Brits tot up the cost of working from home
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A study has revealed that British workers spend an average eight hours and 35 minutes every week using their home broadband for work.
Around 75 per cent of employees have never claimed broadband expenses and two in five employees believe home broadband used for work should be eligible to claim back from employer.
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Hide AdThe statistics are revealed in new research by the UK’s leading price comparison website, MoneySuperMarket.
Analysis of the UK’s home internet usage shows that the average Brit spends eight hours and 35 minutes per week using their home broadband for work purposes. This is in addition to 13 hours and 45 minutes spent online every week for personal use.
MoneySuperMarket calculates that the hours spent using home internet to do work represents more than a third (38 per cent) of their total monthly usage. With the average monthly broadband bill at £31.082, this results in £11.94 being spent for their employer’s benefit.
Three quarters of workers have never claimed back broadband expenses, despite 40 per cent believing that the entire broadband bill should be eligible to expense if used for any work from home.
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Hide AdOn the whole, almost half of company owners, board directors and director-level staff (47 per cent) believe the full amount should be expensable.
Additionally, with almost three quarters (73 per cent) of workers spending at least one hour every week working online at home, a number of people could claim back this expense if they currently do not.
Emma Spencer, broadband expert at MoneySuperMarket, commented:?“Working from home is a benefit that many UK workers enjoy, but it’s interesting to consider the tools, like broadband, that they need to do so – and the potential associated costs.
“Brits are busier than ever, so with more employees working from home or checking emails during their commute, it’s unsurprising that they may need to use personal broadband or data allowances to get their work done.
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Hide Ad“If you work from home, you may need faster broadband, especially if you regularly download large files or use video conferencing, so a fibre optic package may be better for you.
"It’s also worth remembering that some packages have a monthly usage limit, which means once a cap is reached, you may experience slower speeds or be charged a fee for over-use. There are a number of unlimited deals available which could be worth considering if you work from home, or if you work on the go, then the best option might be a mobile broadband dongle.”
For more information about the cost of working from home, visit https://www.moneysupermarket.com/store/broadband/cost-of-working-from-home-online/