Hi,
This is my first post to the community forums and so my apologies if I am posting in the wrong place!
We have an employee that is currently office-based, working in the office 5 days a week. They wish to move 300 miles away from the office and has requested to work from home.
We have been discussing this and would like to suggest the following to the employee - work from home for 3 days a week and 2 days in the office. It is not best for the business for him to be absent from the office all week, hence we have this compromise. The company will pay for overnight accommodation and subsistence. If the initial trial period is successful, we will amend his contract to state that his location is home-based with 2 days in the office.
However I am not sure where we stand with regards to the mileage. It is the employees choice to move his home location away from the office. I understand that if the office was moving 300 miles from his home address, then the company would be obliged to cover the travel/mileage costs. But this is his own choice.
HMRC rules state that if 40% of your working week is at a second location, then it will be classed as a permanent location. Also the intention is that this arrangement will last longer than 2 years. Therefore the mileage would be classed as commuting and cannot be claimed.
Do we just explain this to the employee and therefore he must cover his own travel costs to the office each week.
Or am I missing something?
Thanks in advance for any help and advice!