Working From Home: Broadband expense

Burger

Hello, I hope I have this in the right section, but please move if not.

I am after a bit of advice. I am a Graphic Designer who works for a small design agency of 8 employees in the West Midlands. Since 2020 we have all been working remotely during and after the pandemic. The owner of the business has since converted the old office into living accommodation, so we will be working from home on a permanent basis, which suits me and my family fine. 

My question is, should my employer contribute towards my internet usage?

I am currently on a max of 35mbs with Sky. However, the files that I need to send to the companys remote backup archive and clients are very large and take a long time to upload. I need to use the internet for my work, searching for images, testing websites, etc so I cannot upload large files during the day as it cripples my internet connection and prevents emails coming through. Therefore, I cannot work very efficiently. This leaves me to have to occasionally upload in the evenings and when you have two children who like to surf the internet and a wife that streams Netflix, as you can imagine, I'm not a very popular person.

Sky have just released fibre only in my area which provides up to 900mbs, would I be cheeky asking my employers to pay the extra for this? I'm currently paying £27pm for the 35mbs and this is heavily discounted. To obtain a fibre only connection I would need to find an extra £21 for a 500mbs connection or £31 for a 900mbs connection.

I've not had a payrise since 2013 and as we all know, the prices of everything have increased 10 fold so I can't possibly afford this without help. Has anyone else had any experience with this issue?

seanfos

No harm in putting your points across to your boss and asking if there is any chance. My employer pays a monthly amount extra to each of us to cover the expense of broadband, but is essentially extra money to be used as you wish

Sean

jlfrs01

Technically speaking you would first need a change in your employment contract so you are no longer office-based. That would lay the ground for putting your Internet costs through as a monthly business expense and it's only reasonable that if you need suitable infrastructure (such as Laptop and fast Broadband) in order to do your job that your employer pay for these as he would have provided these for you if office-based. You can also claim annually from HMRC for job-related expenses, I think the maximum is £312 per year from memory.

Clive_Woody

I WFH from full time and get a monthly homeworker allowance to cover electricity, fibre, heating, etc

Doesn't hurt to ask as it sounds like your job requires internet and a decent connection.

FIREDreamer

Our choice is wfh with no extra pay or come in to the office.

i choose wfh, no commute!

TELLIT01

FIREDreamer said:

Our choice is wfh with no extra pay or come in to the office.

i choose wfh, no commute!

The OP doesn't have that option.  He said that the previous office had been converted into living accommodation.

peteuk

jlfrs01 said:

Technically speaking you would first need a change in your employment contract so you are no longer office-based. That would lay the ground for putting your Internet costs through as a monthly business expense and it's only reasonable that if you need suitable infrastructure (such as Laptop and fast Broadband) in order to do your job that your employer pay for these as he would have provided these for you if office-based. You can also claim annually from HMRC for job-related expenses, I think the maximum is £312 per year from memory.

During the pandemic the government changed the details on working from home and reclaiming tax, due to the amount of people working from home.  It has since changed slightly since there is no longer Covid restrictions.

So during the pandemic you could claim £6 a week without evidence of cost, or you can claim more but would need to show evidence.  But you’re claiming tax back on the £6 per week, so if you pay 20% income tax that £6 a week turns into £1.20 a week (so £62.40 a year). This is still the case.

Since there is no Covid restrictions the rules on who can claim have changed you can claim if you 
a) your job requires you to live far away from your office or
b) your employer does not have an office

Interestingly it doesn't mention homeworker contract.  But it does state you cant claim for broadband costs (should you go for the more than £6 a week option). 

You can claim for up to 4 yrs in arrears so back to the start of the pandemic in theory, if you haven't already claimed.  

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home

Grumpy_chap

Burger said:

Since 2020 we have all been working remotely during and after the pandemic.
we will be working from home on a permanent basis, which suits me and my family fine. 

My question is, should my employer contribute towards my internet usage?

Sky have just released fibre only in my area which provides up to 900mbs, would I be cheeky asking my employers to pay the extra for this? I'm currently paying £27pm for the 35mbs and this is heavily discounted. To obtain a fibre only connection I would need to find an extra £21 for a 500mbs connection or £31 for a 900mbs connection.

I've not had a payrise since 2013 and as we all know, the prices of everything have increased 10 fold so I can't possibly afford this without help. Has anyone else had any experience with this issue?

How does the £31 per month compare with the costs of commuting to the office prior to the pandemic?  Consider financial costs and time costs.

Your final paragraph hints at something deeper. 
If the business cannot afford to increase salaries over a 10-year period then they may well be struggling. 
If the business simply decided not to increase salaries over a 10-year period then they maybe don't value your contribution as they should.
Is it time to seek alternative employment?

M25

Go for the 900MBPS but remember it'll only give you 80-90MBPS upload speeds.

Still, a far happier household.