home working dilemma

patonar

Quick question...

My employer has enforced mandatory travel restrictions, and as such I am now working from home.. (i was previously based at various client sites / company offices dependant on work).

I have been at home for 3-4 weeks now, but i dont have a home office set up, so currently flitting between a dining room table and sitting on the bed when my back gets sore.

SO... work are arguing over the costs of the risk assessment and the home office setup charges, which i can understand (their mandated equipment is ridiculousy expensive £600 for a chair, £900 for a desk) - however i am really struggling in the work environment i currently have (basically a wooden chair) - and my back is killing me...

I have been taking regular breaks / walks to help, but as the restrictions will be in place until November.. want to understand my options.. (i know one of them is to find a new job!) .. ideas?

LittleVoice

patonar wrote: »

Quick question...

My employer has enforced mandatory travel restrictions, and as such I am now working from home.. (i was previously based at various client sites / company offices dependant on work).

I have been at home for 3-4 weeks now, but i dont have a home office set up, so currently flitting between a dining room table and sitting on the bed when my back gets sore.

SO... work are arguing over the costs of the risk assessment and the home office setup charges, which i can understand (their mandated equipment is ridiculousy expensive £600 for a chair, £900 for a desk) - however i am really struggling in the work environment i currently have (basically a wooden chair) - and my back is killing me...

I have been taking regular breaks / walks to help, but as the restrictions will be in place until November.. want to understand my options.. (i know one of them is to find a new job!) .. ideas?

Cost of assessment? - You can do the assessment yourself, can't you? I would expect they use some kind of tick-sheet. You could probably find one via HSE website.

Mandated equipment? - Mandated by whom? If they mandate it, they should provide it. However a chair and desk which would provide comfortable working are obviously less expensive than £1,500. They should pay. For the sake of your own health, you might want to provide them for yourself any way as I expect you use computer equipment at home any way.

Mandatory travel restrictions? - Sounds like some extreme government. What is the justification? Clients not paying?

NYM

When you were ..'previously based at various client sites / company offices dependant on work'... were you provided with the 'mandated' equipment ?

DKLS

Being off sick with a bad back will cost the company a lot more money
Might be worth asking facilities if they have a spare desk and chair then going to see whoever signs off and pushing to get it sorted.

( Littlevoice in my experience its caused by one of three things:
1 The organisation is hitting its financial targets or is on budget and the big cheese wants to protect that by slashing costs for the rest of the year usually to pick up a hefty bonus.
2 The organisation is in deep crap and are slashing costs and its time to jump ship
3 Based on some 'bright idea' there is going to be major re-organisation and they need the money to pay for the change

duchy

Why on earth would it cost so much ?

I work from home and have for the past six years .
My equipment has gone through several stages but currently I have a decent office chair purchased from one of the many office suppliers on-line for about £70 and my full sized desk cost £40 from our local facebook site (I could have had a fab curved one for £50 but it wouldn't fit)

Instead of using equipment that is bound to cause you problems-why not spend less than £100 so you can work properly. If you do find another job then you could just sell the office furniture on for the same or more than you paid for it anyway.

Using a dining chair is just plain daft ! Take a bit of personal responsibility.
Just because your company is behaving badly with little concern for your posture health - doesn't mean you have to do the same thing !!

System

Why don't you work at your employer's premises?

patonar

LittleVoice wrote: »

Cost of assessment? - You can do the assessment yourself, can't you? I would expect they use some kind of tick-sheet. You could probably find one via HSE website.

Mandated equipment? - Mandated by whom? If they mandate it, they should provide it. However a chair and desk which would provide comfortable working are obviously less expensive than £1,500. They should pay. For the sake of your own health, you might want to provide them for yourself any way as I expect you use computer equipment at home any way.

Mandatory travel restrictions? - Sounds like some extreme government. What is the justification? Clients not paying?

Madated by the company's own H&S policy. Apparently home provided kit can make "me" liable for any injury caused by using it...

I use computer equipment at home yes, but primarialy tablets for odd browsing.. dont really dig sitting at another PC after spending 8 hours infront of one for my day job!

Travel restrictions? Ok - so the accountants view of the world when your company isn't going to meet commitments to the street is to cut costs... the easiest cost levers to pull are... Non Essential (client facing) travel, training, pay-rises, bonuses, staff partys etc.

patonar

NYM wrote: »

When you were ..'previously based at various client sites / company offices dependant on work'... were you provided with the 'mandated' equipment ?

Yep. All were approved Hot Desk / Permanent desk environments, all with separate DSE assessments done against them.

iclayt

Can you come to an arrangement where you purchase a reasonably priced comfortable chair and desk, and they reimburse you?

patonar

!!!!!! wrote: »

Why don't you work at your employer's premises?

Because i am a mobile worker, and my fuel card is expensed directly back to the business against chargable project codes.

To work at an office at my own expense would cost around £300 per week in fuel.

Runtime_error

patonar wrote: »

Madated by the company's own H&S policy. Apparently home provided kit can make "me" liable for any injury caused by using it...

To be fair though, you are already using home provided kit ie your bed and dining table. Surely better for you to get some decent home kit from ebay to avoid prolonged or permanent damage to your back at least while you sort out something with your employer?

When you sort things out and return to your normal workplace, you can resell it and won't have lost much at all.