Working from home - what should work provide?

[Ariadne]

It's possible I'm going to start working from home soon, due to various changes at work. I'm fairly ambivalent about it -- I don't mind coming into the office, but staying at home will have its advantages too. Plus Corvine is there most of the time. The flat's big enough for us to work in separate rooms, and then get together for cups of tea etc.

So - what do i need to get work to pay for? I have a personal laptop but I imagine they would provide a work-specific one, too. My boss has also said they'll pay broadband fees - but I use the phone a lot so they'll have to pay for that, too. Do i need a printer? One that can do photocopies maybe? I don't use either much in the office, but it would be frustrating to be without one.

If anyone has any useful experience to share, I'd appreciate it!

[Woofage]

Don't forget the benefit-in-kind issues to do with phone and broadband. For phone, I would suggest you pay the line cost and get work to fork out for a calls package. Broadband you could split, say, 50/50 or even 70/30.

NB: IANAA. Ask one, or HMRC. They can be very helpful, honestly!

Defo ask for a printer/scanner. If it's a tool you need then the cost of this is trivial compared with the cost of providing office space at work.

[iakobski]

BIK will not apply if the employer provides these things directly. The best way is to get them to provide a new line with broadband and phone. You are then allowed to use that for private use as long as such use is "not significant" - for broadband that is essentially "as much as you like" and for the phone, a policy of local and/or off-peak would suffice.

See the HMRC manual here: Particular benefits: accommodation, supplies and services:  meaning of not significant use for private purposes

If you have existing services and the employer reimburses you, or even pays direct but they are in your name, there are loads of complications and extra tax will be extracted.

[Ariadne]

Oh crikey. I really, really don't want the hassle of a new line to replace our cable...

[CAMRAMan]

I work from home and hate it! I really miss the office scenario and the contact that comes with it. Having said that, I don't really like my job, so that's probably got something to do with it.

Anyway, if you save a lot on commuting and can do a 60:40 split, for example, on your work days, it could be great.

I get bugger all from my (public-sector) employer. Not a bean towards anything. The attitude being, apparently, that we are saving on commuting costs (ignoring the fact that they save on expensive office space!!!). The assumption was that we would be out of the office 70% of the time, whereas I'm home 80+% of the time in reality. I don't like this situation, but won't rock the boat - yet.

You will need a printer. I've got a multi-function device, as the scanner option is useful from time to time. If you can squeeze a fax MFD out of them, it may well be of use occasionally and you'll have that option covered. Try to get a work laptop (You won't want to have your work stuff cluttering up your personal one) and a docking station, if available. It's a pain to have to uncouple USB plugs - laptops usually only have 3 USB ports & I always need 4! If they give you a docking station, ask for a LCD screen. A 19" one at minimum. A cordless keyboard and mouse will be a nice touch and unclutter your desk.  Ask for a contribution to your broadband and phone bills. I get neither, though I do get a Blackberry, although I don't like using mobiles for long calls. (sorry this should appear in the Rant thread  )

What security measures will your employer enact on your connection to the office? Check out if this has any implications on your IT set-up. I'm not supposed to use wireless, for example, even though I do. If I didn't, I'd have to run a cable to the room I use as an office.

Finally, if your house is usually empty in the winter, you should also try to get a contribution to your utility bills. Being at home in the daytime will up your bills.

Oh, I forgot; I did get a chair out of my employer. A desk with drawers would be nice, as I don't have that luxury.

That alls sounds like quite a wish list, but all justifiable IMHO.

[Little Jim]

ARO is correct.  I had this problem a few years ago.  I was working from home and got a second line put in which was on my personal BT bill, but which I claimed back on expenses.  HMRC took a very dim view of this, but fortunately I answered it in work mode when they rang the line and so was not penalised as long as the phnoe line was changed to the company account with imediate effect; which is what I promptly did!  As long as that was done they were happy, and when I asked what the difference was as I could just as easily use that line for personal calls the answer was more-or-less just a shrug of the shoulders and they said as long as I had a personal line at home as well then they were happy.

You might like to look at the thread in Bill Bailey about working from home as there are a few good points in there too.

[Little Jim]

forgot to add that Woofage is also right - talk to HMRC, they really do have humans working for them who are very helpful on the phone.

[Ariadne]

You might like to look at the thread in Bill Bailey about working from home as there are a few good points in there too.

oops, I should have looked, sorry.

And thanks - well, thanks everyone, I can see I'll need to look into this more closely. I don't know if it'll happen but it might, and I should be prepared.

[ScumOfTheRoad]

I would suggest just getting a works mobile phone. Your landline is not then used for business.

[ian]

Essentially, your employer should provide for everything that you need to do your work - my employer provides broadband, phone, laptop, docking station and big monitor, a desk, a proper chair, &c. I expense stationery or liberate from the office. In effect, they'll provide for anything reasonable. They won't pay for electricity and heating though.

I confess, I don't have a dedicated business phone which is naughty - but I wasn't willing to let BT screw up my current phone line. I should bite the bullet and have that done before someone notices.

I work part from home, part from an office, which is ideal - I can stay home on cold wet days. As a declared homeworker, I'm not allowed to have a proper desk in the office though, have to fight for a 'hot desk' or host a very important meeting with myself in one of the meeting rooms.