What Should Your Company Pay for If You Work From Home
If you’re a telecommuter, you’re probably wondering if your company has to pay for the supplies, technology, and more that you use to do your job as if you were working in an office.
Order lunch, fire up Slack, and schedule an afternoon shower. It’s Work from Home of the Week ! From our sofas and local coffee shops, Lifehacker gives you tips to keep you productive, balanced, and sane, whether you work from home all day or your entire career.
While we have grouped remote workers and freelancers a lot this week, there is a difference between the two: if you are a freelancer, you will probably have to provide your own material (be sure to charge it). taxes ). But if you work remotely, you can talk to your boss about the costs of what you use every day.
According to FlexJobs , companies deal with this in different ways. Some provide a scholarship that can be used for whatever the employee needs; others require workers to provide all of their own equipment; while others will provide remote workers with company computers that need to be returned when the employee moves to a new job. What they do will depend on the company.
Remote.co , a company that helps other companies set telecommuting policies, breaks down what companies will and won’t pay for:
- Computers and Phones: Very likely.
- Printers, Scanners, Multiple Monitors, and Copiers: Unlikely, but if you’re a designer or programmer, you’re more likely to get at least a second screen.
- Desks, chairs, or filing cabinets: unlikely if you don’t need an ergonomic chair, due to OSHA recommendations.
- VPN: If your job requires a connection to the corporate network at home, your company may pay to access a VPN. Alternatively, you can claim that they owe you some of your Internet costs.
“Employers are encouraged to provide remote workers with the equipment they need to do their jobs efficiently and confidentially,” writes Remote. This usually means shipping a laptop if the company has a budget, although the site warns that this shouldn’t be expected if it’s a small business. In this case, you can request a hardware surcharge.
You must also have the software installed on your computer to get your job done. If you’re a designer, that means Adobe Suite or whatever product your company prefers. If your work involves many meetings, then your computer should be equipped with video conferencing software. And don’t forget, you can also ask the company to reimburse you for business-related expenses, or send you to conferences or educational events if they offer this as a benefit to non-telecommuters.
If you’re just starting out, check out your employer’s instructions, but don’t be afraid to ask for more. And check out the rest of the Work from Home Week tips and tricks.