Remote working? Make sure it doesn’t cost you money

This is very much the age of flexible employment, in terms of both hours and locations.

Just ten years ago, the concept of “working from home” was eyed with suspicion, something middle managers did once or twice a week to dodge the commute, and that was darkly suspected by both their employees and their bosses to involve little more than watching Judge Judy, catching up on some housework and taking a couple of phone calls.

However, even the cynics have had to admit that life’s not like that. The truth is that if someone’s going to shirk their responsibilities and be lazy, they will do so whether they are working from home or they are sitting in the office, surfing the internet or staring out of the window. The point is that if the work’s not done, someone notices soon enough, and it doesn’t matter where the worker is located.

The unstoppable rise of the telecommuter

So it is that by 2020, around 50 percent of workers are expected to be telecommuting. For expectant mums, new mums or even not-so-new mums, this can only be good news. Whether you are lugging a baby bump around or you have a lumbering teenager returning from school at 4PM, being able to work from home is a definite boon at every stage of parenthood.

It’s also a great way to save money. No daily commuting cost, no nipping out for an overpriced coffee and sandwich at lunchtime, and no need to keep worrying about work clothes and the dreaded dry cleaning. Or is it?

Being around the house all day when it would otherwise be empty can lead to extra costs that you might not have predicted. If that looks likely to be the case, you need to have a quiet word with your employer about the tricky topic of expenses. And if you are already in a working from home routine, it’s never too late to have the discussion.

What should your employer pay for?

Unfortunately there are no hard and fast rules, but broadly speaking, if something is used predominantly for work purposes, your employer should pay for it. Here are some examples:

• Laptop – almost always, your employer will pay for this, and will not expect you to save or access business files on a personal PC. If they do, and you handle client data, remind them of their GDPR
• Peripherals – it is less common for an employer to pay for things like printers, scanners, copiers, etc unless you need specialist hardware specifically for your job.
• Consumables – this varies. If you only ever use the printer for work purposes, or if, for example, you print off a box full of documents from home and completely use up your ink, it is reasonable that the employer should pay – even if you buy the cheapest printer ink cartridges in the UK.

The most important thing when agreeing to work from home is to set up the working practices and parameters at the outset. Employers sometimes convince themselves they are being generous and bountiful in providing the opportunities to employees, when they are in fact saving the company large amounts of money. Agree on reasonable expenses at the outset, to ensure a win/win for all concerned.