Remote working - what’s the cost?

Remote working specialists, like myself, and HR specialists have been highlighting the benefits of home and flexible working for a long time but now it’s obvious to everyone.

To employers, more staff working remotely or flexibly cuts down significantly on office provision overheads, see my previous blog, but for employees there can be extra expenses, mostly due to the cost of kitting out a home office in the house or garden.

Beefing up the broadband; purchase and installation of hard and soft tech; suitable chair and desk, shredder and storage for confidential documents... then ongoing extra heating, lighting, landline and mobile costs and insurance for the home.

Many people already have space and equipment to work at home, employees might be happy to offset commuting and lunch costs, and one-off grants could be acceptable to both employer and employee. At Google, where most employees are expected to be largely working from home for the rest of this year, an allowance of $1,000 has been offered to cover necessary equipment and office furniture.

The rushed nature of lockdown perhaps meant that no risk assessments for home workers were carried out. Whether in the office or not, it is an employer’s legal responsibility to ensure ventilation, temperature, lighting, space, chair, desk and computer, and floor are all suitable for the tasks and any reasonable adjustments for disabled staff are made. 

A workstation checklist is a good place to start - the HSE may not fine businesses over risk assessments for home workers at this time but employers do need to get organised.  

Although Health and Safety legislation, Government Covid guidance and HMRC taxation on homeworking set down legal minimums for employers, good practice considerations should also be taken on board. 

Discussions about what kind of working arrangement would suit employers and their now accustomed to home working employees, should begin now. Nothing should be set in stone until employers feel a bit more confident - for now it’s best to stay flexible on flexible working.

Whatever agreement is reached on working arrangements and expenses, they should be mutually agreed, tax compliant and with expectations and responsibilities clear to both parties.

Let's make the new normal work for us. To join the ongoing conversation about remote working, the practicalities and the future, check out Tech London Advocates – Remote Working or connect with Louisa Williamson at www.thrivehrconsulting.co.uk and me, Zoltan Vass, at  zoltanvass.com.

Blogs in the pipeline:

• Cybersecurity for remote workers
• Mental health and home working