How to deal with hybrid working expenses
With hybrid working here to stay, all employers should now be well versed in how to manage expenses for their remote workers.
If you have yet to master this area, WM People has some recommendations…
Typical hybrid working expenses include travel to the workplace or other sites, telephone, broadband, heating and lighting costs and, in some cases, increased insurance premiums.
Employers therefore need to agree a policy on what expenses they are willing to reimburse, if any. You might choose to contribute a specific sum towards home working expenses, or reimburse actual expenses incurred. Some employers decide not to provide any contribution at all.
Make your travel expenses policy clear
Whatever your chosen approach, it’s vital to set or update hybrid working policies to set out clear rules for claiming expenses. Key considerations in designing your policies include:
• Should employees have a designated office as their base, even if they spend the majority of their time working remotely? This will help guide hybrid working expense policies concerning travel. The designated office should be included in their employment contract.
• Home working employees should be expensed for any travel from home to their work destination.
• Whether you will provide any expenses for hybrid workers travelling to work. The norm is for this not to be included – it is seen as a standard commute.
• You should aim to provide clear details in both contracts and the policy to reduce uncertainty and errors.
Consider carefully your approach for “very” remote workers
Increasingly, organisations are widening their geographical net for recruitment. But if an employee is based far from the workplace, organisations need a clear policy on how much they are expected to travel.
for example, should the demands of the role change, will a home-based employee be able to claim expenses for an increased requirement to travel to the office?
It’s best to agree the terms of the employment up front and put everything in writing, so both the employee and employer are clear on what can and can’t be claimed for.
A further consideration is how you handle a situation where an existing employee decides to move a long way from their base office. Should their entitlement to travel expenses change?
The standard approach is not to allow for this, as it’s the employee’s decision. However, it is useful to make this clear in a policy rather than wait for the situation to arise.
Include office expenses in a home worker’s remuneration
It’s becoming more commonplace for a home worker’s salary to allow for all hybrid working expenses.
Expenses for an infrequent visit to a central office – say once a month could be part of this, along with energy and IT costs.
Including these costs as part of a salary both reduces admin and encourages the employee to work efficiently and effectively.
Set a hybrid working policy – don’t wait for requests
Because hybrid working evolved so suddenly, driven by the pandemic, many employers addressed requests and hybrid working expenses on a case-by-case basis. But this is a risky approach that leaves the door open to potential employee relations issues.
A clear expenses policy will set out your terms and conditions. Proactively communicate your company’s position on reimbursement of hybrid working expenses, making sure that this is consistent with pre-existing policies or contract provisions.
Avoiding uncertainty for employees eliminates doubt and saves time – and will ultimately protect the organisation against unexpected costs.