Home working - costs?

[MikeyT]

There is the prospect of me working from home sometime in the future - our boss is gogin to pay for Broadband (£20ish) and othere associated costs ...

Anyone have any idea how much a couple of computers, external hard disk, printer, modem, router, phone etc, costs to run a month in electrikkery?

Lights too on top plus heating in the winter. Was trying to work out a monthly cost ... thought £125 gross might cover it.

Any ideas ... he tells me I am already saving on costs driving to work

[briSk]

plus cable for all the 'downtime' you'll now be able to have. plus jaffa 'cakes' and tea and coffee and squash in the summer.

be careful not o over do it.. your commuting bill will now be £0 after all.

[illmonkey]

I'd ask for them to cover the adsl, and thats it. The rest doesnt need to be there for you to work. He heats the office for him

[Fittster]

Why should your boss cover the costs for you working from home? Surely he is trying to offer you some flexability.

If being at home is expensive go into the office.

You appear to be looking a gift horse in the mouth IMHO.

Edited by Fittster on Wednesday 20th August 16:51

[lawrence567]

A couple of desktops is fk all nowadays, maybe a few hunred each, couple hundred for a printer.
External hardrive 50-75.
You'll probably save all the above on commuting costs alone & buying sanwwhiches at lunchtime!
Plus you'll be a hell of a lot more chilled out!

[schmalex]

To be honest, the other costs are pretty much zilch. I have worked from home for many years & often don't even bother claiming the broadband back. The way I look at it is that I save so much on not having to commute, that £20 a month on broadband that we would have anyway is neither here nor there.

[2something]

Other half receives 30 / month for bills from her company, I would put that as a minimum. The extra electricity you use is noticeable, but the extra heating during the day in winter is the big one. (Our energy provider shows usage changes)

ETA

Working from home usually benefits both parties (obviously this is a generalisation), so don't automatically consider and act as if they are doing you a favour. Saying that 125 /month before tax sounds a bit on the steep side for bills + broadband. (if that is what you meant?)

Edited by 2something on Wednesday 20th August 16:56

[trickywoo]

Don't forget all the tissues and 'lube' you will be going through.

[V8mate]

I run my business from home and my accountant said that HMRC would take a dim view of me charging my company any more than £5 per week for use of utilities, space etc. Any hardware would simply be provided by your employer - doesn't matter whether you work in his office, in a car or at home.

There is a coincidental issue that if you do start to charge much more for business use of your home, they'll simply refer your case to your local authority who may seek business rates.

[Buster Bakdorzin]

Whatever you claim, do get a business broadband connection. I had the first real problem in about 7 years last week, generally the business service (and customer service) is likely to be a few notches above standard. I happily pay roughly a tenner on top of what everyone else pays for the service eta... and most importantly the reliability!

Edited by Buster Bakdorzin on Wednesday 20th August 16:59

[The GMan]

MikeyT said:

There is the prospect of me working from home sometime in the future - our boss is gogin to pay for Broadband (£20ish) and othere associated costs ...

Anyone have any idea how much a couple of computers, external hard disk, printer, modem, router, phone etc, costs to run a month in electrikkery?

Lights too on top plus heating in the winter. Was trying to work out a monthly cost ... thought £125 gross might cover it.

Any ideas ... he tells me I am already saving on costs driving to work

I get about £25 a quarter for utility costs. Broadband and an additional phone line free, desk and chair I was given a budget of £500. Already had a laptop, got a decent printer thrown in which cost them about £150.

I worked from home all most everyday last year, but now I'm based in London most of the time, but still use the above if and when I'm working from home. But if I'm back in Newcastle I tend to go into the office to meet up with a few of the lads and go on an extended lashed up lunch break. I think I've got an ok deal going to be honest.

[Chim Girl]

When I was employed, I worked from home, the amount of time and money saved by not commuting, in addition to the increased quality of life, far outweighed the negligible cost of heating and electricity. In a large house, the cost of heating during the day was noticeable, however, if you think smart and buy a heater for the room you're working in instead of heating the whole house, then the real cost to you is minimal. As an employee there is a tax benefit too, where you are allowed to claim for the proportion of your home that is 'occupied' as a home office.

