Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home • Hacker News Board

Re: Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home

#21

Post by mehrdadn » Mon, May 25, 2020, 1:15 PM UTC

ceejayoz wrote: post #15

mehrdadn wrote: post #10

I'm confused, what is the additional expense that employees are incurring by being home? Don't they pay the same rent either way?

Equipping and maintaining a home office? Space that can no longer be used for other stuff, and costs of things like chairs and office supplies a company would normally cover?

Oh wait, is this "rent" in the sense of the company essentially renting part of the worker's home? I read it as as paying the worker's share of the rent to the landlord! If that's the case then that would make a lot more sense.

Re: Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home

#22

Post by raverbashing » Mon, May 25, 2020, 1:15 PM UTC

dannykwells wrote: post #2

In the US of course, we deduct our home office from our taxes, meaning that our fellow citizens, or debt, support working from home. Thos seems like a saner solution.

Yes, if you're self-employed.

Being allowed to deduct it from the taxes is a recognition that it is a 'work expense' rather than a profit (because you're charging it from you customer). It's the same idea w.r.t the reinbursement.

Re: Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home

#23

Post by pochamago » Mon, May 25, 2020, 1:16 PM UTC

This seems likely to have unpredictable downstream effects on the Swiss workforce as compared to other countries

Re: Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home

#24

Post by onetimemanytime » Mon, May 25, 2020, 1:16 PM UTC

mehrdadn wrote: post #10

I'm confused, what is the additional expense that employees are incurring by being home? Don't they pay the same rent either way?

extra room to work on? But then companies will have less rent for office. Also employees no commute expenses

Re: Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home

#25

Post by ramblerman » Mon, May 25, 2020, 1:16 PM UTC

buro9 wrote: post #9

dependenttypes wrote: post #8

I don't get it. Why should someone working from home make more money than someone who does not?

That's not what this is. This is: Your employer should provide the means for you to do the work they ask of you.

You didn't negate OP's point though. Just stated it was a different motivation.

The net result is still that you

- disincentivize companies to let people work from home

- give people who can work from home, (and already are at an advantage to cashiers/tellers/etc...) more benefits.

Re: Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home

#26

Post by codegeek » Mon, May 25, 2020, 1:17 PM UTC

Everytime I see "must pay", it scares me. Yes I know that employees get exploited etc but instead of making employers pay, why not let employees get a tax deduction or even a credit ? As an employer, I can tell you that the burden of employer paying for everything is not necessarily a good idea. It is not about the money only but also about the added overhead/red tape. In US, I am already sick of for example health insurance crap. I would gladly pay the same amount of money directly to the employee instead of dealing with insurance companies and their bullshit.

Re: Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home

#27

Post by sdfx » Mon, May 25, 2020, 1:18 PM UTC

mehrdadn wrote: post #10

I'm confused, what is the additional expense that employees are incurring by being home? Don't they pay the same rent either way?

One could argue that you don't need a separate room in your house, if you don't work from home. Something you might need if you have a family with multiple people working/studying from home. Also CHF150 is not really a lot for Switzerland, so this probably won't pay for a whole room on its own. But definitely an interesting decision from the court.

Re: Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home

#28

Post by andrewljohnson » Mon, May 25, 2020, 1:18 PM UTC

It’s advantageous for companies to pay for anything that can be construed as a business expense for employees, since that means they can transfer money to the employee tax free. Businesses in the US do this for health insurance, and remote companies can do it for a few more expenses. It makes sense to pay for whatever expenses the company can, as long as the administrative costs don’t outweigh the tax advantage.

Re: Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home

#29

Post by crazygringo » Mon, May 25, 2020, 1:18 PM UTC

dannykwells wrote: post #2

In the US of course, we deduct our home office from our taxes, meaning that our fellow citizens, or debt, support working from home. Thos seems like a saner solution.

That's really twisting things beyond recognition. In the US, we deduct business costs period, but pay taxes on profits. So as long as your business or your employer's is making profits, the taxes on profits are replacing it, not your fellow citizens. And if profits aren't being made, well obviously the situation isn't going to last too long.

The idea that the taxes of people who don't work from home are somehow subsidizing those who do is... just not how it works.

Re: Swiss companies must pay share of rent for employees working from home

#30

Post by cryptonym » Mon, May 25, 2020, 1:19 PM UTC

mehrdadn wrote: post #10

I'm confused, what is the additional expense that employees are incurring by being home? Don't they pay the same rent either way?

Coming to mind: Electricity, AC, Heating, internet (more bandwidth & data cap), desk & chair, you may need an extra room if you are always working from home...