Working from home / closing local office

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Working from home / closing local office

49 posts & 30 voices | Started 4 months ago by theotherjonv | Latest reply from StefMcDef

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Jolly Green Giant - Member

I`ve worked from home for 10 years of which the last 8 I have had children,and now have 3.

If you are dsiciplined,and committed and don`t get easily distracted,(by stw....) I find it a great way to work,no delays due to traffic,lost time,I control the time,my environment,food and concentrate on when I am most productive.

At one time my office was a cupboard at the opposite end of the house to the kids but these days with a laptop,I tend to work wherever the most comfortable.

My kids were briefed from avery young age not to disturb daddy while he was working.Also if you start early,factor in the time youd spend commuting,and have just a 10 minute break for lunch,youll complete as much as you did when you worked in the office and can finish early to spend extra time with the kids anyway.

Posted 4 months ago #
woody74 - Member

My understanding is that your company can not make you work from home as it is their obligation to provide you with a place of work. I was working at home until about a year ago and I found it really just doesn't work as your home life is effected too much. Have a look around for a serviced office or an office for start up businesses. It is pretty cheap to gets desk on a month basis or even a small unit at a business centre. Our first unit was about 15' x 12' and only cost £160 per month. You then get to meet other people and are not huddled away in some cupboard at home.

I think working from home is all about discipline. If your good at it and the wife doesn't interrupt you then great, if not get out and find an office to work from.

Posted 4 months ago #
mrmo - Member

theotherjonv, I have no personnal experience of your case just exposure to it happening to others, and personnal experience of similar where a business relocated. I suspect your contract states a place of work. Therefore the position you fill as defined by your contract will become redundant when they close the site down. The company may well want to keep you on as your duties will still need to be carried out and they may be willing to offer some assistance, it could be renting a hotdesk in a unit, offering some setup assistance so you can work from home, or they may not. You need to talk to find out exactly what they want and what you need.

Posted 4 months ago #
zokes - Member

Ignore TJ and his public-sector appproach, all you need to start with is a decent 10'*8' shed, electricity and a big heater. Plus ask if you could expense any of it.

So, previously, his company had to pay $$$ in his allowanced car and putting a roof over his and his colleagues' heads. But you think it's fair that not only should he now bear the cost of running said home office, but he should have to fork out to build it?

As has been said above, some people need to get a grip...

Posted 4 months ago #
FuzzyWuzzy - Member

Not sure he mentioned an allowanced car anywhere? thing is the company is trying to save money and they may need to in order to stay in business. They aren't going to save much if they need to give everyone WFH £10k for a fancy shed. And whilst I can understand the OP's point he wants something in fitting with the property I personally don't see £10k as a reasonable amount to request when there are far cheaper alternatives. Given they seem to want to keep him on though he may be able to negotiate something decent.

Posted 4 months ago #
IHN - Member

Ask work.

"Working from home is not viable, what are you going to do about it?"

(only, y'know, nicely)

This. Should the situation actually arise.

Posted 4 months ago #
theotherjonv - Member

I'm not suggesting they give me £10K for a fancy shed, I'm asking if they can force me into spending it myself, or what would be reasonable in asking for a contribution or even just financing it through a cheap loan so i don't have to finance with a loan myself / eat into savings / remortgage on a worse deal than I currently have.

The other option is to install a garden office but that would cost around £10K which i don't have, and I don't want to remortgage to get it because then I'd lose the great mortgage deal i already have in place. I'm not expecting the company to buy me a home office, even though it would probably be cheap compared to the existing office closure costs but can they give me an low / interest free loan for example.

Posted 4 months ago #
richardk - Member

Have a look for co-working spaces near where you live. An example in London is The Hub, Kings Cross

Can give you office banter, internet connectivity and a place to work without impacting home life.

Not sure what your job is, but could you do flexible hours? Work the school hours when the house is quiet, take time with the family in afternoon/early evening, and then work again in late evening?

Posted 4 months ago #
allthepies - Member

Them: Work at home please.
You: Sorry, not practical given my circumstances.
Them: Hmmmm, we better think about this then.

Are there a few of you within the same geographical area who could share a serviced office (at your employers expense) ? A quick google shows up a few in Guildford (serviced offices not your work colleagues )

Posted 4 months ago #
poly - Member

mrmo - every contract i've seen in the last 10-15 yrs has stated a "normal place of work" and then something to the effect of "we can post your wherever we want for as long as we want and change your place of work at our discresion". So not making him redundant if they change location to home working.

TOJV - I've never heard of anyone being forced to work from home before. I am sure your company will be able to find a practical solution and will be only too keen to hear about your concerns about working effectively and efficiently in that environment. Experience also tells me that when "the writing is on the wall" it often takes a very long time to happen. I'd guess from an official decision - 6 months to close the technical centre and then another 6 months of office people rattling about in an empty shell before anything happens to the rest! Its not really the climate for selling large empty industrial buildings so you might find it is much longer.

TJ - Serviced office rates vary significantly; For a pokey office with one desk in a high quality facility something like £250 a month all inc. is typical up here. I'd guess 50% more in London? An office that fits 3 might only be double the cost though.

Posted 4 months ago #
mrmo - Member

poly, all i know is my last couple of contracts had a place of work on them, and when the business moved the choice was move or redundancy. Although there was something about 10miles on one of the moves that meant no payment was needed. I also know of another place where business relocation meant all office sales staff were told homework or redundancy, although i was temping so don't know the wording of the contracts of those affected.

Posted 4 months ago #
zokes - Member

thing is the company is trying to save money and they may need to in order to stay in business.

Flip it around. Employee in financial strife - would you expect the employer to bail him out?

Posted 4 months ago #
don simon - Member

Flip it around. Employee in financial strife - would you expect the employer to bail him out?

Some companies will if they can, pay a portion of your salary early, loans at preferential rates (I believe) are also possible.
Next.

Posted 4 months ago #
StefMcDef - Member

This happened to me about 4 years ago. We were having some home improvements done at the time anyway and cut the bathroom in half and used that space to create me an office.

Bear in mind that you will make all sorts of savings financially and in terms of the time you have available to do the things you want to do if you work from home, eat out of your own kitchen and don't have to commute.

Also, it's not kids you have to worry about in terms of interruptions, it's your partner. Might be a bit crowded with nowhere to escape to for both of you if you both work from home. Beware of familiarity breeding contempt.

Posted 4 months ago #

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