If it helps, my employer used to pay for my business telephone line(s) and broadband, so in real terms, saving me £40 on services I wanted anyway, which more than offset the cost of running 2 PC's, printer, a fax/scanner thing and lighting.

If you keep looking The Gift Horse in the mouth, it may bite!

[MikeyT]

Fittster said:

If being at home is expensive go into the office.

You appear to be looking a gift horse in the mouth IMHO.

We aren't going to have an 'office'

It isn't going to be my choice, I'd rather sit in the office we had in all truth, gets me up and out earlier. This is going to be forced on us so no choice.

One of the other guys is single and lives in a one-bed flat - with no central heting, just a gas fire so his costs ain't gonna be much - but our detahced house costs a lot to heat in the winter and I'm not running round turning radiators on and off every day thanks.

And I'm not in one room - the only place I have to work is in an open plan dining room affair where the stairs are so it's a big area.

I don't think asking for £15 a week for increased gas/electric costs is too much to ask for really (if I make it £60 a month plus the broadband - the £20 is to get onto the top level of BB which is what we had in the office and what we need at home)

The boss is offering to pay for the BB so no problem there - it's the heating & leccy costs that worry me. Why should I pay for it? We are in effect, by working from home, potentially saving him thousands.

Edit: I ight add that I will be the only one home all day til 4pm so our costs from 9am-4pm are zilch but ain't gonna be!

Edited by MikeyT on Wednesday 20th August 19:11

[Buster Bakdorzin]

MikeyT said:

Fittster said:

If being at home is expensive go into the office.

You appear to be looking a gift horse in the mouth IMHO.

We aren't going to have an 'office'

It isn't going to be my choice, I'd rather sit in the office we had in all truth, gets me up and out earlier. This is going to be forced on us so no choice.

One of the other guys is single and lives in a one-bed flat - with no central heting, just a gas fire so his costs ain't gonna be much - but our detahced house costs a lot to heat in the winter and I'm not running round turning radiators on and off every day thanks.

And I'm not in one room - the only place I have to work is in an open plan dining room affair where the stairs are so it's a big area.

I don't think asking for £15 a week for increased gas/electric costs is too much to ask for really (if I make it £60 a month plus the broadband - the £20 is to get onto the top level of BB which is what we had in the office and what we need at home)

£80*12 = £960 a year.
I don't have a point, I'm simply showing off my mathematical genius.

[Busamav]

I would speak with your shop steward about it

[andyquantum]

I've done this for a few years. I claim my broadband and landline back on exes, plus travelling costs for going to the office or seeing customers.

You might see a small increase in utilities, moreso if you do the household jobs you'd normally do afterhours or on weekends. It's not that noticeable for me. Your man who lives in the 1 bed might see it more than you, say if he doesnt normally heat the place during the day and working from home he will

[MikeyT]

Okay, so I see you lot think I'm a grabbing barsteward

But, that £960 a year Buster worked out is about the same as a percentage as the cost of living rise that I haven't had (none of us have) for the past two years ...

So, what do you lot think I should be trying to get (not including the broadband as that is a done-deal) ...

And anyone who says I should be doing it for the love of it ...

If at the moment my gas and electric a month combined is £180, you're telling me that if I am now there all day between 9-6 working, it's not going to go up by 30%?

[andyquantum]

MikeyT said:

Okay, so I see you lot think I'm a grabbing barsteward

But, that £960 a year Buster worked out is about the same as a percentage as the cost of living rise that I haven't had (none of us have) for the past two years ...

So, what do you lot think I should be trying to get (not including the broadband as that is a done-deal) ...

And anyone who says I should be doing it for the love of it ...

If at the moment my gas and electric a month combined is £180, you're telling me that if I am now there all day between 9-6 working, it's not going to go up by 30%?

Thats high compared to mine, but I'm in a small'ish 3 bed end terrace and there's just me

I did manage to get it a lot cheaper through an online tariff - you might want to speak to your supplier and see if your use changes the best price plan available.

Or do some imaginary customer visits, whichever suits you

[Ganglandboss]

Don't forget printer/fax paper, ink/toner etc!

My friend, I think I can hear your expenses sheet and it's crying 'fiddle me'!

[miniman]

Bog roll. Don't forget bog roll. If you were in the office you could take a st and use their bog roll. And pens. Don't forget all the pens you could have nicked. And post-its.