Sue Pertwee-Tyr
Accuphase all the way down
I hear talk that people who wish to work from home after the pandemic may face pressure on pay. Google, apparently, is considering reducing pay for people who work from home, and there have been calls for civil servants in the UK to have their pay reduced if they choose to work from home rather than return to the office. The argument, it seems, is that homeworkers save the commuting costs.
Obviously, this is a mostly spurious argument. Over the winter, I saved on diesel, but spent more on heating the house. And I have numerous colleagues who walk or cycle to work so the argument has no relevance there.
But more fundamentally, I get paid for the job I do, for my experience, knowledge and skills. There’s nothing in my pay rate to reflect the cost of my commute, and nor should there be.
The MP arguing this is one of the usual right wing muppets, but it seems the government wishes to open another front in the culture wars and set homeworkers against office workers. I suspect lobbying by the commercial property sector.
Obviously, this is a mostly spurious argument. Over the winter, I saved on diesel, but spent more on heating the house. And I have numerous colleagues who walk or cycle to work so the argument has no relevance there.
But more fundamentally, I get paid for the job I do, for my experience, knowledge and skills. There’s nothing in my pay rate to reflect the cost of my commute, and nor should there be.
The MP arguing this is one of the usual right wing muppets, but it seems the government wishes to open another front in the culture wars and set homeworkers against office workers. I suspect lobbying by the commercial property sector.