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2.1. Employees should be reimbursed financially for all additional expenses incurred as a result of home working/home based, but should not financially benefit from reimbursement. Prior authorisation must be obtained from an employee's immediate manager before any items of specific expenditure are incurred .
2.2. Reimbursement should be:
2.2.1. by a one-off payment in respect of any initial setting up costs which are identified. This payment will be based on the provision of receipts which are authorised by an employee's immediate manager;
2.2.2. in respect of additional running costs through the process described in Appendix 1 attached.
2.3. Home working/home base offers advantages to the individual in planning and managing in a flexible manner their work and personal time. Therefore, within the context of completing their required working hours employees may wish to adjust their working hours, where on a daily basis this primarily meets business needs and personal circumstances. This will be a matter for discussion between the individual employee and the manager concerned.
2.4. Contact between British Gas Service and the employee should normally occur within the usual working day. British Gas Service will endeavour to ensure that employees are not working outside of their contracted work patterns as a result of interruptions and disruption during
the day.
However, in exceptional circumstances, contact may
be required outside normal working hours. Such occurrences, by their nature,
will not be frequent .
2.5. Employees should ensure that relevant bodies (e.g. insurance companies, local councils etc.) are notified in writing of the change to home base/home working. Advice will be given on this. See item 4 below.
2.6. British Gas Service will meet reasonable costs of providing the necessary facilities to work effectively in the home, provided that this can be justified by the volume and type of work involved.
2.7. Whilst it is not considered appropriate to establish specific work patterns for operational/managerial categories, any time that employees covered by this agreement spend at home carrying out necessary work for British Gas Service can be regarded as part of their working hours.
3.2. British Gas Service will meet all the installation costs for equipping the employee to work from home. This will include the cost of necessary modifications and making good any disturbance to home decor.
3.3. Equipment will be sited at the employee's preference in the home, provided that this does not interfere with the proper operation of the equipment, and meets Health and Safety requirement.
3.4. Standard provisions covering telephone line installation/rental and call charges related to business calls will apply for employees required by British Gas Service to have a telephone. British Gas Service will ensure the provision of appropriate means to support home based working, including the cost of installing additional telephone lines where operational and personal circumstances dictate that a dedicated separate line is required.
3.5. British Gas Service will meet all additional running costs which an employee incurs as a result of working from home. This will include the costs of operating equipment and any additional costs of heating and lighting which may arise as a result of an employee working at/from home. The provisions for reimbursement are covered in clauses 2.2.2. and Appendix 1.
British Gas Service reserves the right to request the production of vouchers/receipts whenever necessary.
3.6. British Gas Service will pay any additional insurance premiums an employee incurs as a result of working from home, or from having the Company's equipment in the home.
4.2. British Gas Service will also advise employees of the tax implications and benefits of home working, bearing in mind that, ultimately, matters of taxation are the responsibility of individual employees with the Inland Revenue. This will include advice on travel expenses and "home to office" mileage.
4.3. Employees will not be liable for the cost of damage to or loss of the Company' s equipment in their home, unless there is evidence of deliberate misuse. Employees are required to take reasonable care to safeguard the Company's property.
4.4. By arrangement with the employee, regular health and safety checks will be undertaken by management and by accredited health and safety representatives to ensure that the area in the home in which an employee is working provides a safe working environment.
4.5. British Gas Service will ensure that employees working on computerised equipment in the home will be aware of health and safety guidelines on the operation of the equipment, e.g. taking breaks from computer terminals at regular intervals. Work stations will conform to health and safety guidelines, particularly as regard to the use of keyboards, and appropriate assessment will be undertaken.
4.6 Service management will ensure that staff working from home should be in regular contact with their supervisor/line manager, and that they have the opportunity to meet their colleagues on a regular basis.
4.7 British Gas Service will keep employees informed of developments within the business, and will ensure that job opportunities are notified to them promptly.
1. Lists of the job categories which are home based and the employees within each of them are being sent to the Inland Revenue Authorities in order that currently a tax dispensation can be sought for them. The basic conditions for all such categories are that:
(i) They are required to carry out much of
their work at home and are not allocated with another place in which they
can perform their work.
(ii) They must not have a desk, computer or telephone
allocated to them within an office.
(iii) They should not have a regular work pattern
of working part of their time at home and part at the office. They may
report to an office on a regular basis (eg. to pick up work or report to
a more senior person but will not work regularly from the office.
(iv) Their contract of employment reflects the above
conditions.
2. Employees who may spend a significant amount
of time working at home and who will be required to have installed, and use a range of communications and other equipment there leg. Field Managers
will be paid £140 per annum to cover any additional monthly running
expenses legitimately arising from home based working.
This will be paid in equal monthly instalments,
shown on an individuals monthly pay slip and will be taxed. Currently,
if the above conditions are met the Inland Revenue Authorities will grant
a tax dispensation of £140 per annum which will be reflected in an
individuals tax coding at the end of the year.
3. Similarly such employees leg. Central Heating Representatives who use more limited equipment leg. modems and recharging hand-held equipment and are expected to spend more limited periods working at home involving such matters as the preparation of quotations will receive the tax dispensation of £140 per annum only, to reflect their anticipated scale of expenditure. At standard rates of tax this will amount to a benefit of approximately £35.
4. Employees covered by these arrangements who believe their additional running costs exceed the above allowances should make a claim for this trough their immediate manager with the necessary supporting documentation/vouchers. Following authorisation the appropriate sums will be paid through payroll.
Individuals should be aware that such payments are liable to taxation. Whilst the Inland Revenue will receive applications from individuals for any vouched expenditure above £140 per annum, it cannot be guaranteed that this will be accepted, as the Revenue's current view is that for most employees there is likely to be little additional expenditure involved above that which would normally be used to heat and light a household. Moreover, it could require the employee to define the workplace more closely, and may also attract Capital Gains Tax on any future sale of the house.
Whilst all references above to Inland Revenue
rules and dispensations represents those currently applying, and are provided
for guidance, as with individual taxation generally any changes made by
the Inland Revenue are a matter between individual employees and the Inland
Revenue. The above arrangements will be subject to review by British Gas
Service .
(13.10.95)
2. If for some reason the equipment becomes defective and causes loss or damage to an employee's property, the employee should claim against their own household insurance policy in the first instance. Their Insurance Company may then claim against British Gas provided that they can Drove that British Gas was responsible for the loss or damage caused.
3. As an employer, British Gas has a duty to provide its employees with a safe place of work and equipment, whether in an office or home environment. If the Company fails to meet this legal requirement, it may be held liable for any resultant loss and/or damage to property or personal injury. The Public Liability and Employers Liability Policies provide this cover.
In addition, British Gas provides Personal Accident insurance for all employees world-wide who may suffer some form of permanent disablement arising from an accident. This excludes wilful exposure to needless peril.
If a visitor to an employee's home sustains
injury as a result of British Gas equipment being on the premises, the
employee should notify their own household insurers. If it can be proven
that the injury arose as a direct result of the employee's work for British
Gas, and that British Gas had been negligent, British Gas may deal with
the claim.
In the event of a claim against British Gas, it
will be necessary to look at the specific circumstances to determine liability.
If the Company or , in the case of third party claims, an employee (acting
in his/her capacity as an employee) are shown to have been negligent there
may be a valid claim under the British Gas Service Insurance arrangements
(subject to £10,000 deductible).
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