Spanish business could be asked to pay for expenses incurred by employees forced to work from home

By now, the initial excitement of working from home has officially faded.

The two-minute commute from bed to desk has lost its appeal, the PJs you wear all day starting to shed and that accessive trips back and from the biscuit tin have done untold damage to your waistband (hence, why you still stay in PJs all day after eight months of WFH).

And while we might not be buying new suits, expensive canteen coffees or paying for petrol in the same way we used to, there are still monthly commitments to budget for. On top of rental costs, mortgage repayments and utility bills, employees are now having to splash out on the cost of working from home.

Technology, stationary, printer ink, not to mention the additional aircon costs from staying at home all day long.

Thankfully, employees working from home in Spain may now be able to shift the costs of a home office back onto their employers.

The Spanish government has agreed with unions and business leaders to make business owners cover the home working expenses racked up by employees during the coronavirus outbreak.

Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias said the draft bill would force companies to pay for all expenses employees may have when working from their living rooms, while allowing working hours flexibility and granting workers disconnection time. 

“It was fundamental to regulate remote working to protect the rights of workers,” Iglesias said on Tuesday. 

The draft bill still needs to be approved by the cabinet before being sent to parliament but its good news for the millions of employees forced to work at home during the strict lockdown imposed in Spain from mid-March to late June and the countless workers who remain glued to an endless cycle of zoom calls as social distancing rules continue to limit office capacity.