Home office vs working from the employers office

[Christel]

Hi there,
I would like to know what is a fair value to place on paying an employee to work from her home instead of working at the offices of her employer?

I have the opportunity to work from home, but my employer does not want to re-imburse me for expenses. She thinks that having the "luxury" to work from home and saving on petrol is reward enough. I think that she should pay me something, as I no longer would have the use of any office items, such as printing, phoning, stationery etc. And on top of that she will be saving more as at the moment I work at another office and they invoice her monthly for office space etc.

I agree that my expenses will not be thousands per month, but I was thinking in the region of R500 - R600 per month. Bearing in mind that this will most probably be a taxable allowance too!

Thank you.

[HR Solutions]

Are you are still being paid the same ? If so, then you are saving on petrol, e tolls, etc etc, so does it not really balance out at the end of the day ?

[Christel]

Hello HR Solutions, yes, I will be paid the same. Thanks for the reply.

[Justloadit]

Printing may seem trivial, until you replace a cartridge. Anything from R600 to R2000 depending on the printer size and speed.

[HR Solutions]

How much printing would you do ? Or would all your work be saved on a flash drive for your client ?
If you have a lot of printing expenses etc, then yes the company should pay you for it.

[Christel]

I don't have a lot of printing, definitely not more than 100 pages per month. I would still be required to go in to the office once per month to load my timesheet, I can always then sneak in some printing...(!) .

[adrianh]

I tend to agree with the employer. You save a lot of money and you have the freedom to work when you see fit. I can't see why the employer should pay you for your own choice to work from home. If the employer forced you to work from home it would be a different story.

[Mike C]

What about the cost of phone-calls Christel?

Would your Employer not be open to re-imbursing a monthly expense claim of items used for the home "office"?

[Christel]

Hi Mike, yes, that's something that I will definitely clear out with her as Telkom charges are 49cents per minute and I need to phone WCC and SARS quite often. These calls last minimum 20 min if I'm lucky!

[HR Solutions]

These calls last minimum 20 min if I'm lucky

Lol ........ yes if you are lucky.

You do have to ask the question why you are going to work from home. Because by working from home as you have stated you will be benefitting by keeping the same salary etc and by cutting expenses for yourself ! So from the company's point of view it would cost them more ! So you get more and they get less - therefore what is their benefit ?

[HR Solutions]

These calls last minimum 20 min if I'm lucky

Lol ........ yes if you are lucky.

You do have to ask the question why you are going to work from home. Because by working from home as you have stated you will be benefitting by keeping the same salary etc and by cutting expenses for yourself ! So from the company's point of view it would cost them more if you claim extra expenses ! So you get more and they get less - therefore what is their benefit ?

[Christel]

Hi HR Solutions... why do you say the company would get less? and Why would it cost them more?

[pmbguy]

You said that they currently renting office space for you, so they save allot there, surely more than the 600 you want for running costs at home. If working from home does not affect productivity and is its cheaper for all then its fair.

(Telkom should be considered separate and paid for by the business)

I love working from home and so will you, but please don’t like it too much or you going to need a good divorce lawyer

[HR Solutions]

Hi HR Solutions... why do you say the company would get less? and Why would it cost them more?

I meant it would cost them more by you working at home than working at their premises, if you claim extra expenses.

[wynn]

Think of the money you will save on make up alone and the convenience of working comfortably in your slippers!

Seriously, perhaps you can get them to pay for an ADSL contract on your land line if you have one or get them to install one if you don't, this will get you 24/7 internet and free local SA calls (even private calls) that should be fair compensation, +- R700PM